Ford: Wait, We Fixed MyFordTouch!

by Edward Niedermeyer

Published: November 7th, 2011

MyFordTouch was supposed to build on the SYNC system’s momentum, extending Ford’s edge in mass-market infotainment gizmology. Instead, MyFord nearly killed the golden egg-laying goose, by earning Ford a sharp downgrade from Consumer Reports and widespread criticism. Ford has decided that 40-minute training sessions weren’t going to cut it as a response to the complaints that the system was balky and confusing, and The Blue Oval is now trumpeting the all-new for 2013 version of MyFordTouch. Because, in the words of Ford’s spokes-interior-designer-person

As you can see, with a software platform like SYNC, it’s easy to continuously improve and upgrade your system.

You know, in comparison to the all-new Ford Escape she’s sitting in. It’s still not quite as easy as a computer software update: instead of downloading the reflash, you have to go into a dealer to get the upgrade. Meanwhile, this is just the latest hurdle in the hot-hot in-car gizmo side of the business. The big one comes in 2014, when the government issue rules on distraction-mitigation in voice-activated in-car systems. That could make this minor public beta testing fiasco look like nothing…

#CustomerRelations #Ford #FutureVehicles #Gizmology #MyFordTouch #Sync #Technology

Edward Niedermeyer

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5 of 31 comments

Tallnikita on Nov 07, 2011

I am now absolutely scared that i share the road with people with these touch screens. Eventually in every care you'd get used to all the buttons and after a time press them without looking. Not so with these multi menus. On percoset etc. scary!

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- Redav on Nov 08, 2011
  
  I hope the NHTSA comes out against touch screens. Will they ban them? Probably not, but one can hope. I honestly believe they only offer negatives when it comes to how they are currently used, including MFT. Traditional controls for radio, AC, and even phone are better operating, easier to use, cheaper, and more robust. And that doesn't even get into the distraction factor--I still haven't figured out why they put animated transitions in these things; whom are they for? Obviously not the driver because he shouldn't be watching it. I conclude it's a sales gimmick to make it look cool to potential buyers, even if it slows down its use and makes it less safe to use when driving. (I can see a touch screen being beneficial on a nav map--pinch & stretch to zoom, drag to move, select locations icons on the map, etc.) I also have a severe problem with any system that requires navigating a menu while driving. CR made a video of these types of systems where you have to perform several selections and go through a multiple screens to make the system tune manually, for example. That is a fundamental failure of design principles, and if they were to attempt that in my college design class, they'd fail. I think it all boils down to car makers, especially Ford in this case, just wanting to make a quick sale on the wow factor rather than producing a quality product.
  
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Ciddyguy on Nov 07, 2011

The biggest problem with the FMT is that Ford is emphasizing the touch aspects of the system and NOT the other aspects of the system and thus this may be WELL what's causing the issues with the system as is, let alone the delays in reaction times - and not letting people know that there are duplicate controls, your normal controls for things like heat so if the system crashes, you can still use the system. And thus it's full of fail IMO.

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Luke42 on Nov 08, 2011

I still want a Ford-compatible Android or iOS/iPad/iPod/iPhone device that plugs in to my dashbaord. I will be keeping my car through many generations of electronics, and I'm not rich enough to buy a new car every time I want to upgrade the electronics. Also, I've used both Android and iOS in the car, and I'm far happier with the interface than I am with the rather dated NAV system in my wife's 2004 Prius. Also, if MFT is so great, why aren't they selling it separately from the vehicle so that I could install it in, say, a Sienna?

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Tankinbeans on Nov 08, 2011

Much as I like Ford's products I hope there will always be an option for buttons/knobs for controlling important bits. I like stabbing a button a feeling that I've stabbed a button, and I'm not interested in getting fingerless gloves, so that it can read my body heat and recognize that I'm stabbing something.

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