It doesn't really matter to me what drives the infotainment center in my car. As long as it is reliable and flexible. The version of Sync and MyFordTouch running in my 2015 Mustang is excellent. There are a few touches I quite like too. I've always loved the ability to use my own jpg as a desktop. HAL has been my in Dash computer for a few years now. I primarily have used the voice commands for Phone use, occasional stereo control and occasional navigation control.

• Myford Touch Problems
• Myford Touch Gps Hack Iphone

Ford Auto Window Up Programmer F-AWU. Ford Auto Window Up Programmer F-AWU $ 69.95. Ford Engine Stop/Start Programmer F-ESS. MyFord Touch GPS Navigation Upgrade Programmer F-MFTNAV. MyFord Touch GPS Navigation Upgrade Programmer F-MFTNAV $ 499.95.

I tend to use the buttons (not voice or touch screen) to control climate. Voice control is a nice concept, but I have found limited use for it in general. I'm not married to any one infotainment system, other than that I have to use the one in my car. As long as Ford continues to have a decent system in future cars I don't care if it's QNX, MS, Android or whatever.

And what other automakers will do anything different? I bought a 2010 Mustang GT. A year later, the GT had a new engine with 100 more horsepower. Should I have been screaming that Ford wouldn't put the new engine in my car? 'cos that's about what you're doing.

That's not even close to this. It'd be the same if Ford said, your 2 year old car, we decide to stop supporting the brand new gas engine in your car. But that's still not the same since a hardware swap is different. I want to see them at least explain why they can't put the software on the existing platform. Why are car manufacturers spending all this time replicating the functionality that I already have in my pocket?

How about they instead work on interfacing my phone's capabilities with the car? Because there's no standard interface for phones. Supporting just CarPlay is foolish, given Apple's small (and shrinking) marketshare, and supporting just Android Auto is also foolish because Apple's small marketshare is not yet so small as to be insignificant, and is weighted heavily towards the high end. The obvious solution is a vehicle that supports all major mobile OSes' vehicle connectivity protocols, but since virtually no vehicles on sale today support any of them, it's probably going to be at least a full product generation (3-5 years) before we see multi-platform support. I'm not sure what you're on about with regard to market share, but your second paragraph speaks precisely to why I got 'basic' Sync on my '14 Focus.

I have voice controls, bluetooth input, 1/8' input, USB input, and I can use my phone for Nav. There is no scenario where I want a touchscreen in my car. Hell, I even have physical buttons to control stations and features. Sync 2 has it's issues, but IMO it's way better than myfordtouch. Can we just stop with all this infotainment crap? It'll only reinforce the flawed idea that it's okay to drive distracted. Well, to be fair, for example, on the Ford Explorer 2013, you cannot pair or unpair (connect or unconnect) a phone while driving, which is somewhat odd since you can make calls and even change sound settings while driving so that could be distracting.

Myford Touch Problems

Then again, changing the volume, station or anything (even a hands-free call) could be considered to be distracting. (And I have seen studies that support that conclusion, also.) So, COME ON, AUTOMATIC CARS!!! And what other automakers will do anything different? I bought a 2010 Mustang GT. A year later, the GT had a new engine with 100 more horsepower. Should I have been screaming that Ford wouldn't put the new engine in my car? 'cos that's about what you're doing.

That's not even close to this. It'd be the same if Ford said, your 2 year old car, we decide to stop supporting the brand new gas engine in your car. But that's still not the same since a hardware swap is different. I want to see them at least explain why they can't put the software on the existing platform.

By the press materials, SYNC 3 uses an 1.7 GHz OMAP 5. If it's a reasonably stock part, then it's a dual-core A15. MFT uses an i.MX SoC which is (i think) a single-core A8 running at a lot slower clock. I'd say if the new SYNC software can't run acceptably on that level of hardware, then that's a good reason it won't be released for it. Really what is needed is a standard computer interface with a swappable module. Don't want a Microsoft OS? Plug in an Apple module.

Swap in a user programmable Linux module and hack it all you like. Apple has gone that way already. Their 'CarPlay' is basically just a remote desktop connection where the car displays whatever images the phone tells it to display and passes through touch events and button presses. It's a proprietary protocol sure, but the concept is very basic and there's no reason why a car can't support two or three slightly different but mostly identical protocols. The car manufacturers can barely get Bluetooth and USB right. Why would they be expected to fare any better with a new protocol?

