MYFORD TOUCH DEFINES INTUITIVE DRIVER EXPERIENCE: ADVANCED CAPABILITIES ALL VOICE-CONTROLLED NOW
- New MyFord™ driver connect technology redesigns the driver’s interface with the car, matching modern consumer electronics screens and controls that have become the standard for ease-of-use and rich graphic displays
- MyFord Touch™ organizes functions and settings with minimal menu layering for quick access – including personalization of relevant information to minimize driver distraction
- MyFord Touch interface and graphics are powered by the next generation of Ford SYNC®, built on Microsoft’sWindows Embedded Auto platform. Advances include improved voice recognition, more connectivity ports including SD Card slot and WiFi capability
- Lincoln to receive MyLincoln Touch technology as standard equipment on future models beginning this year with the 2011 Lincoln MKX
LAS VEGAS, Jan. 7, 2010 – The new MyFord Touch driver connect technology announced today at the 2010 International CES is designed to be powerful yet intuitive for drivers, blending strengths of the most proven interfaces in consumer electronics – including MP3 players and mobile phones – with a new generation of Ford’s award-winning SYNC system.
“MyFord Touch, combined with new SYNC functionality, creates an experience that will cause people to fall in love with their vehicles again,” said Derrick Kuzak, Ford group vice president, Global Product Development. “It’s not just a technology; it’s an experience – one we hope will have people across the globe looking forward to spending time behind the wheel of their vehicle.”
MyFord, which will be branded as MyLincoln Touch and MyMercury Touch on respective Lincoln and Mercury brand products, redesigns the in-car interface, mirroring how consumers interact with most devices in their lives using touch-sensitive buttons, touch screens, thumb-wheel controls and voice recognition.
In that respect, MyFord is instantly familiar. Using reconfigurable displays and simplified voice commands, though, MyFord also can present multiple layers of information, just as the driver wants it.
“MyFord really is about managing information,” said Jason Johnson, Ford user interface design engineer. “Driving is the priority when you’re behind the wheel, so we’ve made it possible to simplify the content management so customers can drive with minimal distraction. In the end, what MyFord displays is really up to the driver.”
MyFord Touch layout
MyFord Touch retains the traditional car interior layout that has existed for decades – instrument cluster in front of the driver, center stack dividing the dashboard – and adds even more voice control plus full-color LCD screens for much of the visual information presentation. The information presented is customizable by the driver using a combination of voice controls, touch-screen technology and five-way cell phone-style buttons mounted on the steering wheel.
MyFord Touch displays information using two 4.2-inch full-color LCD screens flanking an analog speedometer and an 8-inch touch-screen LCD at the top of the center stack. A five-way switch on each side of the steering wheel crossbar – similar to the one found on most mobile phones and MP3 players – controls the information displayed on the corresponding instrument panel screens.
“The steering wheel has all the necessary functions available in a very compact area, right where your hand falls as you grab the wheel,” said Johnson. “The five-way buttons will feel familiar to anyone who has used a mobile phone or MP3 player. Drivers aren’t forced to use a quirky or unfamiliar interface like a joystick or rotary knob.”
The left display, which is controlled by the left five-way controller, features information and settings for the vehicle: fuel economy, mechanical status, safety features.
The right display, controlled by the right five-way controller, contains infotainment information: audio settings, climate control, phone communications and navigation menus.
Those same right-hand functions also appear in the vehicle’s center stack, now augmented with capacitive switches and touch-screen technology, which subtly replaces most traditional knobs and switches.
Available touch-screen display
The 8-inch touch-screen center stack display is the key interface on MyFord Touch. Designers employed a four-corner solution for its layout, representing the four activities most important to customers: phone, navigation, climate and audio/entertainment functions.
Regardless of what menus customers are viewing, a single touch on the appropriate corner will always bring up the desired functionality, and in most cases, a voice command also can be used to adjust the controls.
With the four-corner layout, functions are where they’re expected to be, and they’re always visible on the screen, so it’s clear and easy for users to understand where they are in the system.
Color also is used to give drivers intuitive visual cues between the central 8-inch MyFord Touch display and the instrument-panel-mounted 4.2-inch display. Phone and communications functions always are presented with an orange background, navigation with a green background, climate control with a blue background and audio/entertainment functions with a red background.
SYNC – behind the scenes
Behind the displays of MyFord Touch driver connect technology, the next generation of Ford’s award-winning SYNC system runs the show, built using the Microsoft Windows Embedded Auto software platform.
SYNC has evolved from a standalone module providing voice-activated control for mobile devices to a fully integrated platform for Ford vehicles with MyFord – a technology that will become the global interior architecture for all future Ford products.
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Top 10 Little Things That Count
By Joe Bruzek, Cars.com
In the time our editors spend reviewing hundreds of cars a year, we run across features we simply can't live without. The features that make us whine when we don't have them aren't high-end, expensive gadgets but little conveniences that make a high impact on everyday usability and comfort. Here are our 10 favorites:
One-Touch Power Windows
Sure, one-touch up/down windows only save three seconds, but that's three seconds you can use to get out your checking deposit slip at the bank teller's window. And if there's a person you don't want to delay, it's the one who handles your money. The 2010 Toyota Camry has the one-touch up/down feature on all four windows.
