Racer Henry Ford is rolling in his grave, demands Protocols of Zion be included with all new cars
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Those days of fast cars and rock n' roll could be coming to an end for teen drivers.
Ford has announced upgrades to its MyKey technology that will allow parents to control both speed settings and satellite radio programming in their family cars.
The new technology aims to tackle concerns about teen driving safety and assist parents in setting limits on younger drivers as they transition to highway driving.
Before the upgrade, Ford's MyKey system allowed users to program a key that limits a vehicle's speed to 80 mph and alerts the driver at 45, 55, and 65 mph. The new technology now allows parents to limit the vehicle's speeds to 65, 70, 75, or 80 mph -- curbing a teenager's options for driving too fast.
Current features on MyKey allow parents to limit audio volume, but the upgrade gives parents control to block "explicit satellite radio programming." Sirius Satellite Radio has several explicit channels, including ones featuring shock jock Howard Stern.
MyKey technology currently also gives parents the ability to mute the radio until passengers up front buckle up.
In a press release, Graydon Reitz, director of Ford Electrical and Electronic Systems Engineering, said: "Ford wants to give parents peace of mind that their kids are following practical household rules in the car."
FACTBOX-No bailout, but Ford sees gov't benefits
Aug 5 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) has reaped a consumer, political and market bounce from not taking a U.S. government bailout to help restructure in 2009, unlike rivals General Motors Co [GM.UL] and Chrysler.
The healthiest U.S. automaker, however, has received direct and indirect financial assistance through loans, capital, tax credits and other programs that have aided its strong turnaround.
The following are federal assistance programs that have or will help Ford and other automakers.
* The Export-Import Bank on Thursday announced a $250 million working capital loan guarantee for Ford. The loan facility will finance $3.1 billion of export sales for over 200,000 vehicles being sold to buyers in Canada and Mexico. These exports represent 15 percent of Ford's 2009 production. The loan, fees and interest will be paid off in one year.
* Ford is eligible for share of $2.3 billion in clean energy manufacturing tax credits. Ford offers gasoline/electric hybrid vehicles and plans to roll out a plug-in electric car in 2012.
* Ford received approval for $5.9 billion in Energy Department loans to transform factories in five states to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles. Roughly $400 million of that money was spent on retooling the Chicago plant visited by President Barack Obama on Thursday. [ID:nN05133784]
* Ford received a $62 million grant from economic stimulus funds for a program aimed at accelerating manufacturing and deployment of next-generation battery technology for electric vehicles.
* Ford Motor Credit, the automaker's financing arm, benefited from the now-expired Federal Reserve Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, which helped unfreeze credit markets. The asset-backed market is an important way for automakers to raise funds and help consumers obtain loans.
* Ford also benefited from $5 billion bailout of the supply network, which is closely interconnected with all the Detroit car manufacturers. A supply network disruption would have hurt Ford.
* Ford buyers would qualify for a $7,500 federal tax credit for purchases of plug-in vehicles if the manufacturer brings an electric car to market.
(Reporting by John Crawley in Washington; Jeff Mason in Chicago; David Bailey in Detroit and Walden Siew in New York; Editing by Xavier Briand)
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