Would not having the advance safety group stop you ordering?

[HandyCruiser]

The Advance Safety Group has:

• Forward Collision Mitigation with Automatic Emergency Braking
• Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop, Go, and Hold
• Lane Departure Warning-Plus
• Blind-spot Monitoring with Trailer Coverage and Rear Cross Path Detection.

Of those features, the one had to have was the Blind–Spot and Cross–Path Detection. We've had the forward collision, adaptive cruise control and lane departure warning options before on a 2017 Charger R/T. They proved more dangerous than helpful and we had turned them all off.

When shopping for the Ram we just bought, we found that most 2021 available were missing key technology options. Park Sense and Blind Spot monitoring was almost nowhere to be found. Additionally, the Laramie Level 1 and Level 2 packages had been replaces with Group A and Group B in order to configure the trucks not have some of these and other features requiring the chips. In the end, we had narrowed our choices to only two trucks. Both were 2021 models but had been manufactured in the fall of 2020 and both had been at small dealerships in small towns where almost no one could afford them. So they had remained unsold. Both had the full Level 1 packages that included Blind–Spot and Cross–Path Detection. They also had Automatic High–Beam Headlamp–Control, Park Sense Front & Rear Park–Assist with Stop, and Rain–Sensitive Windshield Wipers. These are all things we like having as well.

 

[BluegrassMotorsport]

The Advance Safety Group has:

• Forward Collision Mitigation with Automatic Emergency Braking
• Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop, Go, and Hold
• Lane Departure Warning-Plus
• Blind-spot Monitoring with Trailer Coverage and Rear Cross Path Detection.

Of those features, the one had to have was the Blind–Spot and Cross–Path Detection. We've had the forward collision, adaptive cruise control and lane departure warning options before on a 2017 Charger R/T. They proved more dangerous than helpful and we had turned them all off.

When shopping for the Ram we just bought, we found that most 2021 available were missing key technology options. Park Sense and Blind Spot monitoring was almost nowhere to be found. Additionally, the Laramie Level 1 and Level 2 packages had been replaces with Group A and Group B in order to configure the trucks not have some of these and other features requiring the chips. In the end, we had narrowed our choices to only two trucks. Both were 2021 models but had been manufactured in the fall of 2020 and both had been at small dealerships in small towns where almost no one could afford them. So they had remained unsold. Both had the full Level 1 packages that included Blind–Spot and Cross–Path Detection. The also had Automatic High–Beam Headlamp–Control, Park Sense Front & Rear Park–Assist with Stop, and Rain–Sensitive Windshield Wipers. These are all things we like having as well.

That's unfortunate because I really want the Laramie Level B but I'm going to have to skip these options, looks like. Blind spot monitoring is really helpful and I've always wanted to try ACC. Oh well. I may wait a couple of months to order mine so I don't pick it up in the dead of winter when the roads are nasty. Maybe by late winter some of these options will be available again on Laramie.

 

[mikeru82]

Of those features, the one had to have was the Blind–Spot and Cross–Path Detection. We've had the forward collision, adaptive cruise control and lane departure warning options before on a 2017 Charger R/T. They proved more dangerous than helpful and we had turned them all off.

Would you mind clarifying what you mean by saying those features proved more dangerous than helpful? I'm honestly not a fan of the forward collision, and don't really use lane departure warning, but adaptive cruise control has not only made me a more patient driver, it seems to me to be safer for people if/when they might become momentarily distracted.

 

[Eighty]

I have to say that I love ACC, it really takes the stress out of highway cruising. Pick a lane, and leave the rest to the vehicle. Only complaint is when you're passing through a city or any other heavily-congested area - there's too much following distance and it just invites people to jam their way in. I wish there was a "tailgate like a mo-fo" setting on the ACC.

 

[BluegrassMotorsport]

I'm new to the Ram world and I see you can add some of those features post-purchase if you're able and willing. So, something to think about later down the road.

