Hopefully we see this in the Falcon/Territory

[vztrt]

http://www.gearlog.com/2010/12/digit...gy_of_th_2.php

Digital Drive Technology of the Year: MyFord Touch



In four years, Ford has gone from worst to first in providing affordable, useful infotainment and cockpit technology. First, Ford Sync put two vital safety and convenience features into cars cheaply or in the base price: Bluetooth and a USB jack for iPod, music key, and other MP3 players. Now, our 2010 Digital Drive Technology of the Year, MyFord Touch (and MyLincoln Touch) extends the multimedia interface, integrating infotainment and climate control functions onto color LCD touchscreens.


Once you've used MyFord Touch in one Ford or Lincoln, you know how to work them all. Press the upper left corner for phone functions, upper right for navigation, lower left for audio, lower right for climate control. The 8-inch touchscreen - no iDrive-like cockpit controller needed, though you can use 10,000 recognized voice commands in place of some touch inputs - then opens to a menu for the phone, navigation, etcetera. Ford's goal is to migrate MyFord Touch and MyLincoln Touch through the entire line, starting with new models. At the same time, the core Sync functionality has been beefed up. That means with MyFord Touch you get:

* Multiple input connections: 2 USB 2.0 jacks, an SD card slot Ford's navigation system supplied by TeleNav, and RCA input jacks.
* WiFi capability thoughout the car via a mobile broadband device (external) or installed aircard.
* A voice reader for text messages coming into the Bluetooth cellphone.
* Streaming Bluetooth audio support.
* 911 Assist that calls for help. The car's onboard sensors note a crash situation (such as airbag deployment) and through the connected phone call 911.

What sets MyFord Touch (and Sync) apart from the competition, notably GM's OnStar, is that Ford keeps the cost down by using the driver's or passenger's connected cellphone. So far, MyFord Touch is available on the Ford Taurus, Ford Edge, Ford Explorer, and soon the Ford Focus; MyLincoln Touch is on the Lincoln MKX and Lincoln MKT. Expect to see a lot of debate over whether a fee-based service (which has a renewal rate said to be less than 50%) is safer than a free technology that depends on the cellphone remaining undamaged in a crash. (Ford privately says there are few accidents where the cellphone didn't work afterward.)