(insert obligatory XKCD reference here) Interoperability is just an alien world to them, other than gasoline and tires. Can we just stop with all this infotainment crap? It'll only reinforce the flawed idea that it's okay to drive distracted. I have a 2010 Ford Fusion with no navigation, infotainment, or backup camera.

I have old fashioned buttons and knobs and I love it! When I drive other people's cars that have most things baked into a touchscreen, I find it challenging to do simple things like turn up or down the heat or air conditioning. Give me knobs and physical buttons! I also prefer to use Waze or Google Maps for navigation over the frequently crappy systems found in cars. On my Moto X I just say 'OK Google Now, navigate to ' and I'm off. In many cards with nav systems, the experience of setting a destination is far too cumbersome and you also have the issue of out-of-date maps. I do like backup cameras though.

For about $50 and an hour of wiring, you too can join the 'I can see club'. I've got two on my 2000 pickup. Amazon sells some cheap (but functional) wireless rigs.

Find 12 V and you're golden. Can we just stop with all this infotainment crap? It'll only reinforce the flawed idea that it's okay to drive distracted. Well, to be fair, for example, on the Ford Explorer 2013, you cannot pair or unpair (connect or unconnect) a phone while driving, which is somewhat odd since you can make calls and even change sound settings while driving so that could be distracting. Then again, changing the volume, station or anything (even a hands-free call) could be considered to be distracting.

(And I have seen studies that support that conclusion, also.) So, COME ON, AUTOMATIC CARS!!! Literally everything is distracting to some degree. Even conversing with a passenger has an effect. But some things are worse than others.

At least in the old days you could reach down and find the volume or tuning knobs without taking your eyes off the road, for example. Now you often have to look down at featureless plane of glass and hunt for some microscopic icon on a toy UI that feels like it was designed by someone on the 27' monitor in his office (hello Google Maps). Yay progress! Can we just stop with all this infotainment crap? It'll only reinforce the flawed idea that it's okay to drive distracted. People already drive distracted.

Lots of people without phone integration hold their phones in their hand and talk while they drive. There are people who read and sent text messages on their phones while they drive. There are people who use the GPS on their phone and look down at their phone to see where they are going, or worse typing-in an address. Messing with your phone, or fiddling with buttons or knobs on your car to change music is also a distraction. The point of infotainment systems is to reduce distractions for people who would do even more distracting things anyhow.

TI seems like a bad choice. After their abandonment of Android and its SoC support, I would be hesitant to buy anything I plan on keeping long term involving them. I don't want the vehicle equivalent of the Galaxy Nexus. Then you'll have a hard time picking out virtually any vehicle. Even those doing Apple CarPlay or Android Auto aren't guaranteed to be compatible with future mobile devices.

Yeah, but Apple CarPlay has a higher likelihood than anyone else of being compatible with future mobile devices. TI seems like a bad choice. After their abandonment of Android and its SoC support, I would be hesitant to buy anything I plan on keeping long term involving them. I don't want the vehicle equivalent of the Galaxy Nexus. Then you'll have a hard time picking out virtually any vehicle. Even those doing Apple CarPlay or Android Auto aren't guaranteed to be compatible with future mobile devices.

It's not a matter of compatibility, it's a matter of supporting the SoC so the system can continue being updated. That is why the Galaxy Nexus updates stopped prematurely, TI withdrew from the mobile market so there was no support for the SoC. Can we just stop with all this infotainment crap? It'll only reinforce the flawed idea that it's okay to drive distracted. I have a 2010 Ford Fusion with no navigation, infotainment, or backup camera. I have old fashioned buttons and knobs and I love it!

When I drive other people's cars that have most things baked into a touchscreen, I find it challenging to do simple things like turn up or down the heat or air conditioning. Give me knobs and physical buttons! I also prefer to use Waze or Google Maps for navigation over the frequently crappy systems found in cars. On my Moto X I just say 'OK Google Now, navigate to ' and I'm off.

In many cards with nav systems, the experience of setting a destination is far too cumbersome and you also have the issue of out-of-date maps. I do like backup cameras though.

Aside from backup cameras(which are definitely handy, and for what they cost now, probably a no-brainer) there is one 'automation' feature that I really like and which seems absurdly rare in cars with mostly physical controls: My dad had a car (some sort of Nissan, I think) where there was a 'temperature' knob, basically a thermostat. You twiddled it to where you wanted it, and then the car would adjust heating/cooling/AC/etc. To do its best to maintain the temperature you indicated. Most other cars (with physical controls) that I've seen make you mess around with trying to maintain temperature. You have the knob that turns the heater up and down, the one that turns the AC on/off and up and down, you have one or more controls for airflow and inside/outside air mix, and you get to play thermostat yourself.

