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Motrolix

Wish List: A Ford App To Remote Start, Lock, Unlock & Check Vehicle Stats

With the increased popularity of web-based services and smartphone applications, we thought it’s time for Ford to get an app.

The Functionality

Our proposed app should be accessible via the major smartphone platforms (such as iOS, Android, and Windows Phone) as well as through the web (via a web browser) and offer users the ability to check their vehicle’s vital stats: odometer, trip A, and trip B, average fuel economy, and range.

The range, or the estimated amount of travel distance until an empty tank, would be particularly useful, since many drivers often forget how much fuel (or electricity, in the case of the Focus Electric) they have remaining, and — let’s face it — making the trip to the car on a Sunday night isn’t as convenient as whipping out a smartphone or hopping on a computer.

Technically Speaking

While such an app would be very useful, we’re not entirely sure how the engineers at Ford would implement it without making a call out to a special cloud-based app (such as SYNC Services). The call, however, would need to be made using a driver’s or passenger’s cell phone, thus not being the most convenient or user-friendly method. Perhaps building a cellular device into the vehicle — or using the data connection on the driver’s/passenger’s cell phone — would be the ideal way of uploading the vehicle’s stats to SYNC Services.

Competitive And Good For The Image

At the end of the day, offering a smartphone and/or web app to check vehicle information would tie in very well with Ford’s newly-founds high-tech image, which is in large part thanks to SYNC. In fact, the app we’re yearning for in this article could very well carry the SYNC name, or maybe even the MyFordTouch/MyLincolnTouch brand.

And considering that competitors (such as General Motors’ Onstar RemoteLink and Hyundai’s BlueLink) already offer apps that offer this kind of functionality and a lot more, it’s almost inevitable that Ford will follow suit.

The Motrolix Take

Considering all that we know about telematics and infotainment today, it would probably be best if The Blue Oval built cellular phones into its vehicles. Doing so would enable it to offer other convenient features such as remote start, remote door lock & unlock, and a vehicle locator that’s integrated into the car’s GPS system, similar to OnStar’s RemoteLink app. And while the current SYNC Destinations app is cool and useful, we hope it’s just the beginning of Ford’s deep integration of telematics, infotainment, and modern communications tools such as smartphones and the web.

What do you think? Sound off in the comments!

Motrolix Founder with a passion for global automotive business strategy.

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