Demo: Ford's new Sync

Dear Detroit,

More reliable, fuel efficient cars, less gadgets and gimmicks.

Love,

Casey

I don't think I would ever use something like this. When I am in a car, which isn't much these days, I just like to drive without all of the gadgets.

It also seemed really slow to respond. Todd, was that your feeling being there first hand?

John Cook

It did seem a little slow at some points, but this is a preliminary version, not the final release, so that could be addressed by the time it rolls out.

Also, my own experience with hands-free voice recognition in my Toyota has been less than optimal, to say the least, so maybe I'm just used to the car not responding quickly.

Well, let me offer three stats:
1. 31% of consumers who bought a SYNC equipped vehicle said it "strongly influenced" their purchase decision
2. SYNC equipped vehicles are selling twice as fast as non-SYNC equipped vehicles, and
3. Ford GREW market share for three months in a row now.

So...they must be doing something right with SYNC.

Granted, I'm not entirely unbiased. :)

For a fairly sophisticated system, I'm really surprised at how dated the Mustang's Sync interface looks - it's like they repurposed the display from an old car radio from the 90's.

You'd think Ford would have at least paired the Sync up with some kind of heads up display to let the driver see their location instead of just listening to the directions.

With respect to Casey's comments: "More reliable, fuel efficient cars, less gadgets and gimmicks." I would humbly suggest you check with JD Powers, Car & driver, Motor Trend and others who have indicated that Ford has been building quality on-par with Toyota and Honda for over four years now. That's two generations of vehicles for each of the se manufacturers and analysis performed by organizations who are less-than-sympathetic to the American Autos. And, with this year's introductions, Ford has fuel efficiency leads in the Focus, the Fusion, the Fusion Hybrid, the Escape Hybrid, the Flex and the F-150. Even a V-8 Mustang will get 26-29 MPG on the highway. Most other models are within 1-2 MPG of best-in-class. So, Ford is offering a little more than gadgetry. And, the gadgetry offered - like SYNC - is very inexpensive with no service contract and available on all models. (Not just on the top end of the GM or Toyota lines.) That way everyone gets the benefit of emergency dialing, etc.

Wow. I felt like I was on the phone trying to find out why my flight was canceled. Interesting technology, but feels really clunky. "Did you say Airport?", "Yes"!