Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gets Ford with 1-millionth Sync system

It's taken a little more than two years for Ford to build 1 million vehicles with the Sync entertainment and communications system, and the automaker marked the milestone by having Ford CEO Alan Mulally deliver a Ford Fusion hybrid with the 1-millionth system to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Ford also let Mulally, a former Boeing executive, make a return visit to Seattle, home to the Microsoft headquarters.

Microsoft supplies the software that is the heart of the Sync system.

Ford says that more than 80 percent of the vehicles it sells in North America are equipped with Sync, which is an extra-cost option. The technology enables owners to connect their digital music players and cellular telephones to the car, as well as provide emergency assistance and vehicle-status reports.

By Dale Jewett