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For all its modern technology, the Ford F-150 is still offered with three-passenger front seats. That means that, in some versions of the truck, there is no room for a modern shifter between driver and passenger, so a column shifter must be installed. Just because the transfer method is old-fashioned, however, doesn’t mean the technology behind it should be.
A recent video, posted on Twitter by @CraigLeMoyne and discovered by Road And Track, shows the satisfying results of what happens when you park your new F-150 while it’s still in gear. As LeMoyne presses the on/off button, the column shifter climbs into park by itself, like magic.
While that wouldn’t be considered particularly revolutionary on F-150s with a center shifter, which automatically shifts into park, it’s surprising to see the technology applied to a column shifter, which seems old-fashioned in today’s crystal world. . ball selectors and rotary gears.
Read: Owners Can Move Forward With ‘Conditionally Certified’ Class Case Suit Against FCA Over Troubled Shifter
While this technology is fun to look at, it’s likely the result of very serious design flaws that ended up not too long ago. As automakers sought to modernize the interiors of their vehicles, they added new, more aesthetically adventurous gear selectors to the interiors.
With the help of shift-by-wire technologies, gear selectors can have any shape a designer wants, from buttons, to dials, to levers. These last, especially those developed by FCA (now Stellantis), led to highly publicized problems.
While the selectors are visually appealing, the fact that their action is no longer dependent on position (unlike this column shifter, the shift-by-wire lever can always return to its resting center position , no matter what gear the transmission is in. ), can confuse drivers about what gear they are in.
That confusion means some drivers accidentally leave their cars in gear after parking them, leading to a roll away risk. All of that ended tragically with the death of actor Anton Yelchin in 2016, who was killed when his own car crashed into him.
As a result, most automakers automatically put their cars into Park when they’re off, to prevent them from drifting off. And Ford appears to have found a novel way to do that with a physically operated gear selector.
I love that you can still get an F-150 with a column shifter and 6-pass seating, but the icing on the cake is what happens when you turn it off in gear. pic.twitter.com/f2gz5IDwif
— Craig LeMoyne (@CraigLeMoyne) December 6, 2022
Image of the lead Craig LeMoyne/Twitter
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