Ford and Microsoft’s Sync system has already received praise from press and consumer a like, and now they are adding more features. The Sync Applink system will be available on the Ford Fiesta and be compatible with Android and Blackberry Phones – Sorry iPhone users, you have to wait till next year.

The Sync Applink system will allow drivers to safely interact through voice controls with their smart phones to control applications. Initially the system with launch with compatibility for Pandora, Sticher, and OpenBeak for Twitter.

Ford has also launched a Sync developer community and the “Mobile Application Developers Network” to give partners access to the Sync API. Developers can go to www.syncmyride.com/developer to submit ideas and sign up for information and get the Sync SDK.

Ford expects mobile computing to be big. The Sync System uses the Ford Service Delivery Network, a cloud based content delivery network that handles turn-by-turn directions.

SYNC AppLink on the 2011 Fiesta

SYNC and Pandora

SYNC and Sticher

SYNC and OpenBeak

Full Press Release

SYNC AppLink to launch on 2011 fiesta, MAKING FORD FIRST TO DELIVER voice control of smartphone apps

• Ford will first offer SYNC^® AppLink, a downloadable software program, on the 2011 Fiesta, allowing owners to access and control Android^TM and BlackBerry^® smartphone apps with voice commands and vehicle controls
• Pandora internet radio, Stitcher “smart radio” and Orangatame’s OpenBeak are the first SYNC-enabled mobile applications
• Ford to create SYNC developer community with launch of new “Mobile Application Developer Network” (www.syncmyride.com/developer),  giving developers a pathway to partner with Ford on SYNC-enabled applications
• Ford’s platform approach with SYNC is poised to harness smartphone app development and mobile web access; apps expected to be a $4 billion industry by 2012; analysts predict the mobile device to become the No. 1 source for Internet access by 2015

SAN FRANCISCO, April 20, 2010 – Customers have spoken — asking for safe, convenient access to their smartphone apps while in the vehicle – and Ford is responding by announcing the new SYNC AppLink software that will allow hands-free voice control of popular smartphone apps.

SYNC AppLink, a downloadable software upgrade, will be released for 2011 Ford Fiesta owners with the award-winning SYNC communications and infotainment system later this year, allowing drivers hands-free control of apps on their Android or BlackBerry smartphones via voice commands and vehicle controls. Ford will introduce AppLink on all SYNC-equipped vehicles next year, as well as provide interoperability with iPhone and other smartphones.

“The growth in smartphone mobile apps has been explosive, and Ford has worked hard to respond at the speed of the consumer electronics market,” said Doug VanDagens, director of Ford’s Connected Services Organization. “SYNC is the only connectivity system available that can extend that functionality into the car. AppLink will allow drivers to control some of the most popular apps through SYNC’s voice commands and steering wheel buttons, helping drivers keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.”

The Android Market^TM and BlackBerry App World™ are among the leading growth markets for mobile apps. The new SYNC AppLink will seamlessly integrate apps using the vehicle’s voice and user interface controls, including buttons on the steering wheel, increasing eyes-on-the-road and hands-on-the-wheel time.

The first SYNC-enabled apps available later this year include Pandora internet radio, Stitcher “smart radio” and Orangatame’s OpenBeak app for Twitter, with additional apps on the way. Updated versions of each app, incorporating the SYNC application programming interface (API), will be available through Android Market and BlackBerry App World for customers to download.

Built-in, Beamed-in and Brought-in: The SYNC App Ecosystem

From its introduction, Ford has been building an ecosystem of available SYNC apps, continuously improving the consumer experience.

