MyFord Touch: The 'Polished Turd' That Once Stranded Bill Ford, Court Documents Show

Owners of vehicles with the MyFord Touch infotainment system have not been alone in their frustration – and sometimes fury – over its failures to do tasks as simple as making a telephone call: it also really ticked off some top Ford Motor officials.

MyFord Touch, for example, left Chairman Bill Ford temporarily stuck on the side of the road when its navigation feature crashed and the executive was in an area with which he wasn’t familiar, court documents show.

Another top executive may have gotten so upset that he broke the screen.

And it so aggravated one of the engineers trying to upgrade the software that in a company email he called it “a polished turd.”

Once, Bill Ford had to pull off the road after the navigation system stopped working because he didn’t know where he going.

Here’s the memo reportedly written by one Ford worker that describes it:

“He told us he is happy that this is happening to him and not to regular customers. Tonight in particular it was especially burdensome. He had to wait five minutes for the reset, by the side of the road in an unfamiliar area. He could not continue because of the lack of navigation directions and he was late.” read more »

Daimler unit to pay $28.5 million to settle U.S. Clean Air Act claims

Detroit Diesel Corp, a unit of automaker Daimler AG, will spend $14.5 million to reduce pollutants and pay a $14 million civil penalty to settle alleged violations of the U.S. Clean Air Act, the Justice Department said on Thursday.

The settlement is the latest penalty imposed by U.S. regulators on auto and engine manufacturers for failing to meet emissions regulations.

The U.S. government alleged that Detroit Diesel violated the Clean Air Act by selling nearly 7,800 heavy-duty diesel engines in 2010 without properly certifying they complied with emissions standards. read more »

Volkswagen/Audi Diesel Emissions Settlement Program

Learn more about the Settlements and program to modify or buyback certain Volkswagen or Audi diesel automobiles in the United States