Ford unexpectedly brings back feature scrapped decades ago that'll confuse younger drivers

Ford has filed a patent to bring back a classic driving feature with a modern twist – but it could prove to be a bit confusing for younger drivers.

A newly published document from the automaker is a patent for a ‘Shifter Assembly for Electric Vehicle’. 

The stick shift will allow motorists to feel like they’re driving a good old-fashioned manual, while behind the wheel of an EV. 

However, with manual transmissions all but disappearing from the US, the move could be slightly baffling for younger drivers.

DISCOVER SBX CARS – The global premium auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie 

The new Ford patent brings back an old feature with a modern twist

While the market for EVs continues to grow, it’s safe to say that some motorists are dead-set against making the switch.

In response, some automakers are attempting to ease the transition by making EVs feel like gas-powered motors. 

Dodge, for example, included an ‘exhaust note’ to its Charger Daytona muscle car EV that makes it sound like there’s a V8 under the hood. 

Now, Ford has filed a patent to introduce a stick shift that will mimic the tactile experience of shifting through gears, without actually requiring any gears. 

Instead of mechanical linkages, the system will use electronic signals that will adjust the EV’s driving feedback based on how the driver moves the stick. Pretty neat, right?

Ford said the new stick would help drivers to feel more engaged. 

“Electric vehicles lack operator-to-vehicle physical feedback that is advantageous in conventional motor vehicles,” the company wrote in the patent.

The new feature may confuse younger motorists

While Ford thinks drivers will benefit from that ‘physical feedback’, it’s quite likely that many younger drivers will be baffled by the EV stick shift. 

A study from the US News and World Report found that only 18 percent of US motorists knew how to drive a stick. 

Not only that, but fewer than one percent of new cars sold in the US last year, had a manual transmission. 

As yet, it’s unclear which models Ford is hoping to fit with the ‘Shifter Assembly’. 

Although Ford currently only offers a handful of fully electric models, it seems CEO Jim Farley is a big fan of EVs. 

In an interview last October, he revealed that he’d been checking out the competition by driving around in a Xiaomi SU7 for around six months after having it shipped over from China. 

“We flew one from Shanghai to Chicago, and I’ve been driving it for six months now and I don’t want to give it up,” he admitted on the Everything Electric Show podcast.