• Built-in apps, including Vehicle Health Report and 911 Assist^™, are downloaded and installed directly on the in-car SYNC operating system
• SYNC apps like Traffic, Directions & Information rely on beamed-in, or “cloud-based,” information. Drivers access the Ford Service Delivery Network, a network of data centers providing turn-by-turn directions, business searches, and on-demand news, sports and weather information, through a simple voice-connection using their cell phone.
• SYNC AppLink represents the third category of the ecosystem, brought-in apps, leveraging apps installed on a user’s smartphone, such as Pandora, Stitcher and OpenBeak

Studies show mobile app development – a niche market just three years ago – is expected to blossom into a $4 billion industry by 2012. Sites serving specific mobile operating systems, such as Android and BlackBerry OS, have experienced massive growth, with analysts predicting the mobile device will become the No. 1 source for Internet access by 2015, surpassing the home computer.

Ford and SYNC will answer the consumer demand by offering the only platform available for drivers to safely control their mobile devices and applications in the car. Leveraging SYNC’s safer voice commands and steering wheel controls, drivers are able to keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. “Brought-in” apps residing on a consumer’s smartphone also eliminate the need for yet another piece of hardware to be installed in the car which only serves to add cost and complexity.

Customers will be able to download SYNC-enabled mobile apps through the same app store interfaces currently used. As SYNC-enabled versions of existing apps are released into the app stores, users will be prompted to download the latest version upon connection. Also, as developers grasp the notion that the vehicle interior has opened to them, a new dimension of apps designed from the outset to maximize the unique in-car environment will follow.

Opening the door to developers

To facilitate future SYNC-enabled app development, Ford has also activated a new developer network on its SYNCmyride Web site (www.syncmyride.com/developer). Interested developers can find a link to submit innovative ideas, and sign up for the latest information and news about the SYNC application programming interface (API) and software development kit (SDK). The package will allow developers to modify existing applications and create all-new apps that can successfully interface with SYNC.

Working with trusted partners, Ford is completing beta-testing on the SDK. Once beta-testing is complete, a broader release of the development tools is planned for later this year. Initial reports have been positive, with one of Ford’s development partners creating a SYNC-enabled version of its app just three days after receiving the development tools.

“We’re very pleased by the rapid development time and positive feedback we’ve seen from our first partners,” said VanDagens. “We want to encourage all developers to visit our site and submit ideas, helping us tap into the global pool of innovation and creativity.”

# # #

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 198,000 employees and about 90 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and, until its sale, Volvo. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford’s products, please visit www.ford.com.

The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited.

Android and Android Market are trademarks of Google, Inc.

Ford has picked up internet gymkhana extraordinaire Ken Block to head up its racing efforts for 2010. The WRC rookie was picked up by Subaru in 2006, but now finds himself sitting behind either a Ford Focus or a Ford Fiesta.

Block said of the Fiesta: “I am very excited to be in the Fiesta. That is the damn car that beat me last summer at X Games. Ford has a great platform with the Fiesta to develop and push a very good rally car worldwide and also in the showrooms. I am very excited to get in the Fiesta and see what I can do in the Rally America championship and at the X Games and also in 2011 to be in the new Fiesta World Rally car.”

From what it sounds like, we can expect a lot more hoonage from Block in the future – and don’t worry, there is a Gymkhana 3 coming featuring the Ford Fiesta.

Full Press Release:

Dearborn, Mich. — With today’s announcement that Ford Motor Company is teaming up with Ken Block, the California-based action sports icon-turned-rally driver, for future global motorsports opportunities, the company’s profile and involvement in rally racing has truly taken on a global position.

Rally racing has always been an important part of Ford’s motorsports strategy, but the Federation Internationale de L’Automobile World Rally Championship doesn’t race in the United States and there has never been an American driver who has campaigned a full season in the premier rally championship. Block, the 2005 Rally America Rookie of the Year and a three-time medalist at X Games, has cultivated a tremendous following with his Gymkhana videos on YouTube. In 2010, Block will campaign a Ford Focus in the FIA World Rally Championship and a Ford Fiesta in Rally America and the X Games.

TODAY’S BIG ANNOUNCEMENT TAKES YOUR RALLY CAREER GLOBAL. WHAT ARE YOU THOUGHTS AS YOU JOIN FORD AND AS YOU LOOK AHEAD TO A BUSY 2010?

