In an advertisement introducing its new E-class sedan, Mercedes-Benz touted the car as ?a self-driving car from a very self-driven company.?
Well, not exactly.
Though the German automaker?s new sedan contains some automated-driving technology, it?s not a car capable of driving itself in all scenarios. Under pressure from consumer groups that said the advertising campaigns overstated the capabilities of the vehicle, Mercedes-Benz said Friday it would withdraw a similar ad, the TV spot “The Future,” from the market in hopes of avoiding any consumer confusion.
The E-class is ?a technological tour de force and is a significant step towards achieving our vision of an accident-free future,? a company spokesperson said in a written statement. ?We do not want any potential confusion in the marketplace to detract from the giant step forward in vehicle safety the 2017 E-class represents.? The company?s decision comes amid fresh scrutiny of how automakers label and portray their advanced-driving technologies. In May, a motorist using Tesla Motors? Autopilot semi-autonomous feature died in a crash when neither he nor the system applied the brakes as a tractor-trailer crossed the vehicle?s path. Tesla offers Autopilot as beta technology and reminds drivers they remain responsible for vehicle operations. Federal investigators are probing the incident and examining how the driver’s reliance on the technology contributed to the crash.
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