Sirius Intros Traffic Service With Ford
By Amy Gilroy -- TWICE, 12/3/2007
LOS ANGELES — Sirius Satellite Radio announced at the Los Angeles Auto Show that Ford will be the first auto manufacturer to offer a new Sirius data service called Travel Link as standard with Ford's new navigation system.
XM also announced at the show that its NavTraffic navigation service will be available on the Nissan Murano.
Sirius's new traffic service extends beyond its current Sirius Traffic by adding such features as fuel prices, sports information and movie listings. It will be available on multiple Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles in 2008.
Specifically, Sirius Travel Link offers five-day weather forecasts; fuel prices at more then 120,000 gas stations, sports scores and game schedules, and movie listings from more than 4,500 theaters in addition to real-time traffic "flow" data and rerouting.
The data is broadcast through Sirius' existing satellites and repeaters and is accessed and managed in the vehicle using a new high-mounted, 8-inch touchscreen menu.
This summer, the 2009 Lincoln MKS will be the first vehicle in its class to offer Travel Link services integrated into a voice- activated navigation system. All vehicles with Ford's new navigation system in the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury lines will come with a free six-month subscription to Travel Link.
Chrysler offers Sirius's original Sirius Traffic (without weather, sports, movie and fuel listings).
XM announced its audio service will be offered as a factory option on the second-generation Nissan Murano, and XM's NavTraffic real-time traffic service will be offered on Murano vehicles with navigation. XM became the exclusive satellite radio provider for Nissan and Infiniti in the 2008 model year.
