He said the new group, which will be led by Doug VanDagens, 'aims to provide customers a better, more convenient and less distracted driving experience while taking full advantage of the available information and services that can make their lives better.'

'It will help us deliver game-changing customer features profitability,' Fields said, adding that Ford aims to make these technologies affordable as it has with Sync, which debuted not on a luxury Lincoln, but on the cheapest car Ford sells in the United States: the Ford Focus. That is because rolling out these technologies is critical to winning over the 'Millennials,' the twentysomethings that are fast emerging as the most important consumer demographic.

Fields said 11,000 of these new drivers are entering the marketplace every day, adding that they will account for 28 percent of the driving population by 2010.

'Cell phones, digital cameras, DVDs, iPods and social networking have defined their lives,' he said. 'They have an insatiable appetite for technology.'

Fields said Ford has already got the attention of this group with Sync. Now, it needs to build on that success.

'That means having a group that eats, sleeps and drinks this space every single day,' he told reporters following his speech. 'It's a great opportunity for Ford to lead.

VanDagens said Sync will remain the foundation of Ford's consumer electronics strategy, because it is one the company can continue to build on.

'Other OEMs have bolted things onto their cars and trucks. We've built a gateway that allows customers to connect their own devices to the vehicle,' he said, adding that this means they can always use the latest and most popular technologies. 'I think that's going to keep us ahead.'