It must have cost peanuts to add a thermostat, not sure if it was a microcontroller or an electromechanical unit, that turned maintaining cabin temperature from a puzzle game to a simple set-and-forget job. It's just baffling that this feature isn't 100% standard. That's called Automatic Climate Control.

It's standard on most luxury or near-luxury cars (I first saw it on my Mom's '87 lincoln) It is an option on many other cars. I don't like it, not the lincoln or the many time I have seen it since.

Fan noises, persistent heat, too much A/C, too much fan. I found I was always adjusting the temperature button up and down to get what I want. Drove me nuts. I'd rather have split zone manual, with more control. Tl;dr: If you want it in you next car, get the ACC upgrade.

Can't say I have too many lag issues with Sync2 in my new (3 week old) Focus. Few quirks though: Most annoying is there is no way to turn off traffic announcements unless you are listening to the radio (I tend to listen to BT audio) Lack of update ability Having to touch stuff at the edges of a recessed screen Warning on the navigation system every effing time Screen not very sensitive Keyboard is slow When navigating by postcode the system still expects a full address - offers midpoint after putting in an invalid address. Also doesn't automatically switch between number and letter keyboard layout.

Warning message that my phone is not compatible every time I plug it in to USB to charge. It then starts playing the media from my phone automatically! These systems could definitely learn a thing or two from the mobile phone market! If those are 'quirks' I'd hate to see what an actual bug/deficiency looks like!

Edit: or did something go over my head? I travel often for work, and refuse to rent Ford cars due to the terrible Microsoft Ford abomination they developed. Which is a pity, since they're otherwise perfectly nice. But the whole computer system and bluetooth phone integration is just atrocious. It's been bad for years. Car reviews have consistently mentioned how terrible things were.

I'm baffled it's taken this long for them to realize it. But at least they've finally come to their senses. Edit: I don't get why people keep voting me down. This isn't some crazy opinion I've made up in a vacuum. It's fairly well known in the car world that Microsoft's Sync has been giving people bad impressions of Ford.

I have a 2014 Ford with the latest cut of the MS-based Sync. Other than some incidental lag, it's superior to the infotainment system in my 2013 Lexus, and infinitely better than the abomination seen in my last BMW. Several tech-savvy passengers have remarked that it's 'better than what's in my car.' Really what is needed is a standard computer interface with a swappable module. Don't want a Microsoft OS?

Plug in an Apple module. Swap in a user programmable Linux module and hack it all you like. Amazingly, that seems to be what is happening with Blackberry (of all companies) and the QNX system - it's becoming the hardware and OS agnostic base platform for cars, and maybe other things like appliances (?) Thing is, some people will really want to hook up to Apple and use CarPlay. Other people will want nothing to do with that and want Android Auto.

Still others will have to have Windows phone or what have you. The car makers can't afford to ignore any of these systems and alienate people. I mean if I have Android and say BMW goes whole hog and cozy with Apple CarPlay exclusively - well, in this era that could really turn me off from buying one of their cars.

Last time I bought a car this was not really an issue. I mean maybe it had an Apple connector for music and charging, and a USB in or an SD card. But now you can completely lose a customer because you're not supporting their smartphone! Maybe Blackberry survives by being the mediator behind this bed of thorns. So they brought everything up to date and it's all much more responsive now. If I upgrade from a 5+ year old CPU to a current version I sure hope that things are faster. So long as in car systems work well with all mobile platforms, things will be fine.

If they only do certain things with certain devices, then they're just going to alienate potential buyers. Car makers won't do it, but I would rather have the in car system just be a secondary display & input for my device. I already have music, maps, apps, etc.

I don't want your nav system that requires me to pay $250 for a software update on DVD (I'm looking at you Mercedes). Trols: My dad had a car (some sort of Nissan, I think) where there was a 'temperature' knob, basically a thermostat. You twiddled it to where you wanted it, and then the car would adjust heating/cooling/AC/etc. To do its best to maintain the temperature you indicated. Most other cars (with physical controls) that I've seen make you mess around with trying to maintain temperature. You have the knob that turns the heater up and down, the one that turns the AC on/off and up and down, you have one or more controls for airflow and inside/outside air mix, and you get to play thermostat yourself.

