Ford

One of Google’s biggest partners for Android Automotive in the US market is Ford, but the carmaker has just announced that its transition to its Android system is well behind schedule and will be delayed by a few months.

Ford this morning announced a wide-ranging partnership with Google to help the automaker adapt to “seismic changes as new technology transforms the way people move.” Ford and Lincoln cars will soon use Android Automotive, while there’s also a cloud component to this deal.

Ford has only offered Android Auto support for a little while now, but it’s soon to be one of the first carmakers to adopt its Wireless version. In select 2020 Ford models, you’ll be able to use Android Auto without a wire.

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There’s good news for anyone with a 2016-model Ford. The company has announced that a software update will allow its entire fleet from that year to use both Android Auto and CarPlay. Android Auto supports phones running Android 5.0 (Lollipop) or higher.

While you can take your car to a dealer to do the update for you, that isn’t necessary as there are a couple of DIY options …

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Ford today announced that its first vehicle to offer support for Google’s Android Auto in-dash system will be the 2017 Escape going on sale in May.

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According to a report today out of The Wall Street Journal, Ford, as part of its plan to reinvent itself, is planning to create a separate business unit dedicated to its ambitions in autonomous cars for “ride-sharing and fleets.” Of course the company is seeking partnerships in this space, and it just so happens that, just as was reported by Yahoo Autos a few weeks ago, Alphabet Inc.’s Google is a big part of this move…

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Google’s self-driving car initiative has been gaining momentum over the past year, but now it looks like the company has at least one more big piece of news up its sleeve. According to a report from Yahoo Autos, Google and Ford are planning to announce a joint venture to build self-driving cars.

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Ford has updated its MyFord Mobile Android app to add Android Wear support for its three electric and hybrid cars. The watch app allows you to get walking directions back to your car, check battery status and range, lock and unlock the car, start it remotely and check a range of stats … 
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Ford was one of the first car manufacturers to announce its intentions to add support for Google’s Android Auto to its in-dash systems. Questions concerning how Ford plans to integrate Google’s solution, however, have remained since the initial announcement. In an interview with Re/code today, Ford CEO Mark Fields clarified some of the details regarding the company’s plans to offer Android Auto (and CarPlay) in its vehicles.

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Google’s self-driving car initiative may not be as far off as many might think. During a talk at the TED conference in Vancouver, Google’s head of self-driving cars Chris Urmson said that his team is working to launch the technology onto the market by 2020 (that year may sound familiar if you’ve followed the Apple Car rumors). The executive said that he has an 11-year-old son that could be eligible to get his license in 4 and a half years, although he hopes that won’t be needed thanks to the availability of self-driving cars. “My team and I are committed to making sure that doesn’t happen,” Urmson said (via Re/Code).

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Google is getting serious about its self-driving car initiative.

Reuters reports on Wednesday that Google has entered discussions with several top automative manufacturers about self-driving cars, including General Motors, Ford, Volkswagen and Daimler, the German company behind Mercedes-Benz. The company has also partnered with a number of auto suppliers to develop and refine self-driving systems and components, such as Continental AG, Robert Bosch, LG Electronics and Nvidia.
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Google announced on Tuesday that it has appointed Alan Mulally to its Board of Directors. Mulally served as Ford President and CEO between September 2006 and June 2014, retiring from his post on July 1st. Mulally, who was appointed on July 9th, is serving on Google’s Audit Committee. His knowledge and connections in the automotive industry could be valuable towards the company’s self-driving car initiatives.
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Ad Age is reporting that Google+ will open up brand pages within the next two weeks. The brand pages will resemble Facebook’s, who has seen great success gaining ad revenue from them.  Ford, MTV, and Mashable are expected to be the first pages. As they wait for their official page, Ford has already set up a profile — acting as a mock page. For companies that would like to get a page, they can simply fill out a form. The form must be popping, because Google told Ad Age they can barely keep up with requests. Check out Google’s thoughts of Ford’s move below.

Ad Age: So it turns out plenty of companies are interested in setting up a business page on Google+, so much so that you’re having to turn off some of these pages. What’s the plan?

Christian Oestlien: We’re basically nine days in to what you could describe as a multi-year project. We’ve gotten several thousands of applications to be in the test group since we opened it up last night.

Ad Age: Ford is one of them, and it appears to be very active already. Are you asking it to take down its page?

Mr. Oestlien: We’re positively overwhelmed by how quickly Ford has become involved with the project. They’re doing to some incredibly cool stuff like the “hangout” they’re doing this afternoon with their customers. It’s the kind of stuff we’re looking to test.

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