A Good Year at Ford

It’s been a good year for Ford. They did have to deal withsome recalls involving wheel bearing hub assemblies on some sedans and rustingfuel tanks containing fuel pump assemblies on trucks. However, like other autocompanies, Ford had a very strong year and will be giving out bonuses to theirworkers for the first time since the financial meltdown. Ford has gained steam thispast year selling more than 2 million cars for the first time since 2007, andthey show no signs of stopping with their completely remodeled 2013 lineup.

The Ford Escape, Fusion, Taurus and Focus will all show dramatic departures in styling from previous years in 2013. I’m really likingthe 2013 Ford Fusion whose front-end (to me) resembles that of an Aston Martin.The Fusion will come not only in a gasoline-powered model, but in electricplug-in and hybrid versions as well. The Ford Escape, which has kept its boxystyling since it was introduced over ten years ago, will now resemble more of across-over with its new curves and smoother lines.

What might be the coolest part of future Ford automobiles isthe technology that they will be equipped with. Ford’s MyFord Touch and SYNCsystem not only syncs all of your devices to the vehicle but takes it one stepfurther with voice-activated commands. You will now be able to tell your carwhat song to play, have it read you your text messages, and also reply to thosemessages through voice commands. New safety features include inflatable rearsafety belts and vehicle sensors used to monitor blinds spots and givecollision warnings. You can simply set a cruise control speed and the distanceyou want to maintain from the vehicle in front of you, and the car willautomatically slow down to avoid collisions. Other cool features includecap-less fuel tanks as well as the ability to control the color of dash and interior ambientlighting (blue, red, green, you name it!). Will 2012 be another great year forFord?

Push to Start, Push to Park, Push to Drive?

It’s again the week that brings us the latest in tech fromthe CES convention in Vegas and the latest from the automobile industry at theNAIAS in Detroit. But this year the lines between the two seemed to blur asautomobiles took a prominent spot at CES and technology was booming at theDetroit Auto Show. We’re not just talking about your standard car stereo or car navigation system; almost every automaker introduced better-than-ever entertainmentsystems that connect the driver like never before.

Chevrolet, Toyota, Audi, Hyundai and Ford are among the manyautomobile companies that have recognized the growing importance of technologywhile driving. Chevrolet’s “MyLink” offers wireless phone compatibility whichcan link your calls and address book directly to the vehicle. The car alsooffers wireless streaming of music from your phone including the use of Pandoraand other music apps. Toyota’s “Entune” offers the same features, but also hasbuilt in apps including Pandora, iHeartRadio, Bing search and more. AudiConnect will feature a pop-up 7-inch touchscreen display, connected wirelesslyand automatically to your phone to access a multitude of features. The knob bythe driver’s side can scroll through screens and text, making it easier tooperate than a traditional display screen. With this system you can store andtrack flights, view and play your phones entire music library, get news,weather and gas prices, and even create a Wi-Fi hotspot in the vehicle! Almostevery new model offers a remote-link app for your cell phone which allows youto unlock, lock, sound the alarm, and sometimes start your vehicle fromanywhere in the world. The days of car keys are slowly becoming a thing of thepast.

Almost nothing excites me more than the progression oftechnology, especially when it comes to entertainment. For years thecapabilities of our phones and other gadgets have exceeded that of our vehiclesand it’s about time these features were incorporated into our cars.  I wonder how long it will be until our carsare the ones doing all the driving; they can already park themselves.