It must have cost peanuts to add a thermostat, not sure if it was a microcontroller or an electromechanical unit, that turned maintaining cabin temperature from a puzzle game to a simple set-and-forget job. It's just baffling that this feature isn't 100% standard. I prefer the manual controls. Here's why: - three simple knobs that work the same way in any car with manual controls. I can force defrost, cooling, or just the fan in any condition -when I'm behind a redneck Alberta pickup driver who has chipped his 'rig' and is rolling coal, I can switch to internal recirculation in.5 seconds.

better fuel economy as the system doesn't run A/C all the time to keep within.5 C of the setpoint. I can also use the windows as required to move air through the car. Can do all that in the new Focus without resorting to touchscreen. See for some pictures. Would embed them, but they are behind some kind of link protection. Because of that incompatibility, folks with MyFordTouch will not be able to get Sync 3 in their older cars That ticks me off in a gigantic way. My 2013 'older' card isn't going to be upgraded.

So this is my last Ford ever. I should have listened to my gut when it was telling me it was too risky trusting them not to screw me over. And what other automakers will do anything different? I bought a 2010 Mustang GT. A year later, the GT had a new engine with 100 more horsepower. Should I have been screaming that Ford wouldn't put the new engine in my car? 'cos that's about what you're doing.

You can't buy a 350 horsepower engine new for about $200. You can, however, buy a smartphone now for $200 that is far, far better than any server you could buy in 2000, and even better than anything cars came with in 2010. It is the height of stupidity (or greed) to tie the central interaction point of a car to hardware that will be obsolete in 4 years. I generally keep cars for 15 years (either buying them new or used). In that time frame, the computer brain in a car will be beyond obsolete.

This is why car makers should create their interfaces so that the infotainment console can be fully taken over by a smartphone. I don't care that the gauges are digital and never change.

I do care that by buying a car, I'm currently locking myself to that particular infotainment technology for the next 15 years. Maybe Blackberry survives by being the mediator behind this bed of thorns.

IOS has already been proven to run in an emulated environment on QNX. Imagine running iPhone apps on a device that doesn't shatter when you drop it.

When ford announced their partnership with microsoft: QNX was busy focusing on BB10, the CEO's of RIM were being slammed by the media, and the company name and ticker symbol was being changed. So the decision to go with Microsoft was more of a business decision, not a technological one. But I was already sold on the idea of QNX having followed it for a few years since the acquisition. Being familiar with the issues that normally come out in the first generation or two of devices I waited until the q5 to get my hands on a blackberry. Maybe ford has been following the same technological adoption strategy with infotainment systems.

I'd also agree that it was the most researched product I've ever purchased. I've had a 2014 Ford Fusion with the MyFord Touch for about a year now. I've never understood the hate. While the voice recognition is crap, I've never had any other problem. I don't like having to go to the climate screen to change the temperature, but the dash has secondary controls for most of the climate features. Making calls and receiving texts works great, and it's never crashed or bugged out. That said, I wish these infotainment systems were nothing more than slots I can plug a tablet or phone into.

Clearly, there's nothing these things do that my phone can't do better. Just create a standard for climate control and radio that my phone can plug into to control and be done with it.

I've had a 2014 Ford Fusion with the MyFord Touch for about a year now. I've never understood the hate.

While the voice recognition is crap, I've never had any other problem. I don't like having to go to the climate screen to change the temperature, but the dash has secondary controls for most of the climate features. Making calls and receiving texts works great, and it's never crashed or bugged out.

That said, I wish these infotainment systems were nothing more than slots I can plug a tablet or phone into. Clearly, there's nothing these things do that my phone can't do better. Just create a standard for climate control and radio that my phone can plug into to control and be done with it.

Why would your infotainment center control your AC? For maps, music, phone, and messaging, though, there is. If you want to know why there isn't a universal standard you'd have to wait for a few years until after CarPlay (or Android Auto) succeeds before it becomes a default, or someone copies it and becomes the default. I've had a 2014 Ford Fusion with the MyFord Touch for about a year now. I've never understood the hate. While the voice recognition is crap, I've never had any other problem.

I don't like having to go to the climate screen to change the temperature, but the dash has secondary controls for most of the climate features. Making calls and receiving texts works great, and it's never crashed or bugged out. That said, I wish these infotainment systems were nothing more than slots I can plug a tablet or phone into. Clearly, there's nothing these things do that my phone can't do better. Just create a standard for climate control and radio that my phone can plug into to control and be done with it. Why would your infotainment center control your AC? For maps, music, phone, and messaging, though, there is.

