Ford connects with Microsoft for new Sync system

New Ford president Alan Mulally linked up with Microsoft boss Bill Gates via satellite to announce a new technology initiative called Sync, that will allow Ford cars to link up seamlessly with iPods and Bluetooth mobile phones, letting the drivers control the devices by speech.

Connectivity is a hobby horse of Mulally’s – he spearheaded the development a similar in-aircraft system in his previous job as CEO of aircraft-maker Boeing. At Ford, he’s letting Microsoft get on with it. Gates said he had a “vision of connected experiences”, and as people spend a lot of time in their cars every day, it was necessary to “bring the car into the equation”.

The Sync system was being exclusively licensed to Ford until the end of 2008, Gates said. It will be fitted to the new Five Hundred sedan and US versions of the Focus, which were unveiled at the Show, with 10 other Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models receiving the system later in the year.

Gates added that it was an upgradeable operating system, which included other features such as callier identification, call waiting and the ability to read out text messages to the driver – all activated without the need to take hands off the steering wheel.

Mulally took a bullish approach to his first major presentation as a Ford man, promising a greater emphasis on the sort of cars US buyers want, including small cars such as Focus, and crossover vehicles. “We’re just scratching the surface of what we’re capable of,” he said.