Ford reintroduced traditional buttons and knobs
It appears that Ford has subtly reintroduced traditional buttons and knobs for their Sync and MyFord Touch in-car technology systems.
The carmaker mentioned that its voice- and touchscreen-reliant systems do help increase the customer satisfaction with vehicle quality, but the truth of the matter is that both the Sync and the MyFord technologies have been rather heavily criticized since they launched them in 2007 and 2010, respectively.
Ford has been dropping steadily in the JD Power and Associates US Initial Quality study, first to fifth place back in 2010, then all the way down to 23rd in 2011 and to 27th in 2012 – that’s massive by any definition. The US manufacturer said that it was expecting a ‘dramatic improvement’ in the 2013 results, but it has maintained the same position in the latest survey, with 18 points below the industry average, not good.
On the other hand the company says that the Ford F-150 – which features the MyFord Touch technology that blends touchscreen capabilities with traditional buttons and knobs – has the highest rate of quality satisfaction across its line-up, with 86 percent.
This positive reaction from customers has led the company to reveal that a similar balance will exist in future Ford vehicles.
The thing is that Sync and MyFord Touch are important parts of Ford’s innovation strategy, and help to not only bring new customers to the brnad, but also deliver a higher satisfaction with overall vehicle quality. And according to group vice president of global product development Raj Nair, the company was committed to listening to the customer feedback in regards to MyFord Touch.
This decision to reintroduce a simpler system employing buttons and knobs is a mirror of what BMW did following criticism over its iDrive infotainment system.
The latest version of the MyFord Touch will make an appearance in the new 2014 Ford Fiesta, and a software update to the already existing systems will be available this summer in the US.
