Automotive News - January 21, 2008 - (Page 34)

34 • JANUARY 21, 2008 Will your Credit Insurance company exit the business and leave you high and dry? CARDIF INSURANCE • Credit related insurance is all we do so you know we’re in this business for the long haul. • We have a Life company and a P&C company. • Financial Strength – Our ultimate parent company has over $1.9 Trillion in assets. Mike Casale – President (877) 522-7343 mike.casale@cardifus.com information tech Microsoft exec sees a car as ‘another room in the house’ Robbie Bach, head of Microsoft Corp.’s Entertainment and Devices Divisions, is the force behind the Xbox video game console and Zune music player. Some consider him at least a dark horse candidate to step into CEO Steve Ballmer’s shoes at Microsoft. Bach, 46, has made automotive technology, as exemplified by the Ford Sync system, a core element of his vision of “connected entertainment.” During the International Consumer Electronics Show this month in Las Vegas, he spoke with Staff Reporter Leslie J. Allen. Microsoft’s Robbie Bach: “I was surprised we could get the technology to the quality level we did.” doesn’t know where it is but can just get access to it as the car drives around or as they fly around to a new city or whatever. Why is car technology so important to Microsoft? The car is super-important because it’s a place where people spend a ton of time and they would want to do a lot of things. They want directions. They want their music. In the back seat of the car, they want videos. They want to be able to call people. And you have to do it in a safe way so that people can do it without needing three hands and a foot to make the device work. And that’s where the work we’ve been doing on voice is so powerful. Why did you partner with Ford on Sync? The exciting thing for me was their desire to work deeply with us on this project and say, “We’re not going to do one car and just sort of see.” They’re going to do it on a number of cars. And now they’ve been successful enough that they’re going to expand it across their product line. So we get the benefit of somebody who has a broad product line and is willing to invest engineering resources in what we’re doing. They’ve been very, very good partners. Are you surprised at how well the technology is taking off with the public? I was surprised we could get the technology to the quality level we did — in particular the voice part, because I think that’s the hardest thing. What other innovations might we see in automobiles in the next five to 10 years? A much more widespread adoption of the concepts that Ford Sync espouses: the idea that I should be able to get in there with my phone and have it just work; I should be able to get in there with my music player and have it just work. Ultimately, navigation and GPS work should be voicecontrolled. How do products like Sync affect auto dealers? I imagine all of this is changing the way they deal with their customers. They’re making a different type of sale. This is a technology that’s quite cool, and it’s a demonstration sale. You show it to somebody once and they go, “Oh, wow, I’ve got to have that” — which is a different sale than, “Let’s go take it for a test drive and see if you’re comfortable with the car” and those kinds of things. What is Microsoft’s role at the dealership level? We put together some kiosks for Ford dealers to actually use. I know we’ve never done that before. c Q&A Tell me about your vision for automotive technology and how this fits into this whole connected experience. The car for us is another room in the house, another place that we have to get the content distributed to. In the short term, that tends to mean taking a device from another room in the house, putting it into the car and then either syncing or physically connecting to the car infrastructure. And longer term? The car effectively could be on the network, sync those things automatically, and the user wouldn’t have to think about moving stuff back and forth. In the ideal world someday, all that content ends up being in a server cloud someplace. The consumer From CDs to Sync: Auto industry races to adapt in-car IT trends Leslie J. Allen TIM DEESE’S lallen@crain.com Not enough NET in 2007? Huge 2007 write down Make 2008 you’re most profitable year The Answer USED CARS!! Let us show you how!! Training Used Car Managers for over 26 years Call Joan 904 264 7408 or visit www.probac.com PRINT TELEVISION RADIO BILLBOARDS JINGLES LOGO DESIGN POINT OF PURCHASE DIRECT MAIL A lot MORE creative…for a lot LESS money. 800-941-6638 HOUR Turn Around Time! 48 www.TheCarAdStore.com LAS VEGAS — This year’s International Consumer Electronics Show offered a road map of major trends related to in-vehicle information technology. Here is a sampling. CDs take a back seat. Solid state is in and moving parts are heading out. The “mechless” receivers on display were designed for young drivers who no longer carry compact discs. Clarion has a model that holds a 2-gigabyte secure digital, or SD, memory card instead of CDs. Using Bluetooth technology, it also can stream music directly from a cell phone. To make up for the sound quality lost when music is compressed into MP3 files, radio makers such as Pioneer offer models that help restore the sound to CD quality. Back seat takes a front seat. Now a front-seat passenger also can watch DVDs in the car. Delphi has a prototype Dual View video screen that simultaneously displays navigation information for the driver and video entertainment for the front-seat passenger. Sensors disable the unit if the driver leans over to try to watch. Navigating life. Personalized, socalled location-based services are hot. Products such as Drive Connected from Atlanta-based Hughes Telematics can offer drivers daily news, stock reports, gasoline prices and so on. It also can send recall information and remote diagnostics to an auto dealer chosen by the driver. Connections. Forget using those little round auxiliary ports for plugging iPods into the car. The industry is moving toward connecting music players and other media to the car through a USB port. Plug and play. Suppliers like Kenwood add technologies such as navigation, Bluetooth, MP3 capability and HD radio to older vehicles by plugging black boxes into a vehicle’s electronic network, or CAN-bus. And then there’s Sync. A year after its debut, the Sync infotainment system from Ford Motor Co. and Microsoft Corp. maintained its buzz at this year’s show. Sync-equipped vehicles are selling faster than their non-Sync counterparts, Ford says. This month Ford and Microsoft announced upgraded software that adds automatic crash notification and vehicle diagnostics. In some respects, Sync’s success illustrates how auto companies are adapting to the rapid pace of change in the consumer electronics industry. Their systems are evolving even as the vehicles age. Marty Thall, general manager of Microsoft’s automotive business unit, said his company insisted from the start that its Microsoft Auto software platform, which powers Sync, be updatable. “Car companies like Fiat and Ford and others that we’re working with have said: ‘It’s OK. Let consumer electronics run at a very fast pace, let car companies run at a very slow pace, and let Microsoft be able to bridge that gap for us in a way that it creates a higher value proposition for people.’ ” c http://www.probac.com http://www.probac.com http://www.thecaradstore.com http://www.thecaradstore.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - January 21, 2008