BLOCK: “The easiest thing for me to say is that I am really stoked to have this partnership with Ford. My dad was a Ford guy and for me it is just something in the World Rally Championship that I have looked up to for a long time because Ford has such a great heritage in rally. They have been around for a very long time back to the Escort days all the way through the RS 200, and obviously through the Focus and now the Fiesta. This is a huge thing for me and I am very proud to be part of the Ford family.”

IN 2010, YOU WILL BE RUNNING THE FOCUS IN WORD RALLY AND THE FIESTA IN RALLY AMERICA AND X GAMES. WHAT IS YOUR MINDSET COMING INTO THE SEASON GETTING READY TO RUN TWO DIFFERENT RALLY SERIES?

BLOCK: “This is going to be one of the biggest challenges of my life and my career. Obviously, Rally America I have been doing for five years now and I am going after the championship. I have been very close several times, but this year I feel like it is my year. Along with that I have the X Games coming up this summer and again the same thing, I have been very close and have stood on the podium several times, but never at the top and I am looking to take that top place. On top of that, with the World Rally Championship, I am stepping into the biggest rally championship in the world and I will be competing against some of the best drivers in the world. That level of racing isn’t something that you just step into and expect to instantly be on the podium. I would be in fantasyland if I thought that I was going to be anywhere near that. So, for me, 2010 is a developmental year and I am really looking to develop my skills as far as I can and then I can began pushing harder in 2011 and 2012. As far as 2010 goes, it is my year to get my feet wet in the championship and start polishing my skills. It is going to be an amazing experience, but I am also very realistic about where I stand in this world and what my goals are going to be for the next year to three years.”

YOU WILL BE DRIVING THE FOCUS RS IN WORLD RALLY AND THE FIESTA IN RALLY AMERICA. A YEAR FROM NOW IT WILL BE ALL FIESTA IN WRC AND RALLY AMERICA. YOU SAW THE FIESTA DEBUT LAST YEAR AT THE X GAMES. WHAT IS YOUR LEVEL OF ANTICIPATION FOR DRIVING THE FIESTA IN COMPETITION?

BLOCK: “I am very excited to be in the Fiesta. That is the damn car that beat me last summer at X Games. Ford has a great platform with the Fiesta to develop and push a very good rally car worldwide and also in the showrooms. I am very excited to get in the Fiesta and see what I can do in the Rally America championship and at the X Games and also in 2011 to be in the new Fiesta World Rally car.”

FROM YOUR MONSTER RALLY TEAM PERSPECTIVE YOU HAVE TWO DIFFERENT SERIES YOU ARE PREPARING FOR. WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES YOU AS A TEAM FACE?

BLOCK: “The biggest challenge is going to be getting me seat time. I have been racing with a different manufacturer for many years now and while I have a lot of confidence in my abilities, jumping into a new car is always difficult. It is a big program we have going on this year, its global and there are a lot of different aspects to it from World Rally Championship to X Games to a new Gymkhana car. That is a tremendous variety of different types of driving and different types of conditions. I need to push as hard as I can and be the best that I can, but it is going to come down to getting as much experience as I can and getting seat time. I am very lucky to be in the position that I am in. There are not many drivers around the world that can say they are doing the types of things that I am doing. I am very proud of that and I am going to push very hard to be the best that I can be.”

IS THERE A GYMKHANA 3?

BLOCK: “Of course! We are in the developmental stages of a new Fiesta Gymkhana car and we are looking to have some new video content out by the summer.”

Ford announced its updated Fiesta rally car. It features a 2.0 liter normally-aspirated, Cosworth tuned engine. The new car is the first global rally car produced by Ford and M-Sport and they have high hopes for this compact powerhouse. M-Sport Managing Director Malcolm Wilson said, “It’s the first time in five years that we have been able to offer a Ford rally car that can challenge for overall victory in national championships across the world.”

