Ford to take Sync global

Ford Motor Co. will expand its voice-activated Sync information service globally beginning in Europe in 2010.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally on Thursday revealed the new plans for Sync at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

In Europe, Sync will be available in seven western European languages and three eastern European languages.

After Europe, the automaker plans to take Sync to the Asia-Pacific region and Australia. Sync also is getting an array of new features, such as real-time traffic information.

"No one in the automotive industry offers this level of connectivity as simply and affordably as Ford," Mulally said in a statement. "Our Sync platform links customers from their vehicles to their hand-held devices to the Internet--a level of connectivity that will continue to expand as we integrate new and emerging applications from our industry-leading partners."

Fast sellers

Ford introduced Microsoft-based Sync in late 2007 as a hands-free way to operate digital music players and Bluetooth-enabled cell phones. Ford says that Sync-equipped vehicles sell twice as fast as non-Sync vehicles. The company expects to have sold 1 million Sync-equipped vehicles by sometime in the third quarter of 2009.

This summer, Ford will add personalized traffic reports, turn-by-turn driving directions and news, sports and weather services. The new services will be available on all 2010 Sync-equipped Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles. There is no additional cost to consumers for at least three years, Ford executives say.

Ford is partnering with retailer Best Buy to build awareness of Sync. Technical support will be available through Best Buy's Geek Squad.

Ford product development chief Derrick Kuzak said Sync will remain an open system that can accept hardware and software developed by other parties. Those could allow Sync users to listen to Pandora Internet radio or to access Facebook messages in their cars, Ford executives said.

Avatar Eva

At the consumer electronics show, Ford also is introducing a display concept that replaces the conventional instrument cluster with configurable controls and digital displays. The concept uses an electronic personal assistant, or so-called avatar, named Eva.

Through conversational speech, Eva allows the driver to use voice commands to guide the vehicle's connectivity, information and entertainment features, including Sync and the Internet. For example, Ford shows Eva arranging directions to a restaurant and uploading a lunch appointment into the driver's calendar after the driver makes a lunch date.

"This is not 'Star Trek' stuff," said Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas. "These are things the team is actively working on."

A display such as the one shown at the consumer electronics show could be feasible for production in a couple of years, said Kuzak: "It's not five years off."

By Amy Wilson- Automotive News