In an announcement at the 2013 International CES, Connected World Magazine has awarded the all-new Ford Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid the Connected Car of the Year 2013.
The 2013 Ford Fusion Energi offers the most complete array of advanced connectivity and driver assist features of any mainstream sedan. The Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid includes standard SYNC® with MyFord Touch®and compatibility with the MyFord® Mobile smartphone app.
The award-winning SYNC connectivity system, available on all Ford Motor Company vehicles enables drivers to connect their phones, tablets and digital media players via Bluetooth® or USB for hands-free calling and media playback using simple voice commands. SYNC with SYNC Services offers a range of services powered by the mobile data connection drivers already have. These services include Traffic, Directions and Information, Vehicle Health Report, 911 Assist and more.
All Ford plug-in vehicles, including Fusion Energi, C-MAX Energi and Focus Electric, feature the MyFord Mobile app that helps give owners the ability to use any connected mobile phone with a data plan or computer with Internet access when not operating a vehicle to:
• Find current and projected state of charge information including estimated range and the amount of charge time necessary for additional travel distances
• Program vehicle charging with utility input, allowing the car to start charging immediately or when electricity prices are lowest with the value charging feature, powered by Microsoft
• Using features powered by MapQuest®:
– Locate charging stations and get the destination sent to the vehicle
– Know if the vehicle can reach a specific charge station from its current location with the current charge level
– Create a journey with multiple stops, and determine the likelihood the car has adequate charge for the full journey
– Find the car by creating a route from a mobile phone to the vehicle
• Receive alerts if the vehicle isn’t charging when it’s scheduled to, or if charging stops unexpectedly due to a power outage, plug removal or other event
• Receive alerts during recharge when the vehicle has reached a particular preset charge level or has the ability to reach a particular destination
• Engage remote vehicle preconditioning, using grid power to heat or cool the battery and vehicle interior
• Remotely lock/unlock doors
• Use the built-in GPS system to locate the car
• Download performance and system data
• Earn various achievements for driving and ownership milestones that can then be posted to your Facebook or Twitter account
• Fun ways of understanding your driver behavior, with ratings from “Zen” to “zippy”
• Receive information personalized, depending on which key used
The MyFord Mobile app is available for Apple iOS and Google Android.