 

[mikeru82]

I have to say that I love ACC, it really takes the stress out of highway cruising. Pick a lane, and leave the rest to the vehicle. Only complaint is when you're passing through a city or any other heavily-congested area - there's too much following distance and it just invites people to jam their way in. I wish there was a "tailgate like a mo-fo" setting on the ACC.

At the risk of being captain obvious, have you changed the following distance setting to minimum? There's not much space between me and the car I'm following when it's set to minimum, at least on my truck. I've only had try to jump in between when it's set above minimum.

 

[Eighty]

At the risk of being captain obvious, have you changed the following distance setting to minimum? There's not much space between me and the car I'm following when it's set to minimum, at least on my truck. I've only had try to jump in between when it's set above minimum.

Don't have my Rebel yet, so my experience is only on my wife's Navigator. Even when I hit the "closer" button 100 times, it still leaves enough room for someone to squeeze in. Based on my highly-accurate "one potato, two potato" stopwatch, it still keeps a 2-second following distance. Are you able to get that any tighter on a Ram?

 

[HandyCruiser]

Would you mind clarifying what you mean by saying those features proved more dangerous than helpful? I'm honestly not a fan of the forward collision, and don't really use lane departure warning, but adaptive cruise control has not only made me a more patient driver, it seems to me to be safer for people if/when they might become momentarily distracted.

First, let's hear from Handy, the seasoned safety engineer with decades of work in these types of systems (Imagine a cross between Dr. Fauci and Blackbeard the pirate):

​

These safety features offered in current FCA vehicles appear to be poorly designed compared to many of their competitors. Apparently, the FCA engineers designed them for smaller vehicles used in cities and other congested two-lane driving. The engineers appear to have not considered their application in muscles cars nor other vehicles primarily driven on the open road and freeways. In these applications and when used by drivers unaware of the idiosyncrasies, they can and do pose serious hazards. Better examples of these options can be found in Toyota, Honda, Ford and GM platforms along with several others.​

Now let's hear from Handy the half-crazed muscle car enthusiast (Imagine a tall, bald biker and his wild old lady):

​

Story #1 - It's the open road. Me and my blonde bodacious babe are speeding along down old Route 66 at about 80 mph somewhere in New Mexico in our 2017 Charger R/T Premium. As we approach an overpass, bells and whistles go off and the screen in front of the driver (me) starts flashing STOP NOW! or something similar. I brake quickly sliding down the road sideways only to find NOTHING. Nothing in the road, nothing near the road, nothing but a four-lane overpass in the middle of the desert. And of course, there was about 100 feet of black marks behind us. Luckily, the smell of burnt rubber and gasoline turns my sweetie on. So we tumbled in the tumbleweeds on a blanket we just bought from a Navajo and then put the pedal back to the metal.​

​

Story #2 - We are driving from Little Rock to Memphis on I-40. The traffic is bumper to bumper. BB King is blasting on the radio in the 100+ degree heat. It's one of those songs about his guitar. Don't matter, it's BB King. That means it's all good. And that summer heat means the top is down and my sweeties top is wet with sweat and down pretty far too.​

My sweetie is behind the wheel and she slows down following a long line of cars. Eventually there is a break and the left lane becomes clear. She eases over into the left lane. The accelerator then automatically goes all the way to the floor and the car burns rubber (literally) accelerating like it's in a drag race. It then quickly throws on the brakes right before she slams into a dump trunk in front of her. It's all good, except I spilled my drink. That's never good.​

​

Story #3 - The car has less than 30 thousand miles on it and has new tires. Why? See Stories #1 and #2. My sweetie is racing down the highway at more than the law allows with her long blonde hair blowing behind her. The Ozark mountain air is hot and sweet like dewberry moonshine. She begins to ease into the left lane, but the car starts buzzing and fighting her, so it is very hard to change lanes. She almost clips the car she was trying to pass but the driver slid to the right to let her by. She waved in thanks as she sped by. Then she went back to ruining those new tires. Mr. Goodrich would be proud.​

Thanks, Handy

 

[mikeru82]

First, let's hear from Handy, the seasoned safety engineer with decades of work in these types of systems (Imagine a cross between Dr. Fauci and Blackbeard the pirate):

