Ford Introduces a Big Brother-esque MyKey Feature on 2010 Ford Focus

DEARBORN, Michigan — Ford on Monday introduced new technology called MyKey, which is designed to exert parental control over the actions of young drivers, including limiting their ability to lay down a patch of rubber or accelerate to more than 80 mph.

The technology, which seems to be pulled directly from the George Orwell novel 1984, in which an omnipresent character named Big Brother wields oppressive control over people, will make its debut on the 2010 Ford Focus as standard equipment. In a statement, Ford added that the MyKey feature "will quickly become standard on many other Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models."

Ford says that the new feature "is just one way that Ford is helping teens drive more safely." The automaker said it recently polled parents and learned that they find such things as the speed-limiting feature to be very appealing.

MyKey offers parents a stunning array of ways to control a vehicle long after it has pulled out of the driveway, including limiting audio volume to 44 percent of the total volume. The audio system is also muted until the safety belt is buckled. A message center display on the instrument cluster says "buckle up to unmute radio."

The system also prevents the driver from deactivating the traction control system, which limits tire spin. A speed alert chime at 45, 55 or 65 mph can also be programmed into the system. MyKey also provides a warning at 75 miles to empty versus the conventional 50 miles to empty, Ford noted.

Parents can program any key through the vehicle's message center, which updates the vehicle's passive anti-theft system. "When the MyKey is inserted into the ignition, the system reads the transponder chip in the key and immediately identifies the MyKey code, which enables certain default driving modes," said Ford.

What this means to you: And now the challenging quest begins to figure out how to override the MyKey system. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent