ford

We previously blogged about Ford's partnership with Gracenote to get album cover art for its in-dash music server, but that's just part of this new navigation and entertainment center. Sirius Travel Link provides a range of data services integrated with the navigation system for traffic, weather, and other useful information. Ford will roll out this new navigation system initially on the Ford F-150 and the Lincoln MKS. We got to try the system out at the 2008 Detroit auto show.

Click here for photos of the new Ford navigation system.

Click here for more 2008 Detroit auto show coverage.… Read more

Ford's new Explorer concept, unveiled at the 2008 Detroit auto show, is designed less to show the future direction of the Explorer model and more to showcase Ford's new fuel-saving technologies. But most of these technologies are merely new to Ford and have already been used by other automakers.

Click here for photos of the Ford Explorer America Concept.

Click here for more 2008 Detroit auto show coverage.

We've been overwhelmed by all the automotive tech announcements and new products at CES. During our first day, we've seen new car stereos and GPS devices, new services from both XM and Sirius satellite radio, and Ford's play to be the carmaker most talked about at the show. Here are a sampling of blogs we've posted from 2008 CES:

New Garmin Nuvi 800 series features voice commands A new trend in GPS devices lets you enter destinations with spoken commands. The Garmin Nuvi 800 is one of the first to offer this capability.

Eclipse updates its all-in-one navigation system with the AVN6620 … Read more

A major part of Ford's new hard-drive-based navigation system and music server will be Sirius Travel Link, a set of services that bring new, live data into the car. Travel Link features live traffic reporting, which shows traffic flow and incidents overlaid on the navigation maps. The data is integrated such that, if your route goes through a congested area, the navigation system will offer to reroute you. Next up is weather information--you can get a variety of different weather displays, from a weather map to temperature and conditions, complete with a forecast. The system lets you see weather … Read more

This year, Ford cars will come with Sony-branded audio systems. Car makers have been scrambling to get name-brand audio systems in their cars for a number of years now, but Ford scored a real coup by getting one of the biggest names in consumer electronics on board. Initially, Sony will supply amps and speakers to Ford. At 2008 CES, Sony had one of its OEM amps on display that will go into Ford cars, a 10-channel amp with 8 35 watt powered channels and the capability to do 5.1 surround sound. This amp uses flash memory to store acoustic … Read more

Ford made a splash at CES last year with its new Sync system, developed on Microsoft's automotive software. This year, Ford continues its push into CES with an announcement about the next generation of Sync, along with demonstrations of its new navigation system. The new Sync sports two key features: 911 Assist and Vehicle Health Reports. With 911 Assist, Sync can detect when airbags are deployed, in which case it will use a Bluetooth-connected cell phone to automatically place a 911 call. When it makes the call, it plays a brief, prerecorded message, after which the occupants can give … Read more

At CES and the 2008 Detroit Auto Show, Ford will show off its next generation navigation system, initially to be made available on the all-new Lincoln MKS. The system's 40GB hard drive will include the Gracenote database, which will automatically tag any CDs ripped to the drive, something Gracenote already does in the Cadillac CTS and Lexus LS 600h. But Gracenote goes an extra mile with Ford, providing cover art for music playing in the system. Users will be treated to a scan of the album cover art while tracks from the album play. Further, the system incorporates Gracenote'… Read more

Ford confirmed Thursday that the company is considering an offer to sell its Jaguar and Land Rover subsidiaries to Tata Motors of India.

"Ford is committed to focused negotiations at a more detailed level with Tata Motors concerning the potential sale of the combined Jaguar-Land Rover business," Lewis Booth, an executive vice president at Ford, said in a statement.

"There is still a considerable amount of work to do, and while no final decision has been made, we will proceed with further substantive discussions with Tata Motors over the forthcoming weeks with a view to … Read more

Microsoft's product marketing tends to be fairly dull. Even inside the company, its methods for naming, marketing, and packaging have been the subject of scorn and derision.

So, that makes this commercial for its Sync in-car entertainment system all the more noteworthy.

The company illustrates the power of the system's voice controls, by showing what happens when you take those commands beyond the car.

It's a good approach to explaining a whole new type of technology--something that is often tough--just ask TiVo.

What do you think? Does it make you want to get the system, or does … Read more