Myford Touch Gps Hack Iphone

If you want to know why there isn't a universal standard you'd have to wait for a few years until after CarPlay (or Android Auto) succeeds before it becomes a default, or someone copies it and becomes the default. CarPlay is nothing more than a GUI, running on top of QNX. Neither has the slightest chance to dislodge an entire automotive platform like QNX which offers everything from telematics through driver assistance to infotainment, - heck even acoustic management of engine sounds. Maybe Blackberry survives by being the mediator behind this bed of thorns.

IOS has already been proven to run in an emulated environment on QNX. Imagine running iPhone apps on a device that doesn't shatter when you drop it. Again, practically all these top-layer solutions run on QNX's previous (don't remember the name) or new (CAR) platform: PS: just off the top of my head all Germans (Audi, VW/Porsche, Mercedes, BMW/Mini,) all US (GM, Chrysler, now Ford) carmakers use QNX and as I recall all Koreans as well + I also remember Honda/Acura, Toyota using it.

I've had a 2014 Ford Fusion with the MyFord Touch for about a year now. I've never understood the hate. While the voice recognition is crap, I've never had any other problem. I don't like having to go to the climate screen to change the temperature, but the dash has secondary controls for most of the climate features.

Making calls and receiving texts works great, and it's never crashed or bugged out. That said, I wish these infotainment systems were nothing more than slots I can plug a tablet or phone into.

Clearly, there's nothing these things do that my phone can't do better. Just create a standard for climate control and radio that my phone can plug into to control and be done with it. Why would your infotainment center control your AC? For maps, music, phone, and messaging, though, there is. If you want to know why there isn't a universal standard you'd have to wait for a few years until after CarPlay (or Android Auto) succeeds before it becomes a default, or someone copies it and becomes the default. CarPlay is nothing more than a GUI, running on top of QNX.

That is the point. Upgrade your phone, update your OS, update your apps, keep your entertainment center and car, and you get all the UI/UX/performance improvements, without having to worry about your car entertainment center being updated. Neither has the slightest chance to dislodge an entire automotive platform like QNX which offers everything from telematics through driver assistance to infotainment, - heck even acoustic management of engine sounds. Ement.html You guys just don't get it. QNX might be great at what it does and all of that, But just remember, it's probably the only thing worth anything that BlackBerry has left. The other thing to keep in mind is that BlackBerry.bought. it, it's not as if they developed it.

From what all of us have witnessed so far, it's pretty clear that compared to the competition, BB neither has the software chops, nor the UI/UX chops to properly maintain the 'platform'. It would probably do better in someone else's hands. And who knows exactly.what. Apple might have cooking in the labs.

And I don't think this is built on QNX: Though I could be wrong. I can see Apple scooping that company up though. Windows Phone 8/8.1 does not support Bluetooth text messaging via Sync - so Sync can't read out text messages. Given that both Sync and Windows Phone come from Microsoft, the absence of full-feature support is quite embarrassing. Several Samsung and Sony phones instead support this.

This is present with 8.1 GDR1 or whatever the latest release is with the Dev Preview. It's clunky, but it is there.

Text's are read aloud, but in order to text someone you need to add Cortana to your address book (555-555-9876) and when you press the voice button in your car say 'call Cortana', then 'text' + person's name. Again, clunky. But it works. I have 2015 ford fiesta and did not encounter any problems so far. Text is being read for example. The number did not work for me though.

PCMag reviews products, but we may earn affiliate commissions from buying links on this page. Have you broken into a Ford lately? The 2011 Ford Sync includes unique features that might initially make some Fords and Lincolns attractive to thieves. It may also have you underestimating the true cost of Ford's SD Card Premium Navigation. It's all because Ford now bases its newest navigation system on an easily removed SD Card that lets you choose to add factory navigation at any time, so long as your car has a built-in color LCD display, called MyFord Touch.

Ford and Lincoln will offer SD Card Premium Navigation for $795 on four models in the next year, starting with the Ford Edge crossover in a few weeks. If you don't listen carefully to how Ford created the SD card navigation system, you might think navigation will only cost you $795. If you're a thief, you might think this is a great opportunity for car-equipment thefts not seen since the days of uncoded car radios and CB radio. Navigation Capabilities on All MyFord Touch Cars - But It Ships Disabled Ford explains: When you take delivery of a Ford with MyFord Touch or Lincoln with MyLincoln Touch, you get a vehicle with an 8-inch touchscreen and you also get the navigation application embedded in the car.

