Ford’s innovative new MyFord Touch driver connect technology has received a Popular Mechanics’ Editor’s Choice award for best new product at the 2010 International CES.
The 2010 show marks the third time the magazine’s technology editors have selected a Ford breakthrough for the award, granted annually to products the magazine feels “will make a difference this year.
About MyFord Touch
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.
A history of award-winning technology
Ford previously won the Popular Mechanics’ Editor’s Choice Award in 2007 for its SYNC technology, developed with Microsoft, which allows customers to seamlessly operate almost any mobile phone or digital media player in their vehicles using voice commands and steering wheel-mounted controls. The technology also received a “People’s Voice Award” that year.
In 2009, SYNC received the Bluetooth Special Interest Group’s “Best of CES” award. The SYNC Traffic, Directions & Information application, the industry’s first system to seamlessly integrate a variety of technologies to provide emergency, diagnostic and information services as well as traffic reports and directions on the road, also received the 2009 Popular Mechanics’ Editor’s Choice Award.
Quotes
“Ford innovations are a direct response to consumer trends. Technologies such as SYNC and MyFord Touch feed the demand for information in an integrated, elegant user interface. For both the auto industry and the consumer electronics industry, the best bet is to develop products that are versatile and loaded with features that make them easy to personalize.”
– Alan Mulally, Ford President and CEO, during his CES keynote presentation
“Our vision for MyFord driver connect technology is that customers can connect to friends and family, to their favorite entertainment devices, and to all of the data stored in the ‘cloud’ using voice commands, touch controls and colorful LCD graphics. They can chat with their kids, listen to their RSS feeds, scan their iPods and make dinner reservations all while driving home from work, and all while keeping their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel.”
– Derrick Kuzak, Ford Global Product Development Chief.
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Posts Tagged ‘Popular Mechanics’
By Popular Demand…
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010Tags: Best New Product, CES, Editor's Choice, Ford, Ford Motor Company, MyFord Touch, Popular Mechanics, Technology
Posted in Ford Technology - text | No Comments »
Three Times the Charm
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
Editors at Popular Mechanics today announced the winners of the magazine’s 2010 Automotive Excellence Awards, and Ford Motor Company set a precedent, winning more categories in a single year than any other automaker in the history of the awards.
The Popular Mechanics Automotive Excellence Awards recognize the best in automotive design, execution and technology for 2010 model year vehicles in 10 categories. Ford’s Mustang Shelby GT500 won the award in the Performance category, Transit Connect took top honors in the Workhorse category and F-150 SVT Raptor earned the award in the Off-Road Ability category.
Derrick Kuzak, group vice president, Global Product Development, Ford Motor Company, accepted the awards on behalf of the Ford team.
To determine award winners, Stewart says editors of Popular Mechanics travel the globe and spend thousands of miles behind the wheel of every new car and truck introduced by the world’s automakers. After months of hands-on testing and research, the team nominates a list of vehicles in each category, then votes on the winners.
2010 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 – Performance Category Winner
The editors of Popular Mechanics describe the Mustang Shelby GT500 as a new superpower to contend with in the 21st-century muscle car wars.
“The Mustang Shelby GT500 – with its incredibly potent 5.4-liter V-8 engine – certainly impressed us,” said Ben Stewart, automotive editor, Popular Mechanics. “But it was Ford Special Vehicle Team’s (SVT) refinement of the chassis that made our staff declare the GT500 the best Mustang in the model’s long 45-year history.”
2010 Ford Transit Connect – Workhorse Category Winner
Popular Mechanics editors praise the Ford Transit Connect as a fresh alternative to a full-size van that is packaged to address the pressures of the economy, urban congestion and fluctuating gas prices.
“It was the brilliant combination of the Transit Connect’s efficient use of space – and fuel – that won over our team,” said Stewart. “This vehicle proves that small vehicles can handle big jobs, and it comes at an ideal time when contractors and other business owners are looking to downsize and save on fuel.”
2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor – Off-Road Ability Category Winner
“The most extreme high-speed 4x4 pickup ever produced,” is the way editors of Popular Mechanics describe Ford’s F-150 SVT Raptor.
“We spent time riding along with Ford SVT engineers at near race speeds and had a chance to climb behind the wheel of the truck ourselves,” said Stewart. “For the avid off-roader, the Raptor is the truck we’ve all been waiting for.”
Stewart says he was particularly impressed with the tuning of Raptor’s long-travel suspension.
“It soaks up high-speed desert terrain better than any production pickup truck we’ve driven,” he said.
Quotes
“Ford’s sweep of three categories in this year’s awards speaks to the onslaught of great products coming from Dearborn.”
– Ben Stewart, automotive editor, Popular Mechanics
“This important recognition reflects the strength and diversity of the Ford product lineup. From a performance car to a workhorse vehicle to an off-road pickup, Ford is building quality products that people really want.”
– Derrick Kuzak, Group Vice President, Global Product Development, Ford Motor Company
Tags: Automotive Excellence Awards, Derrick Kuzak, Ford, Ford Motor Company, Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, Ford Transit Connect, performance, Popular Mechanics
Posted in Ford Cars - text, Ford Quality - text | No Comments »
Three Times the Charm
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
Editors at Popular Mechanics today announced the winners of the magazine’s 2010 Automotive Excellence Awards, and Ford Motor Company set a precedent, winning more categories in a single year than any other automaker in the history of the awards.
