INRIX®, a leading provider of traffic and navigation services, is announcing it will provide Ford Motor Company with real-time traffic information and enhanced routing for all Ford vehicles with SYNC. These capabilities enhance the consumer experience with the award-winning Ford SYNC with Traffic, Directions and Information (TDI) and extends the time-saving benefits of INRIX traffic services to include the automaker’s other next-generation navigation systems.
In a CES keynote presentation this morning, Ford announced the company will become the first automaker to utilize INRIX’s real-time traffic information for 100,000 additional miles of arterials, city streets and secondary roads to route drivers around traffic congestion and speed them to their destination. As Ford builds on the successful foundation of SYNC with the introduction of MyFord Touch driver connect technology, INRIX’s traffic information continues to drive routing as part of the new system’s Traffic Directions & Information navigation services.
“Our traffic-influenced routing with arterials delivers a massive breakthrough that offers Ford customers new time saving options for getting to the important places and events in their lives,” said Bryan Mistele, president and CEO, INRIX. “As consumers increasingly demand navigation systems that help them avoid traffic congestion, important advancements like real-time traffic-influenced routing with arterials help companies like Ford meet the growing needs of their customers worldwide.”
According to a recently published J.D. Power & Associates study, 80 percent of consumers desire navigation systems that offer real-time traffic information and the inclusion of real-time traffic information significantly boosts customer satisfaction with their in-car navigation system. In the survey’s rankings of in-car navigations systems by manufacturers based on customer satisfaction, navigation systems offered by Ford Motor Company collected five of the top 10 spots, including first and second place.
The new MyFord Touch driver connect technology announced today at the 2010 International CES is designed to be powerful yet intuitive for drivers, blending strengths of the most proven interfaces in consumer electronics – including MP3 players and mobile phones – with a new generation of Ford’s award-winning SYNC system. MyFord, which will be branded as MyLincoln Touch and MyMercury Touch on respective Lincoln and Mercury brand products, redesigns the in-car interface, mirroring how consumers interact with most devices in their lives using touch-sensitive buttons, touch screens, thumb-wheel controls and voice recognition.
INRIX’s expanded role in Ford Motor Company navigation systems builds upon announcements made at the 2009 CES where Ford and INRIX announced Ford SYNC with Traffic, Directions and Information including personalized voice-enabled traffic reports, traffic-influenced turn-by-turn directions and route alerts. For additional information about INRIX traffic services, visit https://www.inrix.com/connectedservices.asp.
