Hyperdrive

Ford Breaks With GM, Toyota on Future of Talking-Car Technology

Automaker will outfit all U.S. models with C-V2X from 2022
Could improve safety, ease gridlock, enable drive-thru autopay

2015 Ford Motor Co. F150 trucks move through the inspection area on the production line at the company's Dearborn Truck Assembly facility in Dearborn, Michigan.
Photographer: Jeff Kowalsky/Bloomberg

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By Keith Naughton

January 7, 2019 at 1:00 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Ford Motor Co. is pursuing another path with talking-car technology that could reduce road deaths, break up gridlock and even ease ordering at the McDonald’s drive-thru.

The automaker announced Monday that it’s outfitting all its new U.S. models starting in 2022 with cellular vehicle-to-everything technology. Known as C-V2X, the system will enable Ford’s cars to communicate with one another about road hazards, talk to stop lights to smooth traffic flow and pay the bill automatically while picking up fast food.