Long Time No C(ES), With A Little NAIAS

Now playing: Diamonds on the Souls of her Shoes by Paul Simon (new feature of this blog)

(CES is Consumer Electronics Show and NAIAS is North American International Auto Show, you're welcome :p )

I managed to work three things into my title, pretty good, you think?

Ok first... it's been a while. In fact, I didn't blog for all of December. Unless you count twitter. Which I really don't. So yeah. Sorry about that. I had planned on doing a 2010/ New Year Blog. I didn't. And a friend reminded me that I missed it. (double meaning, you find it. And thanks, J, for pointing this out.)

Skip ahead to now and I'm actually kind of happy I missed it... seems like a little bit of a cliche. So instead I'm going to write about two of my favorite subjects in one. In vague forms progress and cars. In this case by progress I mean technology, and more specifically (and because it's me) in cars. CES and NAIAS (remember those from the first line?) have been going on at the same time recently and both have been really interesting because of progress. Also because of how integrated they are. Also, Babson teaches innovative thinking. If there's any subject in which innovative thinking is most important it is in the tech industry. Case in point: where/what to combine with technology. Who would have thought to add PC capabilities to the cell phone? Not me... but smartphones're one of the fastest growing cell phone markets. And tech in cars, don't even get me started.

And that's what brought me back to my blog: MyFord/MyLincoln. Wow! I am sooo thankful I added Ford stock to my portfolio/IRA/401K before it exploded. Lucky me! Now I can retire.... oooor not so much. For those unfamiliar check out the link at the bottom of the post to see what MyFord is.

As a self-proclaimed car enthusiast/aficionado I am mildly averse to tech in cars. I think they should be for driving and simple driving pleasure. However, as a practical business student I acknowledge that cars are all things to all people and safety systems that bring your car to a complete stop because you are too inept to are a good, practical idea to some people, if not to me. However, one of the biggest benefits to the personal computer is customization (you know, to make it personal :p ) I am a total control freak so I love anything I can customize and make my own.

But when it comes to cars I do not like anything after-market. For those who know car-speak everything I have has to be OEM (original equipment manufacturer). (example: I drive an Audi therefore every part in my car is manufactured by Audi). To a certain extent (and in an OEM manor) I do like my car to be custom. Boring things such as the color. However, companies aimed at people my age (maybe customization boomed with the tech generation?) like Scion have capitalized on making customization the norm. (Random question: does this eliminate it's appeal?) To a certain extent very few Scions are the same because there are literally hundreds of thousands of favorty available customizations. This is more mechanical: wheel/rim options, break caliper colors, interior carpeting, stereo etc.

This is where (My)Ford is welcomed to the blog post. Finally. MyFord is the technological equivalent to Scion's customization. It is mostly software with a couple big computer screens in your dashboard. It builds on Ford's successful Sync (by Microsoft... google it if you want to learn about it). And creates a customizable car. However, not just one car. Because you can save your customized MyFord settings and carry them to any car. Cool? YES! Just my kind of customization! MyFord has four categories which is as specific as I'm going to get in describing it: Phone, Navigation, Climate, and Entertainment. Clearly these can be expended on with (sub-)categories. Opening up completely new doors for the future. Indirectly this can even sync (no pun intended) with the internet. Here's how: my BlackBerry (and recently, your iPhone) has a facebook application which syncs contacts pictures, contact info, etc which then goes into your phonebook in MyFord. Some day, if anyone ever gets me to buy an American car, let alone a ford, you may call me on my car (sounds weird, huh? thanks technology haha) and the facebook profile picture which you chose will appear on a screen in my dashboard AND/OR control panel. Wow. And to think that approximately 100 years ago automotive tech was so primitive that Henry Ford said you could have any color you wanted, as long as it was black. (My point is that you could only get one color back then, now the person calling me (in my car no less) chooses what picture shows up in my car. WOW.)

But I digress. Customization was supposed to be the point. As I get older, wealthier, and more buying power I am more intrigued by technology because it is more exclusively customizable. My blackberry is very customizable right down to the specific ring tone which I use for text messages. My car isn't quite as customized. Probably the most unique thing about it is the manual transmission, or maybe the color of the inside or outside. In reality it's probably actually the bumper stickers (which I count as customization but they don't need to be OEM :p ).

I'm not quite sure if this blog post has a point. Actually... wait it does. And the moral of the story was foreshadowed when I made the comment about how some people like/want/need (marketing core concepts?) a car that can bring itself to a complete stop. The point is this: there is a ton of technology out there. Some of it good, some of it bad. A lot of its goodness or badness is in the eye of the beholder (and for me, based on how that beholder uses the tech.). I think braking systems which stop a car are bad technology. I think MyFord type systems are good. (They can been seen as distracting and therefore bad as well...) In an ideal world everyone (including me) would use this tech. in a safe, appropriate way making it a great milestone for technology in automobiles.

Bottom line: tech depends on what product it's in and how it will be used. And whether it fits your personality and interests. MyFord fits me. So hopefully it will be available in a General Motors product.

MyFord Info Link:
http://bit.ly/83tQ36