USB Input
With a USB input, you can tuck the MP3 player out of the way, let it charge and control your 10,000 songs through the stereo, which is much better than the more common MP3 jack. Bonus points go to stereos that recognize older iPods — some won't — as well as searchable song lists. Interfaces that aren't alphabetically searchable make it agonizing to turn the dial a hundred times to get to your Weird Al Yankovic collection.
Telescoping Steering Wheel
Telescoping steering wheels not only give you more adjustability for finding a comfortable seating position, but they also help keep drivers in a safe position if the airbag deploys. The feature is available in every class of vehicle, so a model that doesn't have a telescoping steering wheel is at a competitive disadvantage.
Backup Camera
Backup cameras make navigating parking lots infinitely easier and can pay for themselves by preventing even one parking lot fender bender. Our favorites have lines on the screen that preview the vehicle's backup path. However, we'd still like to see more backup cameras as a stand-alone option rather than tied to an expensive navigation package.
Steering-Wheel Controls
There's probably nothing you have more interaction with in a car than the steering wheel and stereo, so having controls for both in the same place cuts down on the time your hands are off the wheel. Even better are steering wheels with cruise control buttons -- a separate cruise control stalk almost always gets mistaken for the turn signal at some point.
Trip Computer
A trip computer with mileage readouts can be an easy, no-cost way to improve fuel economy. By looking at the instant mileage, you can tailor your driving habits for the best results. Also included in some trip computers is an outside temperature gauge. Although we can't change the weather by looking at the gauge, it's quantitative proof that the weather forecaster is making stuff up.
Smart Cupholders
Fast-food drinks and jumbo-size coffees are more satisfying when they're not all over your car's carpet. The best cupholders are deep enough to keep cups from tipping over and accommodate different-sized drinks — from small coffees to Super Big Gulp Slurpees — using adjustable feelers and grips.
Heated Seats
This quintessential winter feature makes dealing with subfreezing temperatures as easy as hitting the heated seat button to "on." Heated seats start warming before the car's heat is able to blast at 90 degrees, and they can be fitted on cloth or leather seats.
Height-Adjustable Seats
Seats that adjust vertically are so critical to sitting comfortably that when a car doesn't have more than four-way adjustability, it seems grossly outdated. Six-way adjustable seats should be the bare minimum; anything less should have been left in 1996.
Three Sets of Latch Connectors
Just because a big SUV has three rows of seating doesn't guarantee there will be more than two sets of Latch connectors for child-safety seats. SUVs that have three sets of Latch anchors or more, like the 2010 Honda Pilot, offer more flexibility for larger families.
100% Russian bling: Gold plated Porsche 911 turbo
If you wake up day after day only to find your bank balance replenished by a few million dollars, chances are at some point, you won’t know what to do with it. Take this Porsche 911 owner for example. He couldn’t find ways to get rid of the fast-accumulating green paper and did this to himself.- A 40- pound pure gold covered Porsche 911.
We find the idea annoying but appreciate the work that has gone into it. The carvings and designs on the surface are brilliant and would have taken weeks to complete by an extremely set of talented and skilled individuals. The polished surface looks nice and should have masked the rear-view mirrors entirely, eliminating the need for a reflective glass and related electronics for adjustments, but maybe next time?!
Driving a Porsche 911 on the streets would grab enough attention leave alone a gold-covered one. Is the Sultan of Brunei reading this?
In Virginia, more people work for __________________ more than any other industry.
Government
themselves (as farmers)
school systems
private businesses
See answer under Car Doctor.
Air Pressure - Correct, Underinflated and Overinflated
Advantages of Correct Tire Inflation
Maintaining correct tire inflation pressure helps optimize tire performance and fuel economy. Correct tire inflation pressure allows drivers to experience tire comfort, durability and performance designed to match the needs of their vehicles. Tire deflection (the tread and sidewall flexing where the tread comes into contact with the road) will remain as originally designed and excessive sidewall flexing and tread squirm will be avoided. Heat buildup will be managed and rolling resistance will be appropriate. Proper tire inflation pressure also stabilizes the tire's structure, blending the tire's responsiveness, traction and handling.
Tire pressure must be checked with a quality air gauge as the inflation pressure cannot be accurately estimated through visual inspection.
Disadvantages of Under inflation
An underinflated tire can't maintain its shape and becomes flatter than intended while in contact with the road. If a vehicle's tires are underinflated by only 6 psi it could weaken the tire's internal structure and eventually lead to tire failure. Lower inflation pressures will allow more deflection as the tire rolls. This will build up more internal heat, increase rolling resistance (causing a reduction in fuel economy of up to 5%) and reduce the tire's tread life by as much as 25% while increasing the probability of irregular treadwear. Drivers would also find a noteworthy loss of steering precision and cornering stability. While 6 psi doesn't seem excessively low, it typically represents about 20% of a passenger car tire's recommended pressure.
Disadvantages of Over inflation
An overinflated tire is stiff and unyielding and the size of its footprint in contact with the road is reduced. If a vehicle's tires are overinflated by 6 psi, they could be damaged more easily when encountering potholes or debris in the road, as well as experience irregular tread wear. Higher inflated tires cannot isolate road irregularities as well causing the vehicle to ride harsher and transmit more noise into its interior. However, higher inflation pressures reduce rolling resistance slightly and typically provide a slight improvement in steering response and cornering stability. This is why participants who use street tires in autocrosses, track events and road races run higher than normal inflation pressures.
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Government This includes about one fourth of Virginia's workers.