Campi will move fast to buy global Ford rolls out new F series — but will it stay No. 1? GM will push metro megastores BMW: We may need a 'green' brand Competition claims traditions German summit Toyota: We have enough plants for now Chinese pitch innovation, not just price Mercedes in, Cadillac out as sponsor of Masters golf tournament Auto show walkaround: Chasing the YIPS around Detroit New Acura TSX will get a diesel Toyota: We'll crack 35-mpg CAFE before 2020 Audi predicts 1 million global sales in 2008 Toyota crosses over into tricky segment LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Digital edition is a 'quantum leap' KEITH CRAIN: Here they come, ready or not EDITORIAL: Incentives war isn't the answer to sales downturn LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Toyota over Chevy? Don’t be too sure DIGITAL EDITION: You did your homework Chrysler concepts show brand tweaks Chrysler: 'Hemi is not powertrain of the future' Some of what we heard at the Detroit auto show Corvette has a future — but maybe a lighter, greener one Nissan exec: Cube is coming to America Subaru relies on new Forester Farley: Ford must groom the market Ford still funds Jag, Land Rover product development Ford will probably develop its new rwd cars in the U.S. Volvo considers North American production Good design: Solving problems, making a statement Horbury wants a more aerodynamic F-150 Hyundai upgrades next Sonata's interior M-B could build C class in U.S. VW hints at vehicles for new N.A. plant Customer demand for CTS sedans strains production capabilities at Cadillac GM to test ZR1 carbon fiber weight savings Honda Pilot has more room, power Indiana plant will boost Honda's flexibility Zetsche sees 20% diesel mix for Mercedes-Benz GM hopes to have E-Flex test vehicles ready by June GM to increase Enclave output Cadillac aims high with Provoq Pontiac to launch G8 marketing in March Big-truck sales fall 43.5% in Dec. Personnel Buckle up for a rocky '08, economists warn Canada sales up 2.4% in '07 Gioia: Ford hybrids will be profitable by year end American Honda opens workplace diversity office Dealers From CDs to Sync: Auto industry races to adapt in-car IT trends Microsoft exec sees a car as 'another room in the house' China's Geely plans plant in Mexico Chrysler exec: China exporters need time Murtaugh: Nissan deal won't affect Chrysler-Chery venture Strike by writers makes TV iffy for auto marketers Super Bowl auto advertisers get pre-game jitters Final Say GM bumps buyout total to 46,000 GM considers U.S.-made Astra Good Karma: Mean, green, fighting machine Purves confirms it: The end is near Rehab for designers: A change can do you good Tata's achievement: Redefining 'cheap' Fans remember auto commercials with sports themes Which brand is stronger — Scion or Prius? Engine advances bring cleaner emissions a step closer Suppliers to the 2008 Ford Focus Varable compression ratio makes a comeback Change the engine's stroke Integrate components to boost efficiency Reduce the size of the engine Eliminate the cams and count the savings ZF expects surge in new orders American Axle's rising son may be another Dauch Honda taps Web for workers Trelleborg unit adds tech center Kia restricts hiring at Ga. plant to Web applicants Magna pursues Ogihara Supplier personnel Age of intelligent transportation is getting closer Plastic spoiler saves weight Automotive News' cartoonist looks at 2007 8 will enter European Automotive Hall of Fame Pininfarina lifted family business to new heights Merciless cost cutter Calvet rescued PSA Opel boys turned bicycle venture into automaker Giacosa fathered the Fiat 500 JCI to supply batteries to Chinese automakers Automakers will spend more on digital ads Ford snares star role in return of 'Knight Rider' GM Certified markets online to Hispanics Writers' strike could benefit auto marketers

Automotive News - January 21, 2008

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