​

These safety features offered in current FCA vehicles appear to be poorly designed compared to many of their competitors. Apparently, the FCA engineers designed them for smaller vehicles used in cities and other congested two-lane driving. The engineers appear to have not considered their application in muscles cars nor other vehicles primarily driven on the open road and freeways. In these applications and when used by drivers unaware of the idiosyncrasies, they can and do pose serious hazards. Better examples of these options can be found in Toyota, Honda, Ford and GM platforms along with several others.​

Now let's hear from Handy the half-crazed muscle car enthusiast (Imagine a tall, bald biker and his wild old lady):

​

Story #1 - It's the open road. Me and my blonde bodacious babe are speeding along down old Route 66 at about 80 mph somewhere in New Mexico in our 2017 Charger R/T Premium. As we approach an overpass, bells and whistles go off and the screen in front of the driver (me) starts flashing STOP NOW! or something similar. I brake quickly sliding down the road sideways only to find NOTHING. Nothing in the road, nothing near the road, nothing but a four-lane overpass in the middle of the desert. And of course, there was about 100 feet of black marks behind us. Luckily, the smell of burnt rubber and gasoline turns my sweetie on. So we tumbled in the tumbleweeds on a blanket we just bought from a Navajo and then put the pedal back to the metal.​

​

Story #2 - We are driving from Little Rock to Memphis on I-40. The traffic is bumper to bumper. BB King is blasting on the radio in the 100+ degree heat. It's one of those songs about his guitar. Don't matter, it's BB King. That means it's all good. And that summer heat means the top is down and my sweeties top is wet with sweat and down pretty far too.​

My sweetie is behind the wheel and she slows down following a long line of cars. Eventually there is a break and the left lane becomes clear. She eases over into the left lane. The accelerator then automatically goes all the way to the floor and the car burns rubber (literally) accelerating like it's in a drag race. It then quickly throws on the brakes right before she slams into a dump trunk in front of her. It's all good, except I spilled my drink. That's never good.​

​

Story #3 - The car has less than 30 thousand miles on it and has new tires. Why? See Stories #1 and #2. My sweetie is racing down the highway at more than the law allows with her long blonde hair blowing behind her. The Ozark mountain air is hot and sweet like dewberry moonshine. She begins to ease into the left lane, but the car starts buzzing and fighting her, so it is very hard to change lanes. She almost clips the car she was trying to pass but the driver slid to the right to let her by. She waved in thanks as she sped by. Then she went back to ruining those new tires. Mr. Goodrich would be proud.​

Thanks, Handy

Entertaining stories, but I'm not sure how you think your fiction clarifies your statement. The ASG systems on these trucks do not make driving less safe. The examples you give, while they were good for a laugh, are a little on the absurd side, and don't reflect the reality of these systems.

 

[GKIII]

First, let's hear from Handy, the seasoned safety engineer with decades of work in these types of systems (Imagine a cross between Dr. Fauci and Blackbeard the pirate):

​

These safety features offered in current FCA vehicles appear to be poorly designed compared to many of their competitors. Apparently, the FCA engineers designed them for smaller vehicles used in cities and other congested two-lane driving. The engineers appear to have not considered their application in muscles cars nor other vehicles primarily driven on the open road and freeways. In these applications and when used by drivers unaware of the idiosyncrasies, they can and do pose serious hazards. Better examples of these options can be found in Toyota, Honda, Ford and GM platforms along with several others.​

Now let's hear from Handy the half-crazed muscle car enthusiast (Imagine a tall, bald biker and his wild old lady):

​

Story #1 - It's the open road. Me and my blonde bodacious babe are speeding along down old Route 66 at about 80 mph somewhere in New Mexico in our 2017 Charger R/T Premium. As we approach an overpass, bells and whistles go off and the screen in front of the driver (me) starts flashing STOP NOW! or something similar. I brake quickly sliding down the road sideways only to find NOTHING. Nothing in the road, nothing near the road, nothing but a four-lane overpass in the middle of the desert. And of course, there was about 100 feet of black marks behind us. Luckily, the smell of burnt rubber and gasoline turns my sweetie on. So we tumbled in the tumbleweeds on a blanket we just bought from a Navajo and then put the pedal back to the metal.​

