SYNC Steps Up to the Plate With Fantasy Baseball Updates Available Hands-Free From Ford

DEARBORN, Mich., June 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

• Ford SYNC®, the company's award-winning hands-free in-vehicle connectivity technology, offers access to an on-demand weekly fantasy baseball update through available Traffic, Directions and Information Services

• Drivers can get a list of weekly hitting and pitching leaders in both the American League and National League using simple voice commands

• SYNC Services is an off-board network of voice-requested features, connected via a customer's cellphone, including directions, traffic, business search, weather, news, sports scores, stock quotes, horoscopes and movie listings – all free for the first three years of vehicle ownership

With baseball season in full swing, die-hard fantasy team fans who are also Ford owners can get weekly player updates in their vehicle on-demand and hands-free through Ford SYNC® with Traffic, Directions and Information Services.

Using a properly paired Bluetooth®-enabled phone with an active SYNC Services account, Ford owners can receive weekly player updates to find out who's hot and who's not. Once connected to Services, the driver simply says "Sports," then "Baseball" then "Fantasy Update." The weekly leaders in both the American League and National League are then read out aloud, along with hitting statistics including batting average, home runs, RBIs, stolen bases and runs scored. Pitching statistics include records, saves and strikeouts.

"It's been estimated that nearly 7 million people play fantasy baseball, and all of them scramble to get any kind of information about the very best players they should be putting in their lineups," said David Gersabeck, SYNC Services product manager. "This is all about giving our customers what they want. The Fantasy Update feature on SYNC gives our customers fantasy baseball updates quickly and concisely using easy voice commands."  

No longer do fantasy baseball players need to pore through pages of statistics and articles to find out who they should be adding – and dropping – from their fantasy team. SYNC Services users simply press the voice button and say the command "Services" to access a wide range of cloud-based on-demand voice-activated features and information, including turn-by-turn navigation, business search, traffic, news coverage, sports reports, weather forecasts and even horoscopes and stock prices. The most recent additions to the Services network include movie listings and travel information, offering a direct connection to 150 airlines, 50 hotel chains and 11 of the largest rental car companies in the U.S.

SYNC Services also offers portability because the service is mated with the user's Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone, not the vehicle, and therefore can be used in select 2010 model or newer Ford and Lincoln SYNC-equipped vehicles.

Vehicle owners even can dial up SYNC Services when on the move outside the vehicle, accessing the voice-command portal, which provides free access to information that network service providers usually charge additional fees for.

For a demonstration of SYNC Services Fantasy Baseball, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQEp7SZMN_g

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F), a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 166,000 employees and about 70 plants worldwide, the company's automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford's products, please visit www.ford.com.

SOURCE Ford Motor Company