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Ford's app lets you find and pay for garage parking

Even if you own a Chevy.

Ford is making some canny moves to get its brand in front of the public, even for folks who don't own one of its cars. Its latest update to the FordPass app lets your reserve a parking spot in garages at over 160 US cities. You just enter a destination and the time you need to park, and can view available spots and pricing on a map in real time from the eight garages Ford has partnered with. You can then reserve and pay for a spot using FordPay, a service that lets you store your credit and debit cards.

The automaker isn't breaking new ground -- ParkMe is perhaps the best known app hat lets you find and pay for spots, and it's available in 4,200 cities around the world. That app also tracks street parking, and includes directions to lot entrances and a parking timer to help you avoid tickets. Other apps abound, and at one point, even Google had a service called Open Spot that helped you find metered spaces.

However, Ford brings some name recognition to the game, and the app is in keeping with its eBike and Transit programs that help folks get from suburb to city. It should appeal to those who don't want to waste time looking for a spot but want to find the best price for normally expensive city garages. The app also lets you get directions to parking locations and save them as favorites. The feature is now available in the US via the latest update to the FordPass app.