An in-car HD Radio device from Jensen.
(Credit: Ibiquity Digital)Ford Motor just can't seem to get enough lately of high-tech flourishes for the dashboard.
Earlier this month, the automaker unveiled plans to integrate Wi-Fi into its Sync entertainment systems so that drivers can turn their cars into wireless Internet hot spots. On Tuesday, Ford said that starting in 2010, car buyers will be able to get a factory-installed HD Radio receiver with iTunes Tagging capabilities:
"Through the Sync system," Ford said in its press release, "iTunes Tagging will provide Ford customers with the ability to capture a song they hear on the HD Radio receiver for later purchase. With a simple push of the 'TAG' button on the radio display, the song information will be stored in the radio's memory."Up to 100 tags can be stored on Sync until the iPod is connected to receive the download of metadata. When the iPod is then synced to iTunes, a playlist of 'tagged' songs will appear. Customers then can preview and, if desired, purchase and download tagged songs from the iTunes Store."
Ford is proclaiming itself the first automaker to offer HD Radio with iTunes tagging as a factory-installed feature, but its announcement comes nearly a year after consumer electronics company JVC began touting its KD-HDR50, an in-car stereo system that comes with a built-in HD Radio tuner that incorporates iTunes Tagging.
For more on HD Radio and the gadgets that get it, see:
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Ford Motor)
A new feature from Ford Motor will allow drivers to let their car do the steering when faced with a parallel parking space, the company announced Tuesday.
This latest car gadget, which Ford calls Active Park Assist, works slightly differently than the park assist feature on Toyota's self-parking Lexus.
On the self-parking Lexus, the driver can use an interface to adjust the space the car aims for, and only maintains control over the brake while it's maneuvering.
In Ford's version the driver pulls up alongside a space and pushes a button. The car then applies ultrasonic-based sensors at the four corners of the car to detect its position and that of other street obstacles near the space. It then calculates the optimal steering angles for maneuvering into the space and prompts the driver to give the OK. After the driver pushes the OK button, the EPAS (Electronic Power Assisted Steering) then uses those calculations to automatically steer the car into the spot while the driver maintains control over the shifting, gas, and brake.
The feature will be available as an option on the Lincoln MKS sedan and MKT crossover models starting in mid-2009, according to Ford.
I'm curious to know exactly how tight of a space it's willing to maneuver a roomy Lincoln into.
We'll probably know soon at CNET, as I'm sure the gals and guys in our car review department are already making plans to test out a Lincoln with this latest piece of tech magic.
(Anyone else think it would be funny if Linkin Park sings in the commercial for this Lincoln "Park Assist"?)
Ford's MyKey will come standard in the 2010 Focus coupe. Other models will follow.
(Credit: Ford Motor)Ford Motor has found a new way for parents to keep teen drivers in check when they lend them the car, the company said Monday.
MyKey, a car key with a chip, can be programmed to curtail the top speed of its user to 80 mph.
The MyKey will come standard with the 2010 Focus coupe and eventually will be available on other Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury models, according to Ford.
In addition to implementing a speed limit, the key can be used to limit the volume of the car stereo system and emit a chime for six seconds every five minutes until the driver puts on a seatbelt.
MyKey can also be programmed to chime once each time the car reaches 45 mph, 55 mph, and 65 mph to alert young drivers about their acceleration.
Another feature, useful to anyone who fails to notice when the fuel light goes on, chimes when the car is 75 miles from empty. (The light on a Ford usually goes on at 50 miles to empty.)
The new gadget is part of Ford's Driving Skills for Life program, which is dedicated to educating drivers not only about safety but also on techniques for reducing fuel consumption.
Hope you didn't buy that Mustang Bullitt for the Ali MacGraw in your life just yet.
Ford announced it's now offering a factory-installed panoramic glass roof option for both the Steve McQueen-inspired Bullitt and the Shelby GT500KR. The glass roof, as an option for its V-6 Mustang and Mustang GT, will become available in the summer of 2008, according to Ford.
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Ford Motor)
To be clear, this is not a hardtop convertible, but a fixed glass roof option. It will be available for $1,995.
And, as no one wants an over-heated driver, the glass roof is made of tinted privacy safety glass that reduces passenger exposure to infrared rays and also includes protection from solar radiation deterioration (i.e., it won't let the sun fade your seats). Vinyl was also incorporated into the glass material to reduce pollution from outside noise.
The glass roof also includes a built-in manual roller blind. Too bad it isn't electric. Ah well, maybe that's for the next iteration.
Ford was prompted by a J.D. Power and Associates statistic that said 62 percent of sports car buyers said they want a moon- or sunroof on their next vehicle, the company said in a statement.
It should be noted that Ford already introduced this idea of an all glass roof with the Giugiaro Mustang concept it debuted at the 2007 LA auto show in November.
Daimler and Ford Motor are partnering on a privately held company to develop automotive fuel cell technology, both companies announced Thursday.
The companies plan to buy the automotive fuel cell business unit of Ballard Power Systems, a British Columbia-based supplier of hydrogen fuel cells for vehicles. From that asset, they plan to start a private company, according to a joint statement.
Daimler will own a 50.1 percent share of the new company, Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation (AFCC), the companies said. Ford Motor will own a 30 percent share, and 19.9 percent will be owned by Ballard.
AFCC will consist of about 150 employees and specialize in developing fuel cells for cars and buses. Ballard on its own will continue to concentrate on nonautomotive fuel cell applications.
The new company will allow Daimler to "go full steam ahead in our preparations for the series production of fuel cell cars," according to Daimler.
"The fuel cell remains one of the most viable solutions to develop a sustainable, zero-emissions vehicle. The creation of the Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation is an investment in our future," Gerhard Schmidt, Ford's vice president of research and advanced engineering, said in a statement.
In October, Daimler invested in Choren Industries, a company that specializes in renewable-fuel technologies.
Boeing's HALE (high altitude long endurance) unmanned aircraft runs on hydrogen fuel.
(Credit: Boeing)Boeing is reporting progress in simulation tests of its HALE (high altitude long endurance) aircraft, an unmanned plane that runs on hydrogen.
While it has not yet gone aloft, the propeller-driven HALE aircraft was able to run for a total of three days in a chamber that simulated flight at 65,000 feet. The eventual goal is to get it to fly for more than a week at a time with a one-ton payload.
The turbocharged hydrogen combustion engine, which was developed by Ford Motor, managed to maintained proper torque control while getting better than expected fuel usage, according to Boeing. Boeing was particularly impressed with the aircraft's endurance, according to a company statement this week.
The gasoline version of the engine is used in the Ford Fusion and Ford Escape hybrid vehicles, according to the automaker.
The HALE aircraft is a drone that could be used as a tool for border patrol, communication, telecommunications, general surveillance, battlefield intelligence gathering, reconnaissance missions, and port security.
UAVs are a hot field for development and actual use these days as an economical alternative to manned aircraft. The Pentagon is especially drawn to them: Just last month, the Air Force began flying the Reaper UAV--a bigger, more heavily armed version of the Predator--on missions in Afghanistan. The aircraft have civilian uses, too: NASA has its own (unarmed) version of the Predator, called Ikhana, that is being used to monitor fires in California.
Successful testing of the Boeing HALE aircraft could help convince people that hydrogen power is a viable option for aircraft, Boeing said.
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