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Ford and Microsoft's Sync is already pretty great--and the new generation Sync that S-Balm's revealing at this very moment at his keynote is better--turn-by-turn voice direction and more, cooed by Sync's lovely Samantha.
Parents! Are you looking for a way to make sure your teenagers are safe while they drive? Also, are annoyed while they drive? Well Ford has your back. Its new MyKey system is sure to make driving an infuriatingly annoying ordeal.
If you are looking for a self-driving car, now you can buy the ByWire XGV, the modified Ford Escape that got third place at the DARPA Urban Challenge for just US$89,000. Torc Technologies—who collaborated with Virginia Tech to develop this smartypants SUV hybrid—is going to sell the car as a research platform so other researchers can tune and add new contraptions to make it work better and look more menacing than the current version. The specs are loaded with ports, sensors, and even optional accessories, like vibration isolators. Whatever that is, we want it.
Ford has upped the ante in the options department by offering drivers of the 2009 Flex a US$760 refrigerator upgrade that fits snugly underneath the armrest in the back seat. The fridge isn't huge, but it can hold seven 12-ounce cans (no, not beer) or four half-liter bottles—which is not bad for a road trip. It is also runs off a compressor making it a bona fide refrigerator that can take a drink from room temperature down to 5 degrees Celcius in two- and-a-half hours. If you choose the freezer option, the temperature drops to a frigid -5 degrees Celcius. With any luck, Ford will offer a Flex oven and Flex toilet option sometime in the near future. Then I would be ready to move in.
Hyundai and Microsoft have just agreed for the latter to develop software for the former's cars, shoving in a "music and information system" by the year 2010. No details yet, but from the sound of things it seems like Microsoft's taking advantage of their experience with the Ford Sync system and making voice-control systems to manage stereos and mobile phones. The new system is also interesting because it's software-updatable, allowing nerds to bring up that old joke about what would happen if Microsoft built cars. The whole thing is aimed at bringing more young people into Hyundais, something Ford Sync was surprisingly good at doing. [Reuters]
Ford is going to introduce two new traffic alert systems in their 2009 cars: the Cross Traffic Alert and the Blind Spot Monitoring System, which will alert drivers of potential collision targets using radar technology. With these new gadgets, instead of having to check the mirror and ignore any cars coming from behind before changing lane, drivers would be able to check a red light that will warn about any incoming vehicles, even if they are hiding in the blind spot. And then, ignore them and change lanes. Example: my radar is saying that there's a press release after the jump.
When I imagine surly construction workers like my uncle hauling tools and concrete and porta potties around, trucks loaded up with schnazzy gadgetry is not what I picture. But that's exactly what Ford (and Microsoft!) see. Their "Work Solutions" concept isn't even entirely bullshit, either. The feature one worker think dudes would find really useful is Tool Link, an RFID-based tool tracker system—add tags to your tools, and the bed scanner lets you know if something is missing.
As far as model cars go, this Ford GT Nitro Gas RC car is gigantic. Just over 3 feet long, this 1:5 scale car is big enough to knock you down and kill you if you get in its way, so you'd better have a big parking lot where you're going to race this thing. It must be a tremendous sight to see this low-slung car zipping by at 60 mph. That's just downright frightening. You can now get one for $US649.99, and hey, it's on sale—it used to cost $200 more. [Wowzzers, via 7 Gadgets]
Microsoft has teamed up with voice recognition software firm Nuance to develop its own hands-free text software for use with Microsoft Sync. The software would allow users to dictate SMS messages and possibly emails later on down the line. This would undoubtedly result in far less cellphone-related accidents, not to mention instances where I flip off dudes in Fords. Expect the software to be available in Ford models already equipped with Sync starting in early 2008. [Tech.co.uk]
Ford has called in the big boys from Nokia to give their Mustang beast some serious connectivity options. Apparently, the vehicles exterior and performance based specifications remain unchanged, but the fun starts on the inside, with Nokia dropping N series goodies in every hole they could find.
Ford is going to introduce two new traffic alert systems in their 2009 cars: the 