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
I think “airbag” wins for the most literal name.
Autopian renewal phrase of the week: “Unfortunately, human beings are edge-case generators”
TRUTH
Almost finished my fifth or sixth reread of China Mieville’s book, Kraken.
This could be named after any God or quasi-God that could have a foundation in the fallibility of vision.
Best named feature?
VTEC. (Because of all the memes.)
I’m surprised it hasn’t kicked in into this conversation.
There’s a lot going on in the studio.
The studio?
Nothing at that stage of development will ever have the opportunity to be sold as a Chrysler. The brand can’t survive that long on it’s current ‘lineup.’
It never occurred to me Chrysler even had a design studio. Seriously, what’s been happening there for the last decade??
Their mainstream hit, of course.
They’ve been gluing a dodge face on the Hornet. You know, the CUV you will see in one out of 300 Walmart parking lots if you loom real hard.
Isn’t that actually on brand?
When it doesn’t work, it’s just working in mysterious ways
Hubris is an unforgiving motivator when christening things. See also “submarine named after a tough metal but mostly made of stuff that cracks under pressure” and “unsinkable yacht named after a probability theorem.”
The best deity-adjacent name for a car feature might be Hurst’s Lightning Rods.
The driver information center, or DIC for short…
No one knows this feature’s official name on GM trucks of yesteryear:
The Crotch Vent
Damn it, Loki, it’s not funny.
I’m the only one who immediately thought of the “Rim Blow” horn feature?
Re Chrysler and Stellantis. So here we are with one Chrysler, a minivan that was introduced in 2017. Stellantis also has Peugeot. Peugeot has SEVEN hybrid models and five PHEV models. There’s not one or two they could sell in the USA? You don’t even have to change the badge, there are very few consumers left looking for a “Chrysler.” The Peugeots are already engineered, the robots are programmed, the kinks have been worked out, and the suppliers are ready to supply. In theory, this is why companies merge. They call it synergy.
I don’t think synergy actually exists in business. It’s a word that distracts the public and shareholders from what really goes on with mergers. Employees are eliminated, development is stopped, real estate is sold and leased back, debt is sold. Piles of money are extracted and distributed to shareholders, a few top executives, and the investment banks who originated, pitched, and executed the merger (in the form of “fees”). The companies under the scheme slowly expire from anemia.
Corporate gonna corporate. Apparently the badge is too embarrassing and rebadging is too. What a world we live in where labels matter more than the substance
Or where execs don’t bat an eye ruining a brand built over a century. Given its history Chrysler might not be the best example, but there are plenty of others.
“It’s BYD’s “God’s Eye,” which, you’ll be shocked to learn, does not provide the infallible vision of an omnipotent deity.”
Who says all gods are omnipotent? Maybe it was named after an impotent diety.
For the first time ever on here, I will defend the Chinese company. I think Matt is looking at this from a western point of view, as will most readers. God in the west and middle east is a single being. In Chinese mythology/history/religions I am not sure what to call it but trying not to be offensive. There are God’s plural. Some are Big and as Terry P noticed, some are small. So a God’s eye, could be like the eye of the Mole God. Can’t see for shit, but can dig good. So BYD just didn’t tell us which god it came from is all, and that’s on us for not asking.
Don’t put your faith in gods. But you can believe in turtles
What a brilliant book
Trampled by Turtles or Turtles all the way down
Perhaps there was a Mote in God’s eye? (with apologies to Niven)
Twilight Sentinel
Remember: God is always watching you. Unless there is heavy traffic. That is the time to get away with sinning.
This is just Ford continuing their spate of innovations. They keep finding new ways to have their vehicles recalled.
“People associate us with recalling vehicles for faulty tires. Welcome to the new Ford: We’re changing the game.”
Semi related but Search Engine just did a pretty interesting pod (for those who partake) about robot cars: https://www.searchengine.show/are-you-a-good-driver/
I nominate crotch vents…
AKA Ball freezers or Coochie Chillers!
https://youtu.be/W9mhsW5aWJM?si=9YW4W8mVBrZGgIXi
I like “Jake Brake.” The engine braking system designed by the Jacobs company and probably named by truckers.
Designed by Clessie Cummins, actually! Just produced and marketed by Jacobs after the Cummins company wasn’t sold on the idea. 🙂
https://www.theautopian.com/the-loud-popping-sounds-you-hear-from-some-semi-trucks-slowing-down-actually-happen-for-a-practical-reason/
Ah, thanks for the clarification. Sorry I missed your article!
GM is the king of naming options. Start right with their Level 2 system. “Super Cruise” is outstanding. It gets to the heart of what the system really is, without writing checks that it can’t cash.
“Positraction” or a posi is what most car people call a limited slip differential. Fuckin’ nailed it!
Even some that are kinda cockamaimie are also awesome at the same time. Want you headlights to stay on for a period of time until you get into your home? Well then, “Twilight Sentinel” is the option for you.
I hadn’t heard of Twilight Sentinel before and I love it. Big “my new band name” energy.
This is a great take.
I’ve always liked the names GM invented for all of the automatic transmissions they produced through the 50s and 60s – Hydramatic, Dynaflow, Twin Turbine Dynaflow (yikes!), Powerglide, and so on.
(Nowadays, a transmission gets a few random letters and numbers for a name. Very boring )
GM really had their “feature naming” down pat, back in the day. It never occured to me until now.
Thanks for the post.
You’re welcome! Good call on the transmission names, those used to be really great.
Ooh, disappointed that I didn’t come up with Twilight Sentinel, especially since one of my cars has it.
It’s such a weird name, but still manages to be perfect.
When it comes to self driving cars, I’m an atheist.
With most religions, the relevant question (that everybody seems to invert) is basically “does God believe in you?” as that pretty much determines your path in the afterlife.
With self driving cars, there is no such deity/mortal soul connection. The car either kills you (and itself) or it doesn’t.
I like to think the car’s software will live on in the Cloud.
Maybe it’s called “God’s Eye” because entrusting it with your safety is akin to staring God in the face.
Now I’m picturing the Limo scene from Fight Club, except it’s just a BYD with self driving active.
Reminds me of “Jesus Clips”. which are that kind of J shaped reusable cotter pin, motorcycle rider reference. Because of it fails on your rear tire, you may see Jesus soon.
Requires a near religious faith to trust it lol
Somewhat related, I used to work at a place that did web development and hosting. Our web servers were named after ’80s hair bands. We put all the WordPress sites on Bon Jovi, as those clients were Livin’ on a Prayer.
LMAO my first design job after school was at a small agency where I helped design, build, and maintain WordPress sites for our small business clientele. I remember one site built using before my time that seemed to break virtually every time there was a wordpress update.
You know, I’m starting to think these systems were not tested enough before being unleashed on the public.
And they wonder why people get pissy about unions. If people or groups in the company hit their agreed-upon targets, then they should be compensated. Can you imagine the UAW outrage if their bonus targets were achieved but not paid?
Honestly, God’s Eye being malevolent would explain an awful lot about the state of the world right now.