Ford Delays Wingcast Rollout A Year
Staff -- TWICE, 5/21/2001
DETROIT — Ford said it is delaying the launch of the Wingcast telematics service by a year due to technological concerns.
According to Wingcast CEO Harel Kodesh, the service is now expected to be offered by the close of 2002. Wingcast is a joint venture between Ford and Qualcomm announced last July and was originally expected to begin service at the end of 2001.
"We want to get it right," said a Wingcast spokesman. "[The delay's] not any big concern. We think it will leapfrog the technology of anything out there when it is launched. It will offer more in range and depth of service, in navigation, safety, 911 and you will be able to get full Internet in your car or truck."
The leader in OEM telematics is currently GM's Onstar, which claims 1 million subscribers and is available on 32 GM vehicles.
