The Ford Motor Co. assembly plant on Chicago’s South Side will be among the first to use Wi-Fi wireless Internet technology to install software inside the 2011 Ford Explorer SUV.
The assembly line is lined with wireless routers — similar to the routers that people install in their homes to get wireless Internet access — and the Explorer contains a built-in Wi-Fi receiver.
When Explorer production starts this winter, the SUV will pick up the Wi-Fi routers’ signals, and an assembly-line worker will push a button to download software onto the Explorer, said Alan Hall, Ford Motor Co.’s technology communications manager.
The software is tailored for each model, so that the Explorer sold in the United States will have traffic information about American roadways; English, Spanish and French speaking options, and the appropriate 911 emergency delivery. Vehicles sold in other markets would get other language downloads, such as German, Portuguese, Italian and Mandarin.
The first Ford assembly plant to use the Wi-Fi technology is one in Oakville, Ontario, where the 2011 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX are manufactured.
The Wi-Fi setup saves money because it eliminates the need to build, stock and store a variety of hardware modules, said Sukhwinder Wadhwa, the global platform manager for Ford’s SYNC features. The SYNC controls such capabilities as traffic alerts, hands-free calling, 911 assistance and music search.
The Wi-Fi capability will have no effect on the number of jobs at the Ford plant, Hall said. The plant has received more than 2,000 applications for the previously announced 400 to 600 new jobs to build the Explorer.
In the future, car shoppers might be able to select their own software applications at the dealership and get those apps downloaded either at the dealership or through their home Wi-Fi system, Hall said.
“The built-in Wi-Fi receiver opens up all kinds of potential to deliver unique software into the vehicle,” he said.
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Yellow car taxi with elegant design technology that will be new era of city transportation in the world! The 2011 Ford Transit Connect Taxi will go into production and arrive in dealerships in 2010 as a 2011 model, adding to Ford Motor Company’s leadership in the North American taxi market. We will make some detail review and price list including interior and exterior pictures gallery that can make you interesting to this new taxi car design concept. Creating the announcement at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show, Ford car maker also said it will launch engine prep packages on all 2011 Ford Transit Connect models – base and taxi – allowing conversion to efficient, clean-burning CNG (compressed natural gas) otherwise propane (LPG, or liquefied petroleum gas). The 2011 Ford Transit Connect Taxi, combined with an powerful engine modified by Ford to use CNG/LPG, is intended to meet that need. To further serve taxi operators, Ford will give required calibration specifications for the CNG or LPG conversion.
The 2011 Ford Transit Connect Taxi gives an excellent interior design package for people and cargo. Ford car Manufacturer Company is collaborating with Creative Mobile Technologies, LLC (CMT), to integrate premier payment processing and passenger information technologies in the Ford Transit Connect Taxi. Evidence of how this technology could work in the future is included in the Ford Transit Connect Taxi. The green taxi is not new at Ford car model concept that has been a leader in the taxi business for decades. Built on a dedicated commercial automotive platform and tested to Ford tough truck standards, the 2011 Ford Transit Connect Taxi – including gasoline-powered versions and those modified to operate on CNG/LPG – is planned to meet the extreme demands of taxi service.
generation Explorer S.U.V. and the Edge, and a 3.5-liter V-6 for the F-150 pickup truck. The European market will get a 1.6-liter 4-cylinder. All three engines will replace larger engines and will reportedly provide similar or enhanced performance, while reducing emissions and improving fuel economy.
