Can’t buy adaptive cruise control for under 60k? Ram must not have seen Ford’s pricing.

[Rossum]

Forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking is standard on many 2021 Rams. Adaptive cruise uses the same hardware.

Correct, it does use the same hardware. But that doesn't mean you can have ACC just by adding switches. I'm new to RAM/FCA but I can tell you for a fact that certain other manufacturers use different software in the hardware, and/or cryptographically secure "Feature Enabling Codes", meaning you can't have that feature without actually having paid for it. Yes, on the one hand this stinks, but on the other hand, they gotta make a profit too.

 

[Neurobit]

Of course there are often slower vehicles. But if they're taking up all available lanes, you have to slow down anyway. With a normal cruise, that means fiddling with the controls or tapping the brake first and then matching speed with the accelerator. With adaptive, it handles all that for you, and if it slows down where you don't want it to, you can override it with the accelerator. It will auto-resume the moment you release the loud pedal.

When I first drove a car with ACC back in 2012, it took a while to learn to trust it and become accustomed to it. Shortly thereafter, I took that car on a 2000 mile road trip (PA to FL and back) and quickly decided I'd never buy another vehicle without it, at least not one that I would take on that trip regularly. I do occasionally drive a vehicle on half that trip that only has regular cruise and find it a PITA to have to fiddle-fart around with the normal cruise.

FWIW, I generally set the ACC to 10 over the posted limit. That doesn't make me the fastest vehicle on the road, but I'm certainly not the slowest either.

^^^ This ^^^
I use ACC all the time. Would not purchase a vehicle without it.

Cheers,

 

[Maconi]

Its a pain in the ***, I don’t just set my cruise and follow others 3 truck lengths back. There’s always slower moving vehicles regardless of the highway or interstate and it wanting me to slow down all the time, it’s just annoying. On my wife’s lexus you can’t even disable it, just minimize the car lengths and it still drives me nuts.

If there's a slow car in front of you, what is the alternative other than slowing down? Rear-ending them (like standard cruise control would)? lol

As for the distance, it keeps you a safe distance away from the vehicle in front of you for a reason (you need more space to stop a huge/heavy truck in a panic stop). You can always press the accelerator a bit to "override" it as needed (if you want to follow closer to put your road rage on full display).

 

[COSPILOT]

I like it on single lane highways where I just want to relax and cruise, but with congested multi lane highways such as I-25 between Colorado Springs and Denver, ACC will definitely overreact and get you rear ended, or C-470, I-70, etc. I still play with it and even use it here on what few highways we have in Maui, and same with with my wife’s similar system in here Subaru in Colorado.I just find I know what to do in a more safe fashion than ACC does. Great that I have it, but definitely not a deal breaker for me, even on long drives.

 

[INVISBLE]

I find the ACC most useful and one of the main reasons I bought my truck. I drove from Dallas to Durango, Co. and back. And then from Dallas to Orlando and back within a month of each trip and it was the best road trips I ever drove. Coupled with the lane sense I didn't get tired as easily and had less stress. The ACC proves it's worth on highways where your going 70 and then you enter a little town where the speeds quickly go down to 35 and then you hit a stop light or 2. I would just follow someone going the average speed I wanted on the freeway, set my cruise at 10 mph over and the distance I wanted, and as I entered the town it will match the vehicle in front of me. And when I came to a light, my truck would stop, then go with the vehicle I was following, matching their speed till we where clear of the town and back up to 70 or whatever again. All without ever touching a pedal. It took a few times before I trusted the ACC but it hasn't failed me yet. And I could never bring myself to trust a self driving car so it's a fair compromise for me at least.

 

[oldtimer]

My Caddy CT6 has ACC and Super Cruise. Once you have it, things change. Hard to drive a vehicle with just plain Cruise Control. This autonomous driving stuff is another world we have to get used to.

 

[Rossum]

As for the distance, it keeps you a safe distance away from the vehicle in front of you for a reason (you need more space to stop a huge/heavy truck in a panic stop). You can always press the accelerator a bit to "override" it as needed (if you want to follow closer to put your road rage on full display).

There are utterly oblivious, impolite people who hang out in the left lane for miles at or very close to the speed limit and won't move over even when there's plenty of room for them to do so if you're following them at a distance that ACC will allow. I don't think it constitutes "road rage" to encourage them to stop hogging the passing lane by overriding the ACC with the loud pedal and closing in on them.

In addition, there are the aggressive people who constantly move into the right lane to try to pass a one or two cars that are following at a respectful distance in the left lane, who would go faster if the traffic ahead of the were going faster. These types will cut right in front of you if you're following at a distance that ACC allows. When I see one of these types doing that in my right-side mirror, I'll override the ACC with the right pedal and close the gap to the vehicle I'm following. Again, I don't see this as road rage, just discouraging someone else's lack of manners in traffic.

 

[SpeedyV]

If there's a slow car in front of you, what is the alternative other than slowing down? Rear-ending them (like standard cruise control would)? lol

As for the distance, it keeps you a safe distance away from the vehicle in front of you for a reason (you need more space to stop a huge/heavy truck in a panic stop). You can always press the accelerator a bit to "override" it as needed (if you want to follow closer to put your road rage on full display).

But...it’s so much harder to weave through traffic, change 3-5 lanes at once, and cut people off when ACC is engaged! I mean, how are we supposed to win this traffic race?!

 

[Le_Slacker]

ACC is awesome. It’s on as soon as I get out of the city limits wherever I go.

 

[ldoh]

I've found you have to be smarter than the system to make it optimally work for you. And as already been said there's still collision warning value when not in use. It's standard on some mid priced vehicles already. As the design stabilizes and costs are brought out, it will become required equipment on all non commercial vehicles.

 

[Rossum]

As the design stabilizes and costs are brought out, it will become required equipment on all non commercial vehicles.

I can't imagine ACC becoming a required feature, but Autonomous Emergency Braking is becoming mandatory in some markets, and all the major players in the US market have agreed to make it a standard feature without a mandate here by 2022.

 

[SpeedyV]

I can't imagine ACC becoming a required feature, but Autonomous Emergency Braking is becoming mandatory in some markets, and all the major players in the US market have agreed to make it a standard feature without a mandate here by 2022.

Stability control (via traction control) was mandated years ago. Air bags, too. ABS brakes before that. Seat belts even further back.

Technology of every kind (but especially safety technology) often advances through three phases: (1) A differentiator in the market, (2) An expected feature by the typical buyer, and (3) a government mandate as a minimum standard.