​

Story #2 - We are driving from Little Rock to Memphis on I-40. The traffic is bumper to bumper. BB King is blasting on the radio in the 100+ degree heat. It's one of those songs about his guitar. Don't matter, it's BB King. That means it's all good. And that summer heat means the top is down and my sweeties top is wet with sweat and down pretty far too.​

My sweetie is behind the wheel and she slows down following a long line of cars. Eventually there is a break and the left lane becomes clear. She eases over into the left lane. The accelerator then automatically goes all the way to the floor and the car burns rubber (literally) accelerating like it's in a drag race. It then quickly throws on the brakes right before she slams into a dump trunk in front of her. It's all good, except I spilled my drink. That's never good.​

​

Story #3 - The car has less than 30 thousand miles on it and has new tires. Why? See Stories #1 and #2. My sweetie is racing down the highway at more than the law allows with her long blonde hair blowing behind her. The Ozark mountain air is hot and sweet like dewberry moonshine. She begins to ease into the left lane, but the car starts buzzing and fighting her, so it is very hard to change lanes. She almost clips the car she was trying to pass but the driver slid to the right to let her by. She waved in thanks as she sped by. Then she went back to ruining those new tires. Mr. Goodrich would be proud.​

Thanks, Handy

I had a '17 Scat Pack with all these driver aids and experienced none of these fantastical scenarios, but hey they are entertaining. In my experience the FCA/Stellantis implementation is on par with Honda's system that you speak so highly of.

 

[Camelot]

First, let's hear from Handy, the seasoned safety engineer with decades of work in these types of systems (Imagine a cross between Dr. Fauci and Blackbeard the pirate):

​

These safety features offered in current FCA vehicles appear to be poorly designed compared to many of their competitors. Apparently, the FCA engineers designed them for smaller vehicles used in cities and other congested two-lane driving. The engineers appear to have not considered their application in muscles cars nor other vehicles primarily driven on the open road and freeways. In these applications and when used by drivers unaware of the idiosyncrasies, they can and do pose serious hazards. Better examples of these options can be found in Toyota, Honda, Ford and GM platforms along with several others.​

Now let's hear from Handy the half-crazed muscle car enthusiast (Imagine a tall, bald biker and his wild old lady):

​

Story #1 - It's the open road. Me and my blonde bodacious babe are speeding along down old Route 66 at about 80 mph somewhere in New Mexico in our 2017 Charger R/T Premium. As we approach an overpass, bells and whistles go off and the screen in front of the driver (me) starts flashing STOP NOW! or something similar. I brake quickly sliding down the road sideways only to find NOTHING. Nothing in the road, nothing near the road, nothing but a four-lane overpass in the middle of the desert. And of course, there was about 100 feet of black marks behind us. Luckily, the smell of burnt rubber and gasoline turns my sweetie on. So we tumbled in the tumbleweeds on a blanket we just bought from a Navajo and then put the pedal back to the metal.​

​

Story #2 - We are driving from Little Rock to Memphis on I-40. The traffic is bumper to bumper. BB King is blasting on the radio in the 100+ degree heat. It's one of those songs about his guitar. Don't matter, it's BB King. That means it's all good. And that summer heat means the top is down and my sweeties top is wet with sweat and down pretty far too.​

My sweetie is behind the wheel and she slows down following a long line of cars. Eventually there is a break and the left lane becomes clear. She eases over into the left lane. The accelerator then automatically goes all the way to the floor and the car burns rubber (literally) accelerating like it's in a drag race. It then quickly throws on the brakes right before she slams into a dump trunk in front of her. It's all good, except I spilled my drink. That's never good.​

​

Story #3 - The car has less than 30 thousand miles on it and has new tires. Why? See Stories #1 and #2. My sweetie is racing down the highway at more than the law allows with her long blonde hair blowing behind her. The Ozark mountain air is hot and sweet like dewberry moonshine. She begins to ease into the left lane, but the car starts buzzing and fighting her, so it is very hard to change lanes. She almost clips the car she was trying to pass but the driver slid to the right to let her by. She waved in thanks as she sped by. Then she went back to ruining those new tires. Mr. Goodrich would be proud.​

Thanks, Handy

How do you get 100ft of blackmarks from breaking? I assume your ABS did not work properly either......

