How Will We Get by Without Backup Cameras? Ford Recalls 1.9M Trucks for Faulty Units.

When we lived in Colorado, for about eight years my go-to hunting, fishing, and woods-bumming truck was a 1999 Ford Ranger 4x4. It was underpowered but agile, and served very well what I used it for. I liked it because it was pretty much a manual-only thing; crank windows, key-lock doors, manual transmission, cloth and vinyl interior.

No backup cameras.

One day, while loyal sidekick Rat and I were mooching about in the mountains doing nothing in particular (we had told the spouses that we were "scouting for the upcoming deer season"), we arrived back at a trailhead and got in that little red pickup, which I had named "Rojito" (Little Red) for its small size and color. Now, one flaw Rojito had was its door-mounted side mirrors, which were small and inadequate, but which I never got around to replacing. I took a quick look in those mirrors, engaged "reverse" and backed up - only to have the truck stop hard against something. We got out and looked. A small spruce stump that I hadn't seen had made a nice semi-circular dent in the back bumper. From that point on, whenever I put that truck in reverse, Rat always asked: "Did you check for stumps?"

Maybe a backup camera would have helped. Maybe not. My F-350 has one, as does my wife's Ford Expedition, and her truck, we now learn, is one of the vehicles listed on a recall for possible faulty backup cameras.

Ford Motor Company said Tuesday it is recalling 1.9 million vehicles globally because of defective rearview cameras that may display inverted, distorted or blank images.
The recall — which affects a range of vehicles with model years between 2015 and 2019 — includes the Lincoln MKC, Lincoln Navigator, Mustang, F-250, F-350, F-450, F-550, Edge, Ranger, Expedition, Econoline, Transit and Transit Connect, Reuters reported, citing a filing from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
"The concern involves the rearview camera displaying a distorted, intermittent or persistent loss of image," a spokesperson for Ford Motor Company told FOX Business in an email. "This condition can reduce a driver's visibility when backing up, increasing the risk of a crash."

OK, that "increasing the risk of a crash" has to be legal pettifoggery, to forestall someone claiming damages after backing into something (like, say, a stump) while apparently not understanding what rearview and side mirrors are for. Unlike Rojito, my wife's truck has big, beautiful side mirrors, like a truck should have. We both rely on those, not so much the backup camera, when reversing the vehicle. Isn't that what any person of good sense would do?

Ford Exec Shredded After Going Full Woketivist on Elderly Man in Dispute Over DEI, Fox News

My first car's only driving convenience amenity was an automatic transmission. It was a 1966 Galaxie 500 coupe, with a thundering 390 GT engine we had taken from a 1966 GT Fairlane, manual steering, and no power brakes; the steering wheel was about the size of one you might expect to find on an 18th-century sailing ship, the better to turn those front wheels. And, somehow, I managed to get along without a backup camera or any other high-tech tomfoolery. We all did. That was, after all, the only option. But now?

I wonder if this technology isn't spoiling us in these matters. Maybe it's just me, but I think I'll continue to rely on mirrors - my F-350, while heavily computerized, has big, beautiful side mirrors.

Incidentally, when we left Colorado some years back, I sold the inestimable Rojito to loyal sidekick Rat. When I go to Colorado for hunting and woods-bumming trips, we are still sallying forth in the same truck - and it still has that dent in the back bumper. Oh, and still no backup camera.

We're making do.

Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy RedState’s conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.

Join RedState VIP and use the promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership!