Ford Edge Concept Is a Sleek Look at the Future of a Self-Driving Ford

Ford is showing off a new Ford Edge Concept at the Los Angeles Auto Show with a beautiful looking interior and Range Rover inspired exterior with a lot of cool new tech inside.

The Ford Edge Concept, which AutoGeeks shares more about, combines a new look for the popular Ford Edge with automated driving technology such as self parking and obstacle avoidance systems which Ford says is a look at the future of a fully autonomous (aka self-driving) vehicle.

Smart watches and wearable tech are bringing gadgets from science fiction to our lives and Ford is looking to bring the self driving cars of Knight Rider and Google’s Self driving cars to dealers and roads near you in a self driving Ford.

The Ford Edge Concept takes the assisted parallel parking we already enjoy in many vehicles to the next level, allowing an owner to remotely park a Ford Edge Concept from outside of the car. The Ford Edge Concept can park parallel or in a perpendicular space from inside or outside of the vehicle. This concept doesn’t go into the specifics, but we could see this being something that happens from a smartphone. Check out the demo of Ford’s Active Park Assist filmed through Google Glass below to see the technology that the Ford Edge Concept is building on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Y17W0p62b7A

The Ford Edge Concept can also detect slow moving and stationary objects int eh vehicle’s path and warn the drive or even steer away, and the Edge Concept includes Adaptive steering which Ford says will make steering easier at slow speeds and more confident all around.

“The rate of change in vehicle technology right now is unprecedented,” Raj Nair, Ford group vice president of global product development states in a press release, adding, “Our engineers around the world are advancing the systems that will ultimately help make drivers smarter, safer and more efficient. From advanced engine systems to collision avoidance and automated driving systems, Ford will continue to lead in delivering the technologies consumers want and need.”

Inside the Ford Edge combines a host of improvements including a larger 10-inch MyFord Touch screen. The current MyFord Touch system in cars like the Ford Fusion and Ford Escape measures 8-inches. Here’s a rundown of the Ford Edge Concept interior features.

• Leather-wrapped and hand-stitched instrument panel
• 10-inch touch screen center display with MyFord Touch®
• Dynamic center stack with premium mechanical switchgear
• Unique gear shifter
• Bright work on the armrest, door-release bezel and air registers
• Floating binnacle top
• Unique steering wheel
• Scuff plate with bright silver finish, matte black paint and LED-lit “Edge”

There’s no word if a production version of this Ford Edge Concept will finally bring MyFord Touch AppLink Support which Ford says is in the works.

On the exterior, this Ford Edge concept shows big wheels, a dominating grille and an attractive design. It’s not as futuristic as the Ford Evos concept we saw in 2011, but it does provide a glimpse at what a 2015 Ford Edge might look like, at least in part. Chad Kirchner of AutoGeeks writes that we can expect some of the luxury features to head to a Lincoln MKC and MKZ, and that the production Ford Edge will likely be a “slightly tamed-down” version of the Edge Concept.

The video above shows off the Ford Evos concept, which inspired some of the looks and styling of the Ford Fusion. We reviewed the 2013 Ford Fusion, which doesn’t bring all of these features, but it does come with an aggressive front grille that we first saw on the Evos concept.

The Ford Edge concept will see a full reveal at the Los Angeles Auto Show later today.