 

[HandyCruiser]

Entertaining stories, but I'm not sure how you think your fiction clarifies your statement. The ASG systems on these trucks do not make driving less safe. The examples you give, while they were good for a laugh, are a little on the absurd side, and don't reflect the reality of these systems.

While entertaining, the stories are generally true. These are experiences my wife and I personally had. I only spun them for entertainment to keep our discussion friendly and fun. Joking aside, these options are not engineered well for open road driving. Like I said, other manufacturers have done much better. Yes, this is my opinion. And you are welcome to yours. But I would not recommend these features on an FCA vehicle to anyone. I would tell them that if they like the other features, such as blind-side monitoring, buy the vehicle and then disable or don't use the other "safety package" features. But I'm sure there are limited applications where they would be fine for some people.

Here's one more example. I have a friend at work that's also an engineer. His daily commute takes him about 50 miles down a two-lane highway that is fairly busy in the late afternoon when he goes home. He uses the adaptive cruise control in his Toyota Tundra every day since he spends most of his trip home from work behind someone else on a road where he can rarely pass. But on the Tundra, the adaptive cruiser control will not cause rapid acceleration like in a current Mopar vehicle. So if he did need to change lanes, his truck we not attempt to take off and rapidly reach the set speed. It would accelerate much more gently. My daughter's Avalon does the same.

We must agree that my evidence is all anecdotal and cannot be statically verified. I understand that you have a right to your opinion as well. But I have a lot of experience in this area and cannot recommend these specific features until FCA (or whoever owns Ram this week) updates them to compete with their competitors. I have seen no signs of that yet. And I will continue to look because I plan to keep buying Mopars as long as they offer all the other features and good engineering that I love.

 

[KWKSLVR]

I hate, HATE the implementation of ACC in our Honda Odyssey. It's clunky, brakes for random reasons and I cannot stand that it shuts off once you get below 25mph. It makes it useless in stop and go traffic. Now the ACC implementation on my mom's Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit is much, much smoother. It keeps space between you and vehicles that cut you off much more smoothly and I like that it will come to a complete stop. There are times where I borrow it just so it can get cranked and driven farther than 5 miles round trips to the store and it's a much more pleasant commute. I love FCA's implementation. I want to strangle Honda's. I DO give huge credit to Honda for a Lane Keep Assist that I find pretty solid. My wife, however, hates it, and hates ACC too.

Everyone has preferences for sure.

 

[monkeypunch]

I got a Limited to get the blindspot monitoring. I find it useful. My wife's Atlas has ACC and lane assist. Both are annoying AF, and the lane assist can borderline dangerous. Trying to ease around debris at highway speeds, and the car wants to fight you. Trying to put enough pressure on the wheel to overcome the assist, but not so much to swerve off the road can be problematic. The ACC starts slowing waaaaaaaaay to far away, even with the closest setting chose. I purposefully skipped those features in my Limited.

 

[GKIII]

I hate, HATE the implementation of ACC in our Honda Odyssey. It's clunky, brakes for random reasons and I cannot stand that it shuts off once you get below 25mph. It makes it useless in stop and go traffic. Now the ACC implementation on my mom's Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit is much, much smoother. It keeps space between you and vehicles that cut you off much more smoothly and I like that it will come to a complete stop. There are times where I borrow it just so it can get cranked and driven farther than 5 miles round trips to the store and it's a much more pleasant commute. I love FCA's implementation. I want to strangle Honda's. I DO give huge credit to Honda for a Lane Keep Assist that I find pretty solid. My wife, however, hates it, and hates ACC too.

Everyone has preferences for sure.