As usual, race car specs tend to make regular road cars look boring, and the Fiesta is no exception. The power, which comes in at 8,000 rpm and isn’t made with the aid of boost, is mated to a 6-speed sequential gearbox. When can you catch this mighty mouse in action? While it won’t be officially homologized till next year it will be participating in the Rally of Scotland this weekend.  Luckily for most of you that aren’t in Scotland, you can catch the race on the web at Rally Scotland TV

 

Full Press Release

The highly-anticipated Ford Fiesta S2000 rally car has been unveiled at a launch ceremony at M-Sport’s Cumbrian base in the UK. The new rally car, the culmination of nine months’ hard work by the design and engineering team at M-Sport, was presented by M-Sport Managing Director Malcolm Wilson. Gerard Quinn, Ford of Europe’s Senior Motorsport Manager was present as a special Ford guest during the S2000 launch.

The Fiesta S2000, M-Sport and Ford’s first global rally car, which will be eligible to compete in national rally championships around the world as well as the IRC and S2000 World Cup, is due for homologation in January 2010. However, it will make its public debut this weekend appearing as course car at the final round of the IRC series, the Rally of Scotland.

Invited guests were given an opportunity to get a close-up look at the exciting new car which has been designed by M-Sport’s award-winning Technical Director Christian Loriaux and his team led by Chief Designer Anthony Brinkman and Test Engineer Chris Gray.

Continuing their close relationship with Ford, the team at M-Sport has worked in tandem with Ford’s Motorsport Technical Manager Mike Norton and the Ford small car design team that developed the acclaimed kinetic design of the Fiesta road car, to develop a dynamic and aggressive looking rally car.

The experience gained from developing the record-breaking Ford Focus RS WRC has been used by the M-Sport team to develop the Fiesta S2000 rally car while working within the new FIA Sporting Regulations which means that this car can be used by customers at both national and international level.

The Fiesta S2000 has already completed nearly 3,000 km of testing both in the UK and Europe and that extensive testing programme will continue into the start of the next year in readiness for the car’s competitive debut.

The Fiesta S2000 is the latest in a long line of rally cars produced as a result of the successful partnership between M-Sport and Ford, starting with the Escort Cosworth in the 1990s and moving on to the record breaking Ford Focus RS WRC and Ford Fiesta ST.

It follows hot on the heels of M-Sport’s extremely successful two wheel drive Fiesta R2, which was launched earlier this year and has already taken class victories in rallies across Europe.

The arrival of the Fiesta S2000 means that together Ford and M-Sport offer a complete ladder of opportunity for rally competitors to graduate with Ford from national level right through to the WRC in Ford cars.

M-Sport Managing Director Malcolm Wilson said:

“Today is a very exciting day for us. This is the first global rally car for Ford and M-Sport, I really believe that we have produced a fantastic rally car and this launch is a big step to seeing it out competing in rallies. It’s the first time in five years that we have been able to offer a Ford rally car that can challenge for overall victory in national championships across the world.

“It is also the culmination of a huge amount of hard work not only by Christian Loriaux and his team, but by everyone who works at M-Sport. We have worked closely with Ford on this project, their best-selling road car, the new Ford Fiesta, has been a perfect base car and its award-winning styling and kinematics together with M-Sport’s expertise will surely make the Fiesta S2000 a huge global success.”

M-Sport Technical Director Christian Loriaux said:

“It’s a fantastic feeling today to see the car actually launched to the world after all the hard work and testing behind closed doors. Everyone at M-Sport has had to pull together in order to get the Fiesta S2000 finished in such a short period of time and it has been a great team effort to get to this point so quickly.

“The design team, led by Anthony Brinkman and Chris Gray, has worked incredibly hard and the fact that we have been able to deliver the car to schedule is down in no small part to the commitment of the entire M-Sport team to the success of the project. We have made a very promising start in testing and I am more than pleased with the performance of the car so far; it will be interesting to see how the real pace of the car compares to the competition.”