CNET -- Ford's had a change of heart. When every other automaker went running for smartphone apps that connected to a vehicle via an in-car modem, Ford chose to hold off, claiming the smartphone was the method for providing vehicles with Internet-based functionality. That's all changed with the release of Sync Connect, which will launch with the 2017 Ford Escape unveiled at the 2015 Los Angeles Auto Show.

"There's a recognition that we need to be multifaceted in regards to connectivity," said Don Butler, Ford's director of connected vehicles and services. "With where we see the industry going, built-in connectivity will become an increasing part of what we do. I think the approach that we've taken at Ford has been consistent with our customers and their needs."

Sync Connect is similar to apps from other automakers in that it allows the owner to access certain vehicle functions and information from the owner's own smartphone. Available features include remote lock and unlock, vehicle status including tire pressures and fuel level, vehicle location and remote start.

Its standout feature is the ability to remote start a vehicle according to a schedule. You can, for example, program your car to start at 7:15 every morning for your 7:30 departure. Other automakers offer remote-start capabilities, but none let you schedule it ahead of time. Ford also believes its user interface will help set it apart from its competitors.

The app will also receive over-the-air updates, which require the car to be running. However, you won't lose infotainment functionality while that happens. According to Ford, the updating takes place on a module that operates independently of the Sync 3 infotainment system, so the driver won't miss anything while it's happening.

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9-19-2016, C3 Report -- While attending the Further with Ford conference at the company’s headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, earlier this week, the automaker’s old-fashioned script logo at the entrance to the building caught my eye. Probably because I’d watched several episodes of HBO’s Silicon Valley on the plane ride to Detroit; its opening title sequence features tech company logos vying for attention. At Ford, its old-school insignia seemed out of step with its ambitions to remake itself as a mobility company rivaling the likes of Uber, Google, and others.

Technology has certainly created Kodak moments for many long-established and iconic companies, and some predict the same thing will occur in the auto industry. While Ford isn’t the only car company making this transition into mobility, it has been one of the most aggressive. It plans, for example, to build and deploy fully self-driving vehicles for an autonomous ride-sharing service in five years; check out a hands on with Ford’s latest self-driving car from our sister site ExtremeTech. Last week, it also acquired van-pool service Chariot and announced plans to expand bike-sharing in the Bay Area.

The Further with Ford event featured a parade of company executives in a carefully choreographed series of discussions and presentations. But at the same time, I found the company’s kingpins, and particularly executive chairman and company scion Bill Ford, unusually candid about the opportunities and challenges the automaker faces in moving from selling vehicles to marketing mobility.

In an opening session, CEO Mark Fields suggested that vehicle miles traveled will be more important than number of vehicle sold. Product chief Raj Nair noted that Ford is intentionally disrupting its century-old business model of vehicle sales since the change is inevitable.

But few things provoke a stronger reaction from auto industry veterans than the idea that car companies are dinosaurs that will be eventually usurped by Silicon Valley. In an onstage interview, Bill Ford, the great-grandson of the company’s founder, acknowledged that “it’s not just Google and Apple, but it’s start-ups of people spinning out of Google and Apple” with which Ford will have to compete.

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In less than a month, enthusiasts representing 16 countries will gather in the United States to celebrate 50 years of the Ford Mustang.

Groups from North America, South America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand will carry their country flags to Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. and at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas. The international celebration will be so large that Ford Motor Company and the Mustang Club of America will simultaneously hold it at two locations from April 16 through April 20, 2014. It is open to everyone, not just Mustang owners and MCA members.

“Even though the Ford Mustang has not traditionally been offered globally, the passion for the first pony car is truly international,” said Ronald D. Bramlett, Mustang Club of America, executive director of the Mustang 50th Birthday Celebration. “Enthusiasts from across the globe are planning to attend and share their personal Mustang stories. Some are even shipping their Mustang to the United States to drive their car as part of the milestone event.”

Charlotte Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway will give these enthusiasts an experience that they will remember for the rest of their lives. MCA has also organized “Pony Drives” so Mustang owners can travel in organized groups to each venue. Some international owners are planning to drive in those caravans.

“The Ford Mustang has become a symbol of American culture,” said Steven Ling, Ford car marketing manager. “The hunger for this iconic car fueled Ford Motor Company’s decision to offer the 2015 Mustang globally for the first time. We’ll exhibit this new model at the twin events so fans from around the world can see them personally.”

The original American pony car has been very popular, with more than nine million sold thus far. Since the Mustang was launched at the1964 World’s Fair in New York, it has become an important part of pop culture with more than 3,000 appearances in film and television, plus hundreds of musical references. The Mustang Club of America has chapters on every continent except Antarctica, with chapters and tens of thousands of members worldwide.

From 1964 to 1973, Ford built almost three million Mustangs at their three U.S. plants. However, few realize that Mustangs were also built at Ford locations in Europe and Latin America. A handful of U.S.-built early Mustangs were even converted to right-hand drive at Ford's plant in Australia.

The countries being represented at the celebration will include:

• United States of America
• Canada
• Mexico
• Brazil
• Australia
• New Zealand
• Denmark
• Sweden
• Norway
• Germany
• France
• Belgium
• Switzerland
• Holland
• Italy 
• United Kingdom

Details continue to be finalized for the event. Information is continuously updated on a special website, http://www.mustang50thbirthdaycelebration.com/ and at the MCA website, http://www.mustang.org/.

For more information regarding Ford and its products worldwide, please visit http://corporate.ford.com.