Now Mercedes-Benz has gotten caught in the blowback to Tesla's over-hyping of Autopilot. The German luxury leader withdrew a TV spot for its new 2017 E-Class because auto-safety critics charged that the commercial overstated the autonomous capabilities of the crucial new sedan.
Expect the combination of the automakers' oversteps, and the reactions of consumers, regulators and critics, to make the industry much more cautious about marketing self-driving features for the foreseeable future.
In a YouTube version of the ad, dubbed "The Future," a representation of the brand's totally self-driven F015 concept car is seen on an urban thoroughfare being passed up by today's very real and new E-Class. Briefly, the driver removes his hands as the car appears to steer itself. Soon after, the E-Class also appears to park itself while the driver adjusts his necktie. The car has an optional driver-assist featured called "Drive Pilot" that includes advanced adaptive cruise control and automated steering that allow the sedan to follow traffic and keep its lane at speeds of up to 130 mph.
In the ad, a narrator says, "Is the world truly ready for a vehicle that can drive itself? Ready or not, the future is here." Later, at the bottom of the screen, there is a warning: "Vehicle cannot drive itself, but has automated driving features. The system will remind the driver frequently to keep hands on the steering wheel. Always observe safe driving practices and obey all road traffic regulations."
This was a video brew for trouble, according to the publisher of Consumer Reports, and the Center for Auto Safety, among others, who called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Mercedes-Benz over the ad because it overstates the capabilities of automated-driving systems available on the sedan. It promotes the E-Class "in a way that a reasonable consumer would believe" it meets the federal-government standard for a fully or partially self-driving car, the complaint said, adding that the commercial could give "a false sense of security in the ability of the car to operate autonomously."
Mercedes-Benz responded in part by taking the ad out of its rotation, and the YouTube ad now is marked as private and unavailable for viewing. "The new 2017 E-Class is a technological tour de force and is a significant step towards achieving our vision of an accident-free future," a company spokeswoman wrote in an e-mail to Automotive News. "We do not want any confusion in the marketplace to detract from the giant step forward in vehicle safety the 2017 E-Class represents." She added that Mercedes-Benz decided to drop the ad "given the claim that consumers could confuse the autonomous driving capability of the F015 concept car with the driver-assistance systems in the new E-Class.
"Bottom line: We take very seriously our reputation as a leader in automotive safety," the spokeswoman told the publication. "We've always stressed that its technology is designed to assist the driver, not to encourage customers to ignore their responsibilities as drivers. While the new E-Class has a host of technology that will serve as the building blocks for increasing levels of autonomy (and which will be a prominent component of our marketing), it is not an autonomous vehicle and we are not positioning it as such."
