MyFord Touch To Offer Eco-Route Feature on Navigation System

Just the Facts:

• Ford navigation system on the MyFord Touch will offer an Eco-Route option to calculate the most fuel-efficient route.
• The map-based navigation option for MyFord Touch is less than $1,000.
• MyFord Touch will debut this summer on the 2011 Ford Edge and globally on the 2012 Ford Focus.

DEARBORN, Michigan — Striving to position itself as a fuel-economy path breaker, Ford on Thursday said its MyFord Touch navigation system will offer an Eco-Route option that calculates the most fuel-efficient route.

"The map-based navigation option for MyFord Touch is less than $1,000," said Ford spokesman Alan Hall in an e-mailed response to an Inside Line query about pricing on Friday.

MyFord Touch will debut this summer on the 2011 Ford Edge and globally on the 2012 Ford Focus. MyLincoln Touch will be standard equipment on new Lincoln vehicles beginning with the 2011 Lincoln MKX.

Drivers will be able to choose among three routing options with the MyFord Touch: fastest, shortest and Eco-Route.

"Eco-Route is not necessarily the fastest or shortest route but is the most fuel-efficient," said Ford in a statement. "Typically, it charts a course that avoids congested freeways while maximizing the use of major roads where the driver can maintain an efficient rate of speed."

The Dearborn automaker said that when Ford of Europe engineers tested the feature, they achieved up to a 15 percent improvement in fuel economy using the Eco-Route.

"We have learned that when we provide drivers the information and tools in an interactive and entertaining way, they want to drive more fuel-efficiently," said Jim Buczkowski, Ford director of global electrical and electronics system engineering, in a statement.

The debut of Ford's Eco-Route feature comes as gas prices continue to creep toward the $3 mark. The AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report on Friday pegged the current average price for a gallon of unleaded gas at $2.86. A year ago, the price was $2.05.

Inside Line says: Of course, you can also slow down and watch your speed to save fuel without the help of a fancy system. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent