ford

Focus groups get used all the time for product design, but Ford is using more of an unfocused group to pick an artificially generated sound for its upcoming, ahem, Focus electric vehicle. Ford posted four potential sounds on its Facebook page and asked its fans to pick which ones they prefer.

A law enacted last January requires cars that are too quiet, such as hybrids and electric vehicles, to have some sort of artificial noise generator. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is in the process of clarifying the quality of noise the cars should make, and when it … Read more

Fiat is the latest to launch its own Apple iPad application, joining Ford, Hyundai, and others.

According to the Italian automaker, the free app offers a close-up look of the 2012 Fiat 500--including a historical design timeline of the iconic Fiat 500.

Consumers can delve into the galleries of four emerging artists, including a graffiti artist, a 17-year-old professional photographer, a painter and sculptor, and an illustrator.

The Fiat Source app will also include a Fiat 500 vehicle catalog, with detailed 360-degree images, "colorizer," videos, and product information, as well as wallpaper and sketch downloads.

"The Fiat … Read more

To reduce air pollution, carbon emissions, and gas consumption, New York City is adding electric cars to its vehicle fleet.

 Mayor Michael Bloomberg, along with several other officials, announced that the city purchased 10 electric Ford Transit Connect cargo vans, 10 Navistar eStar electric utility trucks, and 50 Chevrolet Volts that will be shared by several agencies, including the police and fire departments.

"This is the latest and largest-ever addition of electric vehicles to the City's fleet, which is already the largest municipal clean-air vehicle fleet in the nation," said Mayor Bloomberg.

The city believes that … Read more

Pandora is leaving no car behind, but will the expansion of Spotify derail the momentum? Audi brings its RS line back to the U.S., in small form, while BMW expands use of carbon fiber. And we take a ride in an espresso cup.

• First Android Car Radio USB Connection on Way

• Spotify launch in US

• Pandora increases its auto offerings

• BMW opens online art-car gallery

• Mercedes-Benz restructuring Smart

Google is accelerating a test of corporate accounts on Google+ after "thousands upon thousands" of businesses applied for a place in the program, a Google executive said.

The company plans next week to choose who'll get into the test and announce their names soon afterward, Christian Oestlien, a Google product manager, said in a Google+ post last night.

But if you want your company, brand name, school, or celebrity pet to have a place on Google sooner rather than later, you'd better act fast. Google is closing down its applications form on Friday, he said.

"… Read more

The Ford Motor Company has officially decided that its gender is not male. Nor is it female. On the Google+ social networking site, Ford lists it as "other."

That may not exactly be incorrect, but the bit of corporate awkwardness was the result of Google making two interrelated design decisions: first, gender can be only male, female, or other. Second, whatever gender is selected must be public.

Until now. Google announced this evening that gender could be hidden from public profiles, a move that likely comes as a relief to ABC News Radio (other), the Austin American-Statesman (ditto), … Read more

Ford Motor today announced it has combined rubber from more than 2.2 million pounds of recycled tires with other material, such as soybean oil, to produce what it says are environmentally friendly gaskets and seals for new cars.

Teaming up with Detroit-based supplier Recycled Polymeric Materials, Ford has turned 210,000 used tires and 150,000 pounds of soy into material for the new gaskets and seals.

"The gaskets and seals are derived from 25 percent post-consumer, recycled-tire particulate and 17 percent biorenewable content from soy," Ford said in a press release.

"The sustainable gaskets were … Read more

The battle between telematics services is starting to heat up with Ford treading into GM's territory by adding live operator assistance to Sync.

Ford's cloud-based Sync Services is an automated system that lets drivers use voice commands to look up businesses, directions, traffic updates, and other information, such as sports scores, stock quotes, and horoscopes. Sync Services can send turn-by-turn directions to vehicles.

However, even with 14 million business listings, Sync Services isn't perfect. Looking up nearby businesses or entering directions is a hit-or-miss experience, and around the third or fourth time you scream "Starbucks" … Read more

Ford Motor Co. has established a corporate presence on Google+, evidently securing a place in a test of how Google's social network site will extend beyond individuals.

The Ford Google+ site had 1,222 followers on Saturday morning and featured posts such as a photo caption contest, a question about what people would like to see out of Ford on Google+, and promotion of a live chat with Ford's director of marketing communications--with a Google+ video-chat hangout afterward.