Flex

Ford Truly Deserves to be at CES: Ford Sync AppLink & 2012 Ford Focus EV Pave the Way!

by Michael Sheehan on January 11, 2011

in Application, Auto, CES, Consumer Electronics, Event, Ford, Gadgets, General, Microsoft, Mobile, Safety, Software, Tech News, Video

For many, many years, I never thought much of Ford . I had been unimpressed with their cars (with a few exceptions like the Mustang) and especially with their styling and technology. In the 80′s and 90′s, to me, Ford was “just another American car” which said a lot. All of the technology, style and innovation had been coming from overseas (Japan and Europe). My position on this over the past year has literally flipped a complete U-turn. Last year, I got to test drive the 2010 Ford Flex and experience the Ford Sync by Microsoft for the first time. I also spent some time learning about the safety advances that Ford has been implementing across their fleets. And last week, I got to see some of their new technology and cars up close and personal at CES 2011 (the International Consumer Electronics Show), and the bottom line is, I’m really impressed.

At CES, I spent quite a few hours talking with various people from Ford, learning about what new innovations and technology (like MyFord Touch and Ford Sync AppLink) were being built into their next models and getting an up close and personal preview of the new 2012 Ford Focus EV (Electric Vehicle). If you really want to get a feel for how techy Ford has really become, just spend a few minutes on their Technology page.

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Ford Sync AppLink

I had an appointment at the Ford booth at CES to learn more about the Ford Sync AppLink. Instead of just being handed a media release or a thumb drive with a bunch of information that my brain would surely gloss over and quickly forget, a Ford representative, Chris Demeniuk, Ford Product Design Engineer, gave me the following walk-through of some new additions to their already hugely successful Ford Sync technology.

[click to continue…]

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My First Days with the 2010 Ford Flex – Beginning to Explore the Technology

by Michael Sheehan on April 20, 2010

in Audio, Auto, Consumer Electronics, Gadgets, General, Hardware, Mobile, Review, Safety

I have not had a new car in over 10 years. And, I had always thought that American Cars were lagging behind foreign autos in so many ways: design, styling, features and especially, technology. My perspective has now flipped about 180 degrees, especially around the technology factor. Here’s why…

This is an on-going series about the 2010 Ford Flex. Ford has graciously loaned me a Flex for two weeks in order for me to fully experience not only the car, but also the technology, specifically Microsoft Sync. I have now been driving the Flex for about 3-4 days and am really starting to fall in love. For some background information, this is the first “car review” that I have done. I won’t be reporting on that much of the car itself but more around the brains within it. I thought that before I spend time specifically on the Ford Sync, I would mention some of the other “techy” features that power the Ford Flex and then devote some other article(s) to the Sync.

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For starters, here is a bit of information about the 2010 Ford Flex model that I’m driving:

  • Model – Ford Flex SEL
  • Starting MSRP – $31,750
  • Price as tested – $41,555 (w/ SEL-Convenience Package)
  • MPG City/Hwy – 16/22
  • Features (just mentioning a few) [click to continue…]

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