Yearly Archives: 2015

SYNC 3 is now rolling out in new Ford vehicles starting with the 2016 Escape and Focus and it banishes all the stuff people hated about MyFord Touch

This entry was posted in gpblg on by (updated 3309 days ago)

I spent a week with a +Ford Motor Company Escape and while I still don't like touchscreens in cars, SYNC 3 is way better than just about any other OEM interface out there.

Review: MyFord Touch is Dead, Long Live SYNC 3!
The week of January 7, 2007 was a hugely important preview of the future of cars and how we would interact them. In the span of three days, there were three major product announcements in three cit…

Review: MyFord Touch is Dead, Long Live SYNC 3!

This entry was posted in Carmakers cars Ford infotainment technology and tagged car review car reviews ford ford escape infotainment lincoln sync sync 3 on by (updated 3316 days ago)

2016 Ford Escape SE - 27 of 40The week of January 7, 2007 was a hugely important preview of the future of cars and how we would interact them. In the span of three days, there were three major product announcements in three cities that all seemed distinct at the time but the convergence is now becoming clearer every day. The week kicked off with General Motors vice chairman Bob Lutz revealing the original Chevrolet Volt concept at the Detroit Auto Show. Later that same day, then future Ford CEO Mark Fields joined Microsoft CEO Bill Gates on stage at CES in Las Vegas to announce the SYNC connectivity system. Finally, two days later Apple CEO Steve Jobs showed the world the iPhone at Macworld Expo in San Francisco.

Each of those three products has evolved significantly in the last eight years and with each passing day we get closer to the fusion of them all, potentially in an Apple car. While that latter product is still likely years away from being announced, touchscreen smartphones are now ubiquitous with more than two billion in use around the world. They are so prevalent that we now expect to be able to use them anywhere and everywhere including behind the wheel. While plug-in vehicles currently represent only a tiny fraction of the world’s vehicle parc, they too will likely one day dominate and with the addition of autonomous capability our vehicles may well become nothing more than a place to consume content while being moved around.

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Once a car is on the road, you're basically stuck with the hardware that shipped

This entry was posted in gpblg on by (updated 3294 days ago)

Once a car is on the road, you're basically stuck with the hardware that shipped. That means you need smart software engineers to improve the capability and performance over time

Automakers Will Be More Dependent On Smart Software Engineers In The Future
Ford SYNC3 Voice Prompt (photo credit: Sam Abuelsamid) How many people do you see every day using a 20-year-old cell phone or computer? Unless you happen to work at the Computer History Museum or some government departments, chances are the answer is zero. On the other hand seeing cars built prior […]

It doesn't matter how much money Bernie Ecclestone brings in, it's ti…

This entry was posted in gpblg on by (updated 3309 days ago)

It doesn't matter how much money Bernie Ecclestone brings in, it's time for everyone involved in Formula one to walk away from this troll

Billionaire Head Of Formula 1 Stands Up For Sepp Blatter And Also Corruption
Formula One is among the top sports in the world, and it is headed by demented flop-haired muppet and megalomaniacal billionaire Bernie Ecclestone. Today he took some time to stand up for ex-FIFA head Sepp Blatter. And for raw, uncut corruption.

After more than 40 years on the road, Honda has injected new life into the Ci…

This entry was posted in gpblg on by (updated 3311 days ago)

After more than 40 years on the road, Honda has injected new life into the Civic

2016 Honda Civic Sedan – A Great Starting Point for the Type-R
In recent years, many critics have accused Honda of losing its way. The lightweight, fun-to-drive cars that helped build the Honda reputation from the 1970s through the early 1990s had given way to…

2016 Honda Civic Sedan – A Great Starting Point for the Type-R 1

This entry was posted in Carmakers Honda reviews technology and tagged 2016 honda civic sedan car review car reviews civic first drive honda on by (updated 3151 days ago)

2016 Honda Civic first drive - 1 of 44

In recent years, many critics have accused Honda of losing its way. The lightweight, fun-to-drive cars that helped build the Honda reputation from the 1970s through the early 1990s had given way to increasingly bland cars devoid of character. Chief of among the models that seemed to suffer was the Civic. First launched in 1973, the Civic wasn’t Honda’s first American model, but it really gave the brand momentum that picked up significantly a few years later with the debut of the Accord. The most recent Civic which debuted in 2011 seemed to epitomize everything wrong with the brand. Honda heard the complaints and tried to address them for generation 10 that goes on sale in November. However, hearing complaints and adequately resolving them are two different things and only time behind the wheel would tell us if Honda has been successful.

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It's time for regulators to look at requiring source code to be submitted…

This entry was posted in gpblg on by (updated 3316 days ago)

It's time for regulators to look at requiring source code to be submitted before certifying cars for sales and conducting audits

VW Diesel Cheating Could Lead to Auditing of Automotive Software
The cars and trucks that we drive today are better performing, more efficient and higher quality in almost every measurable way compared to the machines of 20, 30 or 40 years ago. For this, we can thank electronic control systems and the software that makes it all work. As computing […]