I will say the 25mph thing is annoying, but I only use ACC on long highway trips in that car.

 

[mikeru82]

While entertaining, the stories are generally true. These are experiences my wife and I personally had. I only spun them for entertainment to keep our discussion friendly and fun. Joking aside, these options are not engineered well for open road driving. Like I said, other manufacturers have done much better. Yes, this is my opinion. And you are welcome to yours. But I would not recommend these features on an FCA vehicle to anyone. I would tell them that if they like the other features, such as blind-side monitoring, buy the vehicle and then disable or don't use the other "safety package" features. But I'm sure there are limited applications where they would be fine for some people.

Here's one more example. I have a friend at work that's also an engineer. His daily commute takes him about 50 miles down a two-lane highway that is fairly busy in the late afternoon when he goes home. He uses the adaptive cruise control in his Toyota Tundra every day since he spends most of his trip home from work behind someone else on a road where he can rarely pass. But on the Tundra, the adaptive cruiser control will not cause rapid acceleration like in a current Mopar vehicle. So if he did need to change lanes, his truck we not attempt to take off and rapidly reach the set speed. It would accelerate much more gently. My daughter's Avalon does the same.

We must agree that my evidence is all anecdotal and cannot be statically verified. I understand that you have a right to your opinion as well. But I have a lot of experience in this area and cannot recommend these specific features until FCA (or whoever owns Ram this week) updates them to compete with their competitors. I have seen no signs of that yet. And I will continue to look because I plan to keep buying Mopars as long as they offer all the other features and good engineering that I love.

I'm all for keeping things friendly. Your opinions are based on experiences with other FCA vehicles, not with the Ram 1500. And your experiences in those other vehicles are nothing like what I've experienced with my Ram 1500. No wild acceleration. And no issues with fighting to change lanes while using lane keep assist. I will say that I would have been deeply disappointed if I had taken your recommendation to heart and bought a truck without them. Only to experience them in another Ram truck and find that your opinions were not in any way realistic.

I'd also like to say that you seem to place more credibility in people who's job title includes the word engineer (I'm also an engineer btw). I see no other reason to mention that about you or your friend. I work with lots of other engineers, and plenty of them can spin lies with the best of them.

 

[HandyCruiser]

I'd also like to say that you seem to place more credibility in people who's job title includes the word engineer (I'm also an engineer btw). I see no other reason to mention that about you or your friend. I work with lots of other engineers, and plenty of them can spin lies with the best of them.

There is going to be a lot of talk about engineers and scientists, since those are the guys and gals that work with me. However, two of my best friends are geologists. Diesel mechanics and loggers are two of my favorites to talk about because that's who I grew up around. They will definitely be brought into the mix, so I hope that makes you feel better. I'm all about making my friends comfortable.

 

[bucolic]

While entertaining, the stories are generally true. These are experiences my wife and I personally had. I only spun them for entertainment to keep our discussion friendly and fun. Joking aside, these options are not engineered well for open road driving. Like I said, other manufacturers have done much better. Yes, this is my opinion. And you are welcome to yours. But I would not recommend these features on an FCA vehicle to anyone. I would tell them that if they like the other features, such as blind-side monitoring, buy the vehicle and then disable or don't use the other "safety package" features. But I'm sure there are limited applications where they would be fine for some people.

Here's one more example. I have a friend at work that's also an engineer. His daily commute takes him about 50 miles down a two-lane highway that is fairly busy in the late afternoon when he goes home. He uses the adaptive cruise control in his Toyota Tundra every day since he spends most of his trip home from work behind someone else on a road where he can rarely pass. But on the Tundra, the adaptive cruiser control will not cause rapid acceleration like in a current Mopar vehicle. So if he did need to change lanes, his truck we not attempt to take off and rapidly reach the set speed. It would accelerate much more gently. My daughter's Avalon does the same.

We must agree that my evidence is all anecdotal and cannot be statically verified. I understand that you have a right to your opinion as well. But I have a lot of experience in this area and cannot recommend these specific features until FCA (or whoever owns Ram this week) updates them to compete with their competitors. I have seen no signs of that yet. And I will continue to look because I plan to keep buying Mopars as long as they offer all the other features and good engineering that I love.