The Popular Mechanics Automotive Excellence Awards recognize the best in automotive design, execution and technology for 2010 model year vehicles in 10 categories. Ford’s Mustang Shelby GT500 won the award in the Performance category, Transit Connect took top honors in the Workhorse category and F-150 SVT Raptor earned the award in the Off-Road Ability category.
Derrick Kuzak, group vice president, Global Product Development, Ford Motor Company, accepted the awards on behalf of the Ford team.
To determine award winners, Stewart says editors of Popular Mechanics travel the globe and spend thousands of miles behind the wheel of every new car and truck introduced by the world’s automakers. After months of hands-on testing and research, the team nominates a list of vehicles in each category, then votes on the winners.
2010 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 – Performance Category Winner
The editors of Popular Mechanics describe the Mustang Shelby GT500 as a new superpower to contend with in the 21st-century muscle car wars.
“The Mustang Shelby GT500 – with its incredibly potent 5.4-liter V-8 engine – certainly impressed us,” said Ben Stewart, automotive editor, Popular Mechanics. “But it was Ford Special Vehicle Team’s (SVT) refinement of the chassis that made our staff declare the GT500 the best Mustang in the model’s long 45-year history.”
2010 Ford Transit Connect – Workhorse Category Winner
Popular Mechanics editors praise the Ford Transit Connect as a fresh alternative to a full-size van that is packaged to address the pressures of the economy, urban congestion and fluctuating gas prices.
“It was the brilliant combination of the Transit Connect’s efficient use of space – and fuel – that won over our team,” said Stewart. “This vehicle proves that small vehicles can handle big jobs, and it comes at an ideal time when contractors and other business owners are looking to downsize and save on fuel.”
2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor – Off-Road Ability Category Winner
“The most extreme high-speed 4x4 pickup ever produced,” is the way editors of Popular Mechanics describe Ford’s F-150 SVT Raptor.
“We spent time riding along with Ford SVT engineers at near race speeds and had a chance to climb behind the wheel of the truck ourselves,” said Stewart. “For the avid off-roader, the Raptor is the truck we’ve all been waiting for.”
Stewart says he was particularly impressed with the tuning of Raptor’s long-travel suspension.
“It soaks up high-speed desert terrain better than any production pickup truck we’ve driven,” he said.
Quotes
“Ford’s sweep of three categories in this year’s awards speaks to the onslaught of great products coming from Dearborn.”
– Ben Stewart, automotive editor, Popular Mechanics
“This important recognition reflects the strength and diversity of the Ford product lineup. From a performance car to a workhorse vehicle to an off-road pickup, Ford is building quality products that people really want.”
– Derrick Kuzak, Group Vice President, Global Product Development, Ford Motor Company
Tags: 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor, Automotive Excellence Awards, Derrick Kuzak, Ford, Ford Motor Company, Ford SVT, global product development, Off-Road Ability, Popular Mechanics, Transit Connect
Posted in Ford F-150 - text snippets | No Comments »
Where New-Fangled Contraptions Get Major Props
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009
What happens when a couple of 100+ year olds share a stage? A Vaudeville variety act? An ornery rant about “young whippersnappers.” A tearful reminiscence of the “good ole days.” Think again.
Popular Mechanics, favorite 107-year-old magazine of geeks everywhere, saluted 106-year-old Ford Motor Company’s fuel efficient EcoBoost™ engine Thursday evening in New York with its Breakthrough Award.
Now in its fifth year, the Breakthrough Awards recognize products and celebrate innovations poised to change the world, and the passionate, smart creators behind them. Ford is the only automaker this year to receive the accolade. Derrick Kuzak, Ford’s group vice president of Global Product Development accepted the award on behalf of the company.
It Gives You Wings
EcoBoost, which uses turbocharging and direct gasoline injection to boost engine output, reduce emissions and improve fuel efficiency by as much as 20 percent marks a major milestone in the Ford strategy to deliver technologically advanced, high-output, smaller-displacement powertrains.
The Ford powertrain management strategy uses hundreds of thousands of lines of computer code and related parameters that are adjusted to optimize the engine and transmission operation. It’s these processes that largely make up the more than 125 EcoBoost patent contributions and makes Ford’s use of direct injection and turbocharging of its engines like no other automaker in the world.
By 2013, more than 90 percent of Ford’s North American lineup will be available with EcoBoost technology.
Quotes
“From flying cars to robots to wind turbines for homes, the innovations honored by the 2009 POPULAR MECHANICS Breakthrough Awards not only capture the imagination, they hold the potential to improve and even save lives. We are pleased to honor this year’s diverse list of visionaries, Dean Kamen among them, and applaud their efforts to address such concerns as climate change, pollution, energy shortages and medical care in the developing world.”
– James B. Meigs, Editor-in-Chief, Popular Mechanics
"Ford engineers looked at every available engine configuration, comparing power, price, economy and emissions, determining the best way to power Ford vehicles in the future. EcoBoost technology gives us everything: a combination of the performance buyers expect and fuel economy improvements they demand that, until now, only has been achievable with the latest-generation turbo-diesel powertrains."
– Derrick Kuzak, Group Vice President, Global Product Development, Ford Motor Company
Tags: Breakthrough Awards, Derrick Kuzak, direct gasoline injection, EcoBoost, EcoBoost technology, Ford, Ford Motor Company, Fuel Efficient, global product development, Popular Mechanics, powertrain management strategy, Turbocharging
Posted in Ford Technology - text | No Comments »
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