I'll preface this by saying that I actually have never used a MyFord Touch system, so I am in no way passing judgement.
Consumer Reports released their latest review of the system. It wasn't good:
Quote:
We wouldn’t recommend dealing with the frustrations of MyFord Touch on a daily basis even to an adversary.
In 2011, Ford's JD Power IQS dropped from 5th to 23rd. In 2012, it fell another 5 places, to 27th. Much of this was because of the negative reception of MyFord Touch:
Quote:
People were finding several problems with the system in that it would crash, freeze, black out. Beyond that, people complained that it was more complex to use than they would like.
Of course, there was a massive update to the system here recently. Motor Trend did an about face on their review of the system after the update.
Review pre-update:
Quote:
How so many Ford owners enjoy this, I haven’t a clue. I suspect they love the idea of it without playing with it much before purchasing, then realizing what a catastrophe it is.
and post-update:
Quote:
I honestly don’t have enough good things to say about it, and to call it ‘class-leading’ is an understatement.
Yet some outlets that maintain a long-term test fleet, like Edmunds, are still having issues with the system, even after the update:
http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2012/08/2012-ford-explorer-myford-touch-saga-continues.html
Regardless of whether you think CR or JD Power are biased/useless/idiots, lots of people still rely on them and, more importantly, automakers live and die by them. A "Recommended" pick by CR remains the goal of every automaker.
So what should be the future of MyFord Touch? Ford has taken quite a beating since it's introduction. The big update was obviously an improvement, but customers all suffered until it was made available. Did customers know this is what they getting into when they bought their vehicle? How will it affect other automakers and their introduction of tech? Will it make them more cautious and result in more validation before release, so as not to take it on the chin so badly in the ratings?
[Opinion]
The tech industry has used customers as beta testers for a long, long time. How many of us have received software, driver, or firmware updates to correct something that should never have been a problem or to introduce a feature that should have been there in the first place?
We accept those because they are realitvly inexpensive products and the update really isn't that troublesome. A new vehicle on the other hand is pretty spendy and dropping it off at the dealer for a day is a pretty big hassle.
Shame on any automaker who puts such a system out there. Not to single them out, but hopefully the beating Ford took will serve as a stern reminder to other automakers that releasing an immature technology at the expense of their customer's experience will lead to nothing good.
[Opinion]
Consumer Reports released their latest review of the system. It wasn't good:
Quote:
We wouldn’t recommend dealing with the frustrations of MyFord Touch on a daily basis even to an adversary.
In 2011, Ford's JD Power IQS dropped from 5th to 23rd. In 2012, it fell another 5 places, to 27th. Much of this was because of the negative reception of MyFord Touch:
Quote:
People were finding several problems with the system in that it would crash, freeze, black out. Beyond that, people complained that it was more complex to use than they would like.
Of course, there was a massive update to the system here recently. Motor Trend did an about face on their review of the system after the update.
Review pre-update:
Quote:
How so many Ford owners enjoy this, I haven’t a clue. I suspect they love the idea of it without playing with it much before purchasing, then realizing what a catastrophe it is.
and post-update:
Quote:
I honestly don’t have enough good things to say about it, and to call it ‘class-leading’ is an understatement.
Yet some outlets that maintain a long-term test fleet, like Edmunds, are still having issues with the system, even after the update:
http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2012/08/2012-ford-explorer-myford-touch-saga-continues.html
Regardless of whether you think CR or JD Power are biased/useless/idiots, lots of people still rely on them and, more importantly, automakers live and die by them. A "Recommended" pick by CR remains the goal of every automaker.
So what should be the future of MyFord Touch? Ford has taken quite a beating since it's introduction. The big update was obviously an improvement, but customers all suffered until it was made available. Did customers know this is what they getting into when they bought their vehicle? How will it affect other automakers and their introduction of tech? Will it make them more cautious and result in more validation before release, so as not to take it on the chin so badly in the ratings?
[Opinion]
The tech industry has used customers as beta testers for a long, long time. How many of us have received software, driver, or firmware updates to correct something that should never have been a problem or to introduce a feature that should have been there in the first place?
We accept those because they are realitvly inexpensive products and the update really isn't that troublesome. A new vehicle on the other hand is pretty spendy and dropping it off at the dealer for a day is a pretty big hassle.
Shame on any automaker who puts such a system out there. Not to single them out, but hopefully the beating Ford took will serve as a stern reminder to other automakers that releasing an immature technology at the expense of their customer's experience will lead to nothing good.
[Opinion]
