Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Ford Vehicles Equipped with Clarion Navigation Top J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Study

DEARBORN -- Lincoln MKS owners report "Highest Satisfaction" with their Clarion-equipped Voice-Activated Navigation System with SIRIUS® Travel Link™, according to J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Navigation Usage and Satisfaction Study. The same system in the Ford Flex is second on the list.

Co-developed with Ford, the Clarion navigation systems are in over fifteen Ford vehicles. Ford and Lincoln models earned five of the top 10 positions, in addition to receiving high marks from consumers for being easy to use.

The newly released study, based on responses from nearly 17,000 consumers who recently purchased or leased 2009 model year vehicles with factory-installed navigation systems, was conducted in October.

"Consumers are spending so much time in their vehicles today, so it's become increasingly important for them to remain connected," said Jim Buczkowski, director, Global Electrical and Electronics Systems Engineering for Ford Motor Company. "But we realize that all that connectivity and information doesn't help people unless the system is easy to use. That's why we've worked so hard to make sure our navigation system is not only extremely functional, but exceptionally intuitive."

This marks the sixth J.D. Power and Associates award Clarion has received in the past four years for either in-dash navigation or multimedia systems. "Clarion is very honored to have the privilege to work with Ford in supplying navigation and audio systems," says Matt Matsuda, president of Clarion Corporation of America. "Clarion is committed to supplying high-quality navigation and multimedia systems that offer appealing features that consumers demand most in a very user-friendly package."