I hit the brake pedal just once on a 200-mile stretch of Interstate highway coming back from the Adirondacks to the New York City area. It wasn’t while driving in the middle of the night but on a busy Sunday afternoon, when traffic can be bumper to bumper the last 50 miles. The car was under the guidance of radar-based stop-and-go active cruise control (ACC), also known as adaptive cruise control, autonomous cruise control, or intelligent cruise control. ACC has been around for a decade and recently some automakers have added a second radar transponder that covers near distances (sort of like radar reading glasses). Instead of cutting out around 20 mph, this takes you down to a full stop and back up to speed. Stop and go ACC is effective, but it’s not cheap: It added $2,400 list to the price of the BMW 750Li I was driving, which in turn helped hike the price over $100,000. But it’s effortless: The only driver involvement, other than steering (still highly recommended), is to lightly tap the throttle when you’re stopped and ready to start up again.
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