Ford patents car that can repossess itself and drive back to showroom

Ford wants to build cars that repossess themselves, although the technology can't be used on current models like the Ford Puma Ford has been granted a patent for a system that allows a car to repossess itself if the owner fails to keep up with payments. Ford envisions the car driving itself back to the showroom – or to a scrapyard if the value is low. But a security expert warns that the proposed system could instead be used to steal cars remotely. The patent, which was filed in 2021 but granted only this week, describes how the system would kick in if the car owner failed to respond to messages informing them they were falling behind with payments. At that point, a series of measures would be used to make the car first unpleasant to drive, and then impossible.