I would be the opposite and highly recommend the ACC I have on my 2021 Dodge Ram Limited. Maybe previous model year versions of ACC were not as refined but on the 2021 I have, it is heavenly.

I have so far made three round trips from upstate NY to Just below Wilmington NC since February of this year. That's 4500 miles total which includes I95 around Washington which is probably one of the worse stretches of road I have driven on. Total miles driven since then is 10K so I have enough time behind the wheel and many hours and miles of driving with the ACC activated in real-world driving in a short period of time. Each one-way trip to NC for me is 12 hours and 750 miles of driving.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE +1000 more LOVE'S the ACC. It performs flawlessly and makes driving in busy traffic so much less stressful. I experienced none of the issues you speak of and find it excellently engineered. Could it be improved? Heck yeah! Anything can and I am sure the engineers who designed it will keep making improvements in subsequent model years but as is on my truck it is damn nice. Many times in busy traffic I actually have to accelerate faster than the ACC by overriding it to make sure I am out of the way of traffic coming up behind me. Normally though I find the acceleration when getting back up to speed just the right blend.

Now it's certainly not a set it and forget it but neither is regular cruise control. You have to be alert and aware of slow-moving traffic ahead and take over manually if needed just like regular cruise control.

Also, I first experienced ACC in my girlfriend's Accura. I flew out to Vegas and met her there and I drove from there through Death Valley, all through the Sierra's, up and down California and that is when I fell in love with ACC. It performed flawlessly and the ACC in my 2021 Ram performs the same.

So based on my experience with the ACC I see none of the behavior stated here and highly recommend it if you do a lot of highway driving.

 

[HandyCruiser]

I would be the opposite and highly recommend the ACC I have on my 2021 Dodge Ram Limited. Maybe previous model year versions of ACC were not as refined but on the 2021 I have, it is heavenly.

I have so far made three round trips from upstate NY to Just below Wilmington NC since February of this year. That's 4500 miles total which includes I95 around Washington which is probably one of the worse stretches of road I have driven on. Total miles driven since then is 10K so I have enough time behind the wheel and many hours and miles of driving with the ACC activated in real-world driving in a short period of time. Each one-way trip to NC for me is 12 hours and 750 miles of driving.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE +1000 more LOVE'S the ACC. It performs flawlessly and makes driving in busy traffic so much less stressful. I experienced none of the issues you speak of and find it excellently engineered. Could it be improved? Heck yeah! Anything can and I am sure the engineers who designed it will keep making improvements in subsequent model years but as is on my truck it is damn nice. Many times in busy traffic I actually have to accelerate faster than the ACC by overriding it to make sure I am out of the way of traffic coming up behind me. Normally though I find the acceleration when getting back up to speed just the right blend.

Now it's certainly not a set it and forget it but neither is regular cruise control. You have to be alert and aware of slow-moving traffic ahead and take over manually if needed just like regular cruise control.

Also, I first experienced ACC in my girlfriend's Accura. I flew out to Vegas and met her there and I drove from there through Death Valley, all through the Sierra's, up and down California and that is when I fell in love with ACC. It performed flawlessly and the ACC in my 2021 Ram performs the same.

So based on my experience with the ACC I see none of the behavior stated here and highly recommend it if you do a lot of highway driving.

That's great to hear. We test drove some 2021 Rams with it. But in most cases I let my wife drive since she will be driving the new truck. And based on our experiences as I described, she doesn't like it. If you look at the responses in this thread, some do report the similar experiences to ones we've had in the LX-body cars (Chargers and 300's). And some seem to enjoy a good argument. So I discount that. But some, like you, do seem to sincerely enjoy the ACC in the new Ram's. So that gives me some hope. Like I said, I will be checking it out going forward. Convincing my wife might be harder.

 

[vincentw56]

As an engineer, I love the features on my Ram. So much so, I spent almost $3,000 to add it to my Big Horn. It wasn't even an option on my 2020.