Ford's Jim Farley And Google's Tarun Bhatnagar Slated To Present Keynote At LA Auto Show's Connected Car Expo November 19

LOS ANGELES--Oct. 14, 2013: The Los Angeles Auto Show (LA Auto Show®) announced today that it will kick off its Connected Car Expo (CCE) with a special keynote from Ford Motor Company's Jim Farley, Executive Vice President of Global Marketing, Sales, Service and Lincoln on November 19. Joining Farley during the opening keynote will be Tarun Bhatnagar, Director of Google Maps for Business.

As in-car connectivity evolves, Ford has continued to stay a step ahead of the industry. Driven by consumer trends and deep marketing insights, Farley and Bhatnagar will share their experiences in bringing their respective innovations to fruition during their keynote.

In fact, Ford continues to make advancements in expanding the connected car experience and creating the building blocks that are helping redefine the customer experience. Today, Ford has more than seven million cars on the road that utilize SYNC, Ford's in-car technology, to connect their devices to smartphones and plans to grow that number to 14 million by 2015.

Audi, Sprint and Airbiquity have confirmed major press conferences from CCE on Nov. 19, while the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) and JD Power & Associates will co-host the opening night party sponsored by Pandora, as part of the Western Automotive Conference.

"We are excited to have influential auto tech players like Ford and Google participating in the LA Auto Show's Connected Car Expo," said Lisa Kaz, president of LA Auto Show and Connected Car Expo. "The demand for connectivity on the road is very clear to auto manufacturers and technology giants alike, as CCE continues to draw nationwide attention and innovative exhibitors."

Other exhibitors presenting their latest advancements in the space include: Abalta, Bite Interactive, Bluetooth Keyless, Productification, Voicepark, Covisint, Hertz Navigation Solutions, OnStar, PWC, QNX, Qualcomm, Telenav, Verizon, Livio, Parkopedia, Clip Interactive, Zoox and others, for a total of 20 exhibitors filling more than 50,000 square feet of exhibit space.

Along with the exhibits and press conferences, CCE will offer a full day of panel discussions featuring more than 50 industry experts. The entire day will be emceed by Brian Cooley, editor at large at CNET, while car tech expert and writer Doug Newcomb is serving as conference chair.

Sponsors of CCE include Auto Alliance, Nielsen, Pandora, Porsche and Splunk.