For most people, in most situations, the various self-driving vehicles on the market work reasonably well other than in certain edge cases. Unfortunately, human beings are edge-case generators, and even the best self-driving system isn’t 100% perfect. Marketing being what it is, car companies have gone out of their way to make the systems sound infallible.
Right at the top of the list of exaggerated names is not Tesla’s Full Self-Driving. It’s not Autopilot. It’s BYD’s “God’s Eye,” which, you’ll be shocked to learn, does not provide the infallible vision of an omnipotent deity. Ford’s “BlueCruise” isn’t perfect, either, but the name doesn’t imply perfection. Actually, because it’s a Ford, the name implies “impending recall” and, yup, there’s a recall.
The Morning Dump does not pick sides. It has no opinions. It is merely a concept. The Morning Dump, though, feels strongly that Stellantis should do something with Chrysler. It sounds like Stellantis agrees.
There’s a new Stellantis, full of joy and energy, though it’s not changing everything. Is it still getting into random fights with the UAW? Of course it is!
‘God’s Eye’ Customers Mad That Either The System Doesn’t Work Or The God BYD Created Doesn’t Want Them To Keep Living
You absolutely don’t have to hand it to BYD for coming up with the most over-the-top name for its Level 2 ADAS system, mostly because its “God’s Eye” system doesn’t work all the time. Also because something called “God’s Eye” is a central plot point in of one of the later Fast & Furious movies.
There is an ongoing debate within the automotive world about how we think about Level 2 self-driving and the vague idea of what Level 3 might be. It’s how we ended up with the even more gossamer notion of Level 2++. The difficulty comes with the fact that these systems work more than they don’t and, depending on the situation, are more attentive and probably better than your average distracted driver.
Better-than-humans isn’t good enough, and the marketing of cars as being self-driving, or being on autopilot, or whatever, has created no small share of problems. Tesla may be on the hook for $243 million related to the overstatement of its abilities, and that’s just one case.
Chinese automaker BYD is in a fight to the death with other electric/tech brands in China, and its big innovation was a self-driving system called “God’s Eye” that it was offering for free in higher-end models, with the goal to spread the tech through its entire lineup.
As Bloomberg reports, it’s not going great:
When Chinese entrepreneur Zhou forked over 1.1 million-yuan ($160,000) in late 2024 for BYD Co.’s crown jewel — the 3.5-ton Yangwang U8 SUV — he bought what he thought was the pinnacle of Chinese engineering. Among the draws: a sophisticated system that would spot dangers on the road and practically let the car drive itself.
The feature, branded as God’s Eye in 2025, appears to fall short on its celestial promise. During a clear afternoon in southwestern China, the 38-year-old was cruising when the vehicle suddenly accelerated to 93 kilometers per hour (58 mph), well above the 60 kph speed limit, and veered onto a roadside median. On another occasion, he said the U8 abruptly jerked into an adjacent lane by performing a “ghost” steering maneuver, nearly colliding with oncoming traffic.
“I took a leap of faith in the technologies and the pride of our local manufacturing,” said Zhou, who has been in a yearlong dialogue with the company seeking a resolution for recurring malfunctions, including navigation signal loss and unintended acceleration. He requested to be identified only by his surname for privacy reasons.
Has this guy considered that the system works fine, and that the God created by BYD merely doesn’t like him and wishes him ill? Has this guy not seen Neon Genesis Evangelion? Get in the damn YangWang, Shinji!
Ford Recalling 339,619 Cars Over Camera, ADAS Tech
Ford’s BlueCruise ADAS system is, as Thomas noted yesterday, a bit imperfect. I tend to think of GM’s Super Cruise as the gold standard, at least for Level 2 that doesn’t use LIDAR. BlueCruise is fine so long as you pay close attention.
Well, it’s fine unless you have a 2025 Ford Explorer, 2025 Lincoln Aviator, 2022-2025 Lincoln Navigator, or 2024-2025 Lincoln Nautilus. Those cars are being recalled.
