AP:Ford pulls plug on telematics venture

June 3, 2002 Here is AP's story concerning the demise of Wingcast.

Ford Motor Co. has pulled out of Wingcast LLC, its joint venture with Qualcomm Inc. to produce telematics services in vehicles, the automaker said Monday.

Ford's decision means Wingcast will be dissolved, according to a statement from Qualcomm, which owns 15 percent of the venture. Wingcast's 200 employees learned late Monday that they were losing their jobs, Ford spokesman David Reuter said.

"Ford made the decision to stop funding the joint venture with Qualcomm as part of our back-to-basics efforts," Reuter said.

Ford, which owns 85 percent of the 1 1/2-year-old enterprise, has not given up on efforts to provide on-board electronic services similar to OnStar, operated by General Motors Corp., Reuter said.

Wingcast was based on cell phone technology. Ford is still exploring services based on a wireless transmitting standard called Bluetooth