January 11, 2007

Sync voted hottest, most innovative new technology

Ford Sync™, the in-vehicle voice-activated technology and entertainment system developed in partnership with Microsoft, is this year's "People's Voice" award winner at the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. 

Visitors to CNET (www.cnet.com), an Internet-based media company covering the unveilings this week at the 40th CES, voted Ford Sync, powered by Microsoft Auto, as the most significant new product introduced at the show. The online voting system drew more than 8,200 votes from summers who "wanted to see recognition for their favorite product at the Consumer Electronics Show," according to CNET. 

Ford Sync beat out the best and brightest new worthy gadgets in all categories – from televisions to computers to cell phones and cameras and camcorders – to win the honor. 

"This is huge," said a clearly enthused Tim Nixon, manager of Technology Development and Implementation Engineering at Ford. "You cannot believe the attention we have received at this (CES) show. At times, the press has been lined up three and four deep at our display area waiting for interviews. This is great news for Ford and Microsoft."

Nixon says the "People's Voice" honor is actually the second received by Sync in Las Vegas this week, having already earned the "Editor's Choice" award from Popular Mechanics magazine on Monday.

Sync allows consumers to bring nearly any mobile phone or digital media player into their vehicles and operate them by voice command, or by using the steering wheel or radio controls.

With nearly 60 million digital music devices sold in the U.S. and more than 80 percent of the country's households using cell phones, connectivity is becoming increasingly important to consumers -- anytime, any place.

"With Sync, you can travel with your Zune or iPod and access its features using the vehicle's controls, and the full capability of your Bluetooth cell phone will be just a voice command away," said Mark Fields, Ford executive vice president, to media members gathered at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) at Sync's Detroit reveal Sunday.

"We're going to roll it out quickly and affordably in 12 new vehicles, starting with the 2008 Ford Focus, because the market potential is absolutely enormous," Fields said.

Sync is likely to resonate very strongly with Gen-Y consumers, the 57 million people born between 1981 and 1995 that have grown up in a world of computers and online activities. "They're connected 24/7. They love technology," Mark Fields told reporters at the Detroit auto show yesterday.  

The decision to include Sync in the 2008 Ford Focus "was about really looking at the marketplace and being more customer-driven," Fields told the Detroit News. "It wasn't a hard sell, because the team wanted to win. We all intuitively knew it made sense."

Among the other Ford products to feature Sync later this year are the 2008 Ford Fusion, Five Hundred, Edge, Freestyle, Explorer and Sport Trac.

The technology, exclusive to Ford Motor Company through 2008, will be expanded to all Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles in the near future. For more information on Sync, visit www.SyncMyRide.com.