Here’s NHTSA on what’s happening:
The Image Processing Module A (IPMA) may experience a computational overload when tracking a high volume of moving objects in dense vehicle and pedestrian traffic environments. This overload trigger a module reset; in certain instances, multiple module resets occurring over multiple ignition cycles can lead to a persistent loss of functionality.
Too many cars or objects can freak out the system so badly that it might just stop working forever. Not great! The company is going to push an OTA update eventually for it, although customers can also bring cars into dealers once the fix is complete.
Chrysler Has A Future, Maybe
With the death of the Voyager, Chrysler is now officially down to one car. Of course, that requires to you think of the Voyager as a different car.
The brand isn’t dead yet, and a new Stellantis has a plan. Maybe. It least it has some enthusiasm for a plan, as Stellantis North America design head Scott Krugger told Vince Bond Jr.:
During an overview of the company’s design operations, Krugger said Chrysler is “very much alive and well” and that his team has been busy behind the scenes. He declined to share any details about plans for the brand’s future ahead of a Stellantis investor presentation in May.
“There’s a lot going on in the studio,” Krugger told reporters during a March 20 presentation at the automaker’s product design office in Auburn Hills, Mich. “There’s a lot of interest in [Chrysler] from the highest levels of this company right now. We know there’s a place for Chrysler.”
This is starting to sound a lot like what I tell my wife when she asks me when I’m cleaning out the junk in my office.
“There’s a lot going on here. There’s a lot of interest at the highest levels in figuring out what to do with all those old iPods!”
Stellantis Employees Mad That Some Managers Are Getting Bonuses
I get why members of the United Auto Workers who are currently employed by Stellantis are a little peeved that they got no profit sharing bonuses because there were no profits. I get that they’re a little more peeved that the old CEO got $24 million in pay as a sort of golden parachute.
That all makes sense.
Now, employees are mad that some managers are getting some performance-based bonuses. Here’s what’s going on according to the Detroit Free Press:
A salaried, nonunionized employee at Stellantis can qualify for a performance bonus in three categories: company-wide, divisional and individual. No company-wide bonuses are going out for the automaker’s poor performance in 2025, but the company confirmed that some divisions and individuals will receive bonuses for their performance last year.
“The compensation package for some non-bargaining unit employees includes a Stellantis Annual Incentive Plan (SAIP) payment, which is driven by three performance pillars — company, division and individual — with specific financial and non-financial annual targets as well as results from the divisions to which they are aligned and personal goals,” Stellantis spokesperson Jodi Tinson said in a statement. “As Stellantis’ overall 2025 performance results did not meet the established targets, the company component of SAIP will not be paid. Payment of the divisional and individual payments remain directly conditional on the results achieved.”
The UAW isn’t happy, with the head of the Stellantis bargaining unit calling it a “slap in the face.”
The Freep reports that neither new CEO Antonio Filosa nor Chairman John Elkann got any bonuses because the company didn’t hit its targets. It’s not clear how senior level some of these employees are but, to some degree, this is just how this works. Incentivizing managers with performance-based bonuses is usually a good idea, and taking away an earned bonus isn’t likely going to help Stellantis dig itself out of a hole.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
It’s the cover of “Fly Me To The Moon” from the ending of Neon Genesis Evangelion by Claire Littley. It’s so jazzy for an eschatological anime.
The Big Question
What’s the best name for a car feature ever?
Top photo: BYD
It is not limited to senior employees or managers, but to all salaried employees, differing depending on their department.
The UAW’s agreement is for profit-sharing. If you don’t have profits, there is nothing to share.
White collar employees bonuses are based on entirely different things, and sometimes may be much less than a UAW profit-sharing check. I don’t see the UAW complaining that is unfair to those employees when that happens.
Just how it played out this year.
All I’m reminded of is that post somewhere about “Jesus, Take the Wheel” actually being about StabiliTrak.
“Why is my car’s self-driving not working?!”
“Becaause you lacked faith in it”
Solid
Because I am a juvenile delinquent trapped in a middle aged body, blower or blown is the best name for a car feature. Ever.
Who was it that made the slap stick shifter for E body Mopars? I had a buddy whose shifter worked right slightly more than half the time. He never did appreciate the humor in me saying it was more slapstick than intended.