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J.D. Power releases sat-nav study findings, crowns Ford tops

Jonny Lieberman — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 09:59:00 EST

Not only does Ford rank number one on J.D. Power and Associate's 2009 navigation system survey, it ranks number two as well. The top ranking system, according to Power's study, is the one found in the Lincoln MKS, followed by a nearly identical system (if not 100% identical) in the Ford Flex. And get this, Ford took down five of the top ten spots with the F-150 coming in fourth and the Escape and Edge taking seventh and eighth place, respectively.

To anyone that's driven a modern Sync-equipped Ford with navigation, these survey results probably won't come as any sort of shock, as FoMoCo has been making some of the best systems in the business ever since they released Sync with Sirius Travel Link. Here's what Ford user interface design engineer Jason Johnson had to tell us about why Ford got ranked tops:

"I think what really makes our system stand out is the fact it's designed with the user in mind. Yes, it has all the features you'd expect from a high-level navigation system -- the 3-D maps, the digital jukebox, the customizable home screens, and of course we pride ourselves on SYNC and SIRIUS Travel Link -- but it's more than that. This system is easy to use. It's intuitive. The buttons are where you'd expect them to be, the grouping is logical and the graphics are bright and easy to read. Everything is integrated, so it all works together, simply and easily."

Non-Ford top ten nav-system finishers include the Acura TL (third), Porsche 911 (fifth), Cadillac CTS (sixth), Hyundai Genesis (ninth) and Infiniti FX-series (tenth). Interestingly, Ford is the only non-luxury/premium brand to make it into the top ten. If you were wondering, seven of the bottom ten nav-systems were made by Toyota, with the Avalon finishing dead last. Complete results list and official press release available after the jump.
[Source: J.D. Power]

Continue reading J.D. Power releases sat-nav study findings, crowns Ford tops

J.D. Power releases sat-nav study findings, crowns Ford tops originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 09:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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VIDEO: Ford demonstrates new nav system with Sirius Travel

Sam Abuelsamid — Thu, 15 May 2008 12:32:00 EST

Filed under: I.C.E., Technology, Ford

Click above to view videos after the jump

One of the cool features that Ford is introducing for the 2009 model year is its updated navigation system with Sirius Travel Link. When we went out to drive the updated 2009 Ford Escape this week, Ford's chief technology spokes-model Alan Hall gave us a guided tour of the system. The next generation nav unit takes the traditional touch screen GPS unit and integrates it with the popular SYNC system that debuted last year, while adding real time downloadable information from Sirius and a 10GB jukebox. The Sirius system provides information such as live weather maps overlaid on the navigation data, current fuel prices, movie listings and more.

With the jukebox, you can insert an audio CD and automatically rip it to the internal hard drive like you can in the Cadillac CTS. The full Gracenote CDDB database is incorporated so that the meta-data can be automatically added. The screen can even display the album artwork. The system can even play DVDs with the video only being visible on the front seat screen when the car is in park. As soon as the transmission is shifted into gear, it only plays the audio track. If you pull up a restaurant listing, it can automatically dial your bluetooth phone through the SYNC system. Like SYNC, the whole system can be controlled by voice commands so you don't have to take your hands off the wheel. The new setup will be on most 2009 Fords, with bigger vehicles like the new Flex and the MKS getting an 8-inch touch screen while the smaller Escape makes do with a 6.5" inch screen. Ford will be charging $1,995 for the full system including SYNC, the nav system, Travel Link and the jukebox. Check out a pair of video run-throughs of the system after the jump.

[Source: Ford]

Continue reading VIDEO: Ford demonstrates new nav system with Sirius Travel

VIDEO: Ford demonstrates new nav system with Sirius Travel originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 15 May 2008 12:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CES 2008: Sirius and Ford present Travel Link for your factory nav

Chris Tutor — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 11:29:00 EST

Filed under: Gadgets, CES, Ford

As Ford, Lincoln and Mercury roll out their 2009 models, customers who opt for Ford's advanced GPS get six months of Sirius Travel Link service. Larry Pesce, senior VP of media services for Sirius (seen above) demonstrated Travel Link for us at CES on Monday night. We got to see how the system provides drivers and passengers with information about traffic, weather, entertainment, fuel prices and sports.

It's a slick system, that, at least in the demo we saw, responds quickly to touches of the screen and was impressive with how smoothly it worked.

Follow the jump to read more about how each feature of Travel Link works, as well as the company's official press release.

Continue reading CES 2008: Sirius and Ford present Travel Link for your factory nav

CES 2008: Sirius and Ford present Travel Link for your factory nav originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 08 Jan 2008 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CES '08 Preview: Ford to show SYNC 2.0, in-dash HD and cheap gas-finding nav

John Neff — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 13:58:00 EST

Filed under: CES, I.C.E., Technology, Ford

Though GM's Rick Wagoner nabbed the honor of giving this year's keynote address at next week's 2008 CES Show in Las Vegas, Ford may grab the headlines with a suite of new in-car entertainment, navigation and communication technologies that it plans to implement across its brands in the near future. First up will be the second version of its popular SYNC interface, details of which are scant. Considering that the SYNC system's capabilities are already robust, we're not sure what else they can add to it and are eager to find out.

Ford will also be showing off its new SIRIUS Travel Link nav system, which gets updated in real time with all sorts of info from the SIRIUS satellites. Drivers can call up instant traffic data, weather, sports scores and movie showings, as well as plot a course to the gas station with cheapest fuel prices.

Finally, Ford will have its new navigation system sourced from Xanavi on display with what we believe is a ginormous 7.5-inch touchscreen and an in-dash hard drive that can store up to 2,400 songs. Hopefully it will also have the capacity to pause and rewind live radio like Cadillac's system in the CTS. We've already seen the Xanavi system's new, larger screen in images of the upcoming 2009 Lincoln MKS sedan, a car that's slated to be fitted with the gamut of Ford's new in-car technologies when it goes on sale this summer.

Keep your eyes on Autoblog early next week for when we start our coverage of the 2008 CES Show from Las Vegas. We'll have more details on what Ford and the rest of the auto industry has to offer in the way of electronics for the coming year.

[Source: Ford]

Gallery: 2009 Lincoln MKS

Continue reading CES '08 Preview: Ford to show SYNC 2.0, in-dash HD and cheap gas-finding nav

CES '08 Preview: Ford to show SYNC 2.0, in-dash HD and cheap gas-finding nav originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 04 Jan 2008 13:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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