????時下導致車禍的最大原因并非是酒后駕駛，而是駕駛員注意力分散，也就是說駕駛員的腦子或眼睛并沒有緊盯著路況，或者手離開了方向盤。隨著汽車的操控變得越來越復雜，加上駕駛員們總愛在駕駛時擺弄手機等設備，這個問題也變得越來越嚴峻。據美國國家公路交通安全管理局（National Highway Traffic Safety Administration）和弗吉尼亞科技運輸學院 （Virginia Tech Transportation Institute ）2008年聯合公布的一項研究顯示，80%的車禍都與駕駛員某種形式的分心難逃干系；而那些險些發生車禍的“驚魂一刻”，也有65%都與駕駛員某種形式的分心有關。

????福特（Ford）今年推出了全新的MyFord Touch觸屏系統，朝著減少駕駛員分心的方向上邁出了一大步。MyFord系統可以將移動電話、電子記事簿（PDA）和數字媒體播放器等功能整合到汽車中，駕駛員可通過語音指令、觸屏輸入或傳統的按鍵開關三者中的任一方式來進行操作。

????幾個月前我親自測試了MyFord Touch系統，結果總體上還不錯。盡管我是個對科技接受的比較慢的人，但我發現，在接受了半個小時的講解后，我已經可以順暢操作了。方向盤上的多媒體控制鍵要比一般德國車上的多功能方向盤更加直觀。聲控系統經過了升級，可對10,000個單詞做出反應，效果好得驚人。我本人對觸屏并沒有太大好感，因為我覺得觸屏普遍反應遲鈍，在駕駛過程中很難激活。不過福特的觸屏系統比起我測試過的克萊斯勒（Chrysler）的幾款新車要快一些，應答性也略勝一籌。

????不過我的體驗并不具有代表性。福特現在正在遭受汽車買主、經銷商、第三方評估者和媒體的口誅筆伐。福特發現，當領頭羊的代價，就是人人都可以踢你的屁股。

????對MyFord Touch的報怨早在今年一月就出現了。一位車主向他的三位朋友評價他的福特福克斯（Focus）轎車時說道：“這款觸屏系統太差勁了，偶爾才能連接到我的藍牙手機上，在駕駛時偶爾還會重新啟動，而且有時甚至不肯提供電臺預設。有時開機幾分鐘后系統會突然白屏，過一會兒又恢復了界面。有時右前方的喇叭會突然冒出某個電臺的廣播節目，聲音大得都失真了，不論怎么拼命按鈕都無濟于事。屏幕上明明顯示的是“最小音量”，但喇叭還是以90分貝的音量咆哮著，耳膜都快被它震破了。幸好只有這一個喇叭出了問題。”

????目前最有代表性的批評來自《消費者報告》雜志（Consumers Reports），這家雜志是目前最有影響力的第三方汽車評估者。今年一月，《消費者報告》的一名評測者寫道，他認為“系統非常容易上手，我用了很短的時間就學會了，甚至都不用打開那本厚厚的用戶手冊。”不過他也補充道：“人們對該系統的看法并不一致。”

????后來該雜志又發布了正式的評測報告，這份報告對MyFord Touch的評價有所下降。

????“福特原本只對系統進行簡單調整就可以了，但它卻采用了三四種不同的方法。然而這些方法的任何一種都不如老式的旋鈕和按鍵好用，而且它們操作起來也比較費時，還會令司機分心。首次使用者可能根本無法理解該系統。”

????根據汽車市場調查機構J.D. Power 的“新車質量調查”（Initial Quality Survey）的反饋，一些購車已超過90天的福特車主也有相同的報怨。據上周四公布的調查結果顯示，福特在各大汽車品牌中的質量排名已從第5名下跌至第23名。導致這個結果的一個重要原因就是飽受詬病的MyFord Touch。

????J.D. Power的副總裁戴夫?薩金特對《底特律新聞報》（Detroit News）表示：“如果不是MyFord Touch的緣故，福特的排名也不會下降這么多。福特公司決意要成為車載多媒體互聯領域的領軍者。如果真成了成了領軍者，這誠然是好事，但這也使你處在了一個易受抨擊的地位。”

????福特公司一直以其產品質量排名作為一個關鍵的賣點，因此該排名的下降令福特深感苦惱。福特連續五年都沒有下過“新車質量調查”的行業平均線。另一搭載了MyFord Touch系統的汽車品牌林肯（Lincoln）的處境也并不比福特好多少。它的質量排名從2010年的第8位下跌到了今年的第17位。福特正在反復與經銷商和顧客會面，以更多地了解他們的抱怨。福特希望最早在今年秋天推出MyFord Touch的2.0版。

