We spy Ford's future Sync plans, nab a Sirius Travel Link hands-on

Ford invited us to its swanky Premier Auto Group headquarters in Irvine, California to talk about the future of Sync and demo the latest iteration of their infotainment platform coupled with Sirius Travel Link. According to the company, Sync v2.0 debuts in November, bringing tighter integration with Ford's syncmyride.com portal, providing owners with in-depth online vehicle health reports. Also in the cards is E911 support, which automatically places an emergency call as soon as the vehicle detects airbag deployment. Sync 3, scheduled to debut "sometime in 2009," will bring traffic, news, sports and weather to Ford vehicles without requiring navigation or a monthly subscription. On the infotainment front, however, 2009 Ford vehicles with the navigation option can subscribe to Sirius Travel Link for $7 a month, enabling real-time traffic info, coast to coast weather, local gas station listings sorted by price, movie show-times and sports scores. Peep the gallery below for a smorgasbord of screens.

Gallery: Hands-on with Ford's infotainment platform

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[JJLoch @ Aug 28th 2008 3:18PM]

I looove this concept. YAY for Ford.

[Montey @ Aug 28th 2008 3:38PM]

I bet a million dollars you didn't even read the article.

[Flashpoint @ Aug 28th 2008 3:21PM]

I've run extensive tests on ford's current version of sync in the Lincoln MKS and Ford Flex.

Sync is a a brilliant system that actually manages to outshine Mercedes Benz's COMMAND and BMW's i'Drive in numerous ways.

Gas stations automaticaly pop up when your fuel runs low, and not just in the radius, only on the route ahead.
Weather conditions both at your position and at the target destination are available.
The system allows you to sync your phone so that text messages pop up on screen and you can then quickly respond by tapping the screen for an appropriate response:

"yes"
"no"
maybe later, etc

Sync is such a good system, it makes me wonder why Microsoft isn't producing head units for cars.

The only downside to sync is the voice recognition. In fairness, I have yet to see a good voice recognition system. You can train your voice to it, but even then, the only functions easy to use are "track, artist,title,etc" information. Navigation entry is HORRIBLE unless you simply say "home" to go home, or a simple sounding destination that the computer will recognize.

When I am in Japan in January, I'll be testing their latest GPS/Nav system but for now, the best one I've yet to see is SYNC.

[Andrew @ Aug 28th 2008 4:26PM]

It really is. This is light years better than the system that's in my $50,000 BMW. It's amazing really. I'm not sure whether to be more disappointed in BMW or impressed by Ford. I suppose a little of both. Either way, this is an amazing looking interface, and it has a ton of useful features. I just hope it's easy to get to all of those features without having to dig around. If voice recognition is bad like you say, then that could be a pain. On a side not though, I think BMW's voice recognition is very good. There was no training involved, and it still rarely misses something I say, unless the windows are open or something like that. But of course, the iDrive doesn't even have the option to set up nav over voice.

[Flashpoint @ Aug 29th 2008 12:18AM]

BMW 's i-drive is only as old as the 2002 7 series.
While they definitely make the best driving cars on the road, Graphic user interfaces are best left to computer companies.
Microsoft has had years to perfect the GUI which sadly enough, Apple has made nearly perfect with its simplistic models.
Apple is suppossed to be making a GUI for Mercedes Benz. If its anything like the apple iphone OS, then it will probably be fantastic.

To bad Apple didn't get involved way back when BMW put i-drive into cars cause i-drive is like a spot on clone of apple's ipod OS.

[PynkFloydd @ Aug 29th 2008 4:12AM]

I remember reading that the parts of this system cost Microsoft under $50. That's supposed to be the biggest innovation. Manufacturers can offer Sync for under $500 (and still make a profit) while giving everyone a chance to own it. Previously, all of the luxury auto makers were selling navigation systems for thousands...these didn't even allow you to link your MP3 player like the Sync does. I believe that Microsoft just expanded their automotive division so, there should be a lot more stuff coming around. I doubt they'd make Microsoft branded headunits though...their business plan seems to focus on building relationships with distributors. I'd ditch my COMMAND system in a heartbeat for the Sync...

http://www.microsoft.com/auto/default.mspx

[harley @ Aug 28th 2008 3:23PM]

i wish there would be a way to retrofit this into my stang

[telepheedian @ Aug 28th 2008 3:23PM]

Wow, this time they actually managed to put a nice interface on it, the old one looked like it belonged to the 80s. http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/26/hands-on-with-the-ford-sync-infotainment-platform/

[Ari @ Aug 28th 2008 3:26PM]

This looks awesome. For sure one area where Ford has outdone the Japanese competitors.

[chris @ Aug 28th 2008 3:28PM]

sync looks like a great system, with more great improvements, but here is the problem, its in a ford you cant change that fact, i really like sync but ford really is the downfall for me

[Ruben @ Aug 28th 2008 8:52PM]

I'm not a fan at all of "North American" Fords, but I'm a huge fan of their European variants. The Mondeo, Kuga, Focus, and Fiesta are all awesome cars.