But it's no good without the navigation SD card, for which you pay $795, and then Ford activates the car and enables navigation. That apparently means you can choose to have factory onboard navigation the day you take delivery. Or, later on, you can choose between factory navigation or a third-party portable GPS system that will be clunky, take up space on the windshield, and cost half what Ford charges.

A Magnet for Thieves? Maybe Just Once Car radios were a target for thieves in the 1970s and 1980s, just as CB radio was before that. BMW, the joke went, stood for Break My Window. Brain-dead automakers and replacement radio makers took a decade to respond to the problem. Once they added a simple circuit that required the user to enter a passcode if power to the radio was interrupted (by a dead battery or theft), thefts dropped to near-zero and owners no longer had to display No Radio signs in their side windows when parking on city streets. Ford acknowledges there's nothing similar - no anti-theft lockout - as part of the pricy SD card that sits in a slot in the console. But that's because the SD card only contains map data that works on Fords and Lincolns with navigation activated, so the card has little or no value to thieves.

They may swipe an SD card once but not a second time when they learn it has no value. 'We're not creating a market for stolen SD cards,' said Ford spokesman Alan Hall, 'because they only work in vehicles that originally ordered the capability in the first place.' Buy Two Fords and One Navigation Card? Nice Try (It Won't Work) If you visions of being a two- or three-Ford family and moving one SD card among multiple cars, that apparently is a non-starter. 'The SD cards are not locked to individual VINs, so technically it is possible to switch from MyFord Touch-equipped vehicle to vehicle,' said Ford spokesman Alan Hall. 'But, the navigation capability will only work if that vehicle was originally ordered with the navigation option, and therefore received a SD card upon purchase.'

In other words, you could use a the SD card from your MyFord Touch car in your MyLincoln Touch car only if you order both cars with the navigation option. Sync Isn't Done 'Til Garmin Won't Run? Ford's move also may appear to be a pre-emptive strike against open standards. (Disregard for a moment that at the USB end of Sync, Ford is the most open of automakers, allowing virtually any device to be connected to the jack so long as it contains music.) Ford isn't providing an open path from the SD Card socket to the touchscreen display that lets any well-behaved application be controlled by the touchscreen and voice interface.

Ford's Hall said that any application that wants to work with Sync and MyFord Touch would have to be approved and tested by Ford and that's how apps such as Pandora came to be available. The odds that Ford would let a Garmin or TomTom put a complete navigation app on an SD card (it would fit) and then charge half of Ford's $795 seem, ah, remote. (My words, not Ford's.) That still raises the possibility that hackers will try to jailbreak the Sync system and make the car work with the navigation app that's already there, plus a set of third-party maps on an SD card. The Real Cost of SD Card Navigation: It May Be No Bargain Most integrated car navigation costs $1,500-$2,000, so Ford's $795 seems a bargain.

Here's the fine print: To use SD Card navigation, you need MyFord Touch or MyLincoln Touch, and. On the build-to-order part of Ford's site, MyFord Touch and a rear camera are a $1,000 option for some models of the Ford Edge. Alternatively, some cars may call for the Rapid Spec 202A package, which is $2,500. On high trim-line models such as the Ford Limited and Sport, MyFord Touch comes standard. On the lower and midrange SE and SEL trim lines, cars built without MyFord Touch get a smaller 4.2-inch LCD display (it's called MyFord) that won't work with SD Card navigation but it will work with Ford's TDI (Traffic, Directions and Information) service, which is free for the first three years of ownership. Arrives Fall 2010 Ford's SD Card Premium Navigation system arrives shortly, starting with the 2011 Ford Edge in late summer, the 2011 Lincoln MKX (the Ford Edge counterpart) this fall, the 2011 Ford Explorer in the winter, and the 2012 Ford Focus in spring 2011.

It's part of the Ford Sync System. To get navigation, you need a Ford or Lincoln equipped with an LCD display, which is a $1,000 upcharge on mid-trim models along with a rear backup camera and upgraded instrument panel, standard on high-trim models.

The touchscreen is called MyFord Touch on Fords, MyLincoln Touch on Lincolns; MyFord Touch is part of the three-year-old Sync initiative that offers Bluetooth and a USB jack at low cost ($395) or standard. This post originally appeared on.