In a speech that emphasized innovation and independence, Ford Motor Co. CEO Alan Mulally told attendeesat the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) todaythat Ford is ratcheting up its efforts in in-vehicle connectivity.

"The best bet is to develop products that are versatile andloaded with features that make them easy to personalize," Mulally told thecrowd at the Las Vegas Hilton.

Ford's efforts going forward include a wide variety oftechnologies that enhance eyes-on-the-road driving while providing connectivityto phone calls, text messages and navigation services.

During the presentation, Ford engineers described a newtechnology called MyFord Touch, which ties the technologies together withstrong design and graphics. The company said its strategy will includeintegrated GUIs (graphical user interfaces), TUIs (touch user interfaces), andVUIs (voice user interfaces) in the form of LCD screens, steering wheelcontrols, instrument clusters and media hubs that make communications simplerand safer. They added that the MyFord Touch technology will be available inshowrooms later this year. Next week, the company will also roll out a similartechnology called MyLincoln Touch.

The giant automaker also announced that it has forged apartnership with Mapquest.com to provide voice navigation services to driversthrough the company's well-known Sync platform.

Ford engineers demonstrated voice-based communications byhaving the dashboard software read aloud from a text message sent to thespeaker while on stage. They also credited engineers from Nuance for helping with its voice controleffort. "The Nuance team was invaluable in improving voice recognition andsimplifying command sequences, using fewer words to get what you want," saidJim Buczkowski, director of global electrical and electronics systems engineeringfor Ford. "With their help, we've been able to flatten the required grammarsequences and make Ford voice control more conversational."

Engineers said the new voice control systems will enableimproved voice command control of radios, CD players, MP3 players, climatecontrol systems, navigation, phones and other features.

Mulally's introduction drew cheers from the audience when aConsumer Electronics Association executive credited him with leading Fordthrough the tough economic times of the past year. Mulally's decision to borrow$23 billion, instead of looking to the federal government, "has allowed Ford tosteer through the current economic crisis without public assistance," noted GaryShapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association. "As aresult, Ford is owned by shareholders, not by the federal government."

Ford Enhances In-Vehicle Connectivity B