And by the time this is released, we should only be a year or two away from those cars being sold here. And I could use an economy car like a diesel Fiesta to complement my guzzling STI.

To be honest, Ford deserves to have their asses handed to them in terms of sales. NA Ford watched as their European counterparts release beautiful cars and just turned a blind eye to their biggest market.

And this interface is absolutely amazing. Its obvious they rushed Sync 1, in terms of front end design. They nailed the connectivity though, which is a good thing, but they needed another year of development to nail the front end. This is the result, and it looks awesome.

[chris @ Aug 31st 2008 11:48AM]

@Ruben
I agree with you there, if ford begins to launch diesel engines in American my opinion of them would most likely change, but with all of the fords you see here in America, everyone I personally know that has owned a ford has always had a problem with the car in the first month of ownership, I just find that to be not a great quality car

[chance @ Sep 3rd 2008 9:37AM]

@chris

Ford has made leaps and bounds in the past few years in the area of quality. They have gone to great lengths to change their image since 2005, and they are succeeding.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19073071/

[bob sakamano @ Aug 28th 2008 3:30PM]

where does dante cesa go every 4-8 months inbetween posts? makes me worried

topolsky, huh?

[Dante Cesa @ Aug 28th 2008 4:37PM]

I'm still here. I just do all the "behind the scenes" stuff. :)

[Anonymoose @ Aug 28th 2008 3:37PM]

'Sync 3, scheduled to debut "sometime in 2009," will bring traffic, news, sports and weather to Ford vehicles'

great, just what we need. more distractions for the driver of a crappy car.

[harley @ Aug 28th 2008 3:38PM]

i wish there would be a way to retrofit this into my stang

[Sporkinum @ Aug 28th 2008 3:39PM]

Does anyone know if this is stand alone, like a GPS, or is it always connected, like ONSTAR.
If it can old connect a personal phone via Blue Tooth, that is a good thing as it keeps Big Brother out of the equation.

[jp23 @ Aug 28th 2008 8:28PM]

It stands alone, it gets all of it's info from either a DVD for the Nav and POI and all the other interactive comes from Sirius. The E911 and stuff like that is done via bluetooth to your phone.
Much better than Onstar and much cheaper.

[DJ @ Aug 28th 2008 3:42PM]

I for one, think Dante's writing is SUPERB. Also, in the picture, the use of OneRepublic's Apologize is CRAFTY...too crafty.

[konshuss @ Aug 28th 2008 3:43PM]

why does it appear the 'House' in 'The Coffee House' was shopped out?

[Jerk Face @ Aug 28th 2008 3:43PM]

Awesome. Now that song will be in my head for the next 16 hours. What fun.

[phanbouy @ Aug 28th 2008 4:09PM]

that's balls to post your face and call yourself jerk face.

keep on keepin on

[modified @ Aug 28th 2008 3:54PM]

So will current Sync owners be able to upgrade to these newer versions?

[Dante Cesa @ Aug 28th 2008 4:39PM]

Unfortunately no.

[fomocona @ Aug 29th 2008 9:45AM]

The upcoming SYNC update featuring 911 Assist and Vehicle Health Report for all current SYNC vehicles will be available this fall. This update does not affect the navigation system. Further details about the SYNC update/upgrade will be posted at http://www.syncmyride.com as they become available. Future SYNC features/updates/upgrades are still in design stages.

[MF @ Aug 28th 2008 4:59PM]

Actually, I think SYNC is software upgradeable, and Sync II doesn't have different hardware. I think you'll be able to get a flash drive with new software and update the system.

[TopaZ @ Aug 28th 2008 5:29PM]

Wasn't Sync1 being licensed to other manufacturers? I remember reading that.

Maybe after an exclusivity period, the same will go for Sync3

I love the system, but I too refuse to buy a Ford

[MF @ Aug 28th 2008 5:48PM]

Why? Ford's quality is world class (see J.D. Power) at this point. And, for the money, you can often get more features compared to an import. Or you can buy a similar configuration for less.

[phanbouy @ Aug 28th 2008 6:05PM]

if you're making purchasing decisions based on JD Power then... well, more 'power' to you

[AdibTowfiq @ Aug 28th 2008 5:52PM]

does this "ford sync" have anything to do with the 90's pop group "n'sync".... i hope not

[Aaron @ Aug 28th 2008 6:23PM]

I hope the old units will be upgradable to this new UI and be able to include some of these features.

[Jeremy W @ Aug 29th 2008 4:53PM]

Current SYNC systems can be upgraded with a couple of features, but the UI is not upgradeable.

[Carlos Miguel @ Aug 28th 2008 8:43PM]

The CarPC crowd has had a lot of this for a long time, for less than $1000 is possible to have in car navigation, internet connection, entertainment, ipod conectivity, phone integration, etc. etc. etc. all built from off the shelf parts. (http://www.tupila.com/blog/?p=101)

The dirty part is building and installing the CarPC and installing a little software called Centrafuse (www.centrafuse.com), then suddendly a Windows PC competes (and wins over imho) with a expensive factory navigation unit.

[lpfan3013 @ Aug 29th 2008 3:46AM]

sexy.