????與此同時，福特顯然并沒有放緩創新的腳步。本周早些時候，福特向一些新聞記者展示了該公司的一系列新創意。其中包括一些能夠自動避免事故的設備，這些設備通過使用wi-fi無線網絡信號，讓駕駛員知道附近其他車輛的位置，還可以偵測到轉彎處有無來車，以提醒駕駛員進行避讓，避免車禍。除此之外，還有一些設備可用于檢測駕駛員的健康水平，其中包括用于檢查駕駛員的緊張程度的心率監測儀，以及為糖尿病患者準備的血糖監測儀等。

????前進永不止步。不過就像福特的教訓一樣，有時必須慢慢來。

????譯者：樸成奎

????More than drunk driving, the biggest single cause of car accidents today is driver distraction: taking your mind or eyes off the road, or your hands off the wheel. As the controls of cars become more complex and drivers continue to manipulate accessory appliances like cell phones while they are moving, the problem is only getting worse. According to a 2008 study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, 80% of crashes and 65% of near-crashes involve some form of driver distraction

????Ford (F, Fortune 500) took a giant step towards mitigating driver distraction this year when it introduced its MyFord Touch system of driver controls. MyFord enables drivers to integrate mobile phones, PDAs, and digital media players into their cars, and operate them using any one of three different systems: voice commands, touch-screen inputs, or conventional switches.

????I tested MyFord Touch a few months ago with generally good results. While I am a slow technology adapter, I found that I could operate it well enough after a half-hour instruction. The steering wheel controls are more intuitive than the dials I've found on German cars, and the voice command system, upgraded to accept 10,000 words, also worked surprisingly well. I'm not a fan of touch screens, finding them insensitive and hard to activate while driving. Ford's system, though, worked faster and more responsively than others I have tried on new Chrysler cars.

????My experience has not been typical, however, and Ford is getting roasted by owners, dealers, third-party evaluators, and the media. The price of leadership, it is finding, is that everybody gets to kick you from behind.

????Complaints started showing up as early as January. One owner reported the following in demonstrating his Ford Focus to three friends: "Too bad about the touchscreen, I say, which only occasionally will connect to my Bluetooth phone, occasionally reboots while driving, and sometimes doesn't bother to offer radio presets. A few minutes later, the screen goes blank and then comes back up. And out of the front-right speaker suddenly comes some radio station's broadcast so loud it's distorted. No amount of button-pressing will stop it. The display clearly shows 'Minimum Volume,' and yet the speaker crackles on with 90 decibels of eardrum-piercing sturm und drang. Luckily, it was just the one speaker."

????The most prominent critic has been Consumers Reports, by far the most influential third-party automotive evaluator. Early reports were encouraging. A CR driver reported in January that he "found the system easy enough to learn on the fly that I didn't have to break out the weighty owner's manual," but he added that "the jury is still out."

????When the magazine weighed in with its formal evaluation later on, however, it lowered the boom.

????"It all adds up to three or four ways to make what should be simple adjustments. None of the options works as well or is as easy to use as old-fashioned knobs and switches, and they can be more time-consuming and distracting to operate. First-time users might find it impossible to comprehend."

????Those complaints were echoed by owners who responded to J.D. Power's Initial Quality Survey after 90 days of ownership. In results released Thursday, Ford fell from 5th to 23rd in the quality ranking of major brands. MyFord Touch was a big reason why.

????"If it wasn't for MyFord Touch, we wouldn't be talking about Ford," said Dave Sargent, vice president of global vehicle research at J.D. Power, told the Detroit News, "They made the decision to be a leader in this area" of onboard connectivity, he said. "If you're the leader, that's great, but you're also in a somewhat vulnerable position."

????Ford, which has made its product quality ranking a key selling point, is chagrined. The automaker hasn't finished below the industry average in the survey for five years. Lincoln, which also offers MyFord Touch, didn't fare much better. It dropped from 8th place in 2010 to 17th this year. Ford has been meeting repeatedly with dealers and customers to learn more about their complaints. It hopes to roll out a version 2.0 as early as this fall.

????Meanwhile, Ford apparently isn't slowing the pace of innovation. Earlier this week, it showed new journalists a portfolio of new ideas. Some are accident-avoidance devices that use wi-fi signals to let drivers know where other cars are and to see around corners to give drivers a warning about an impending collision. Others check on a driver's health with a heart-rate monitor to measure his stress level and a blood-sugar monitor for diabetics.

????Progress can't be stopped but, as Ford is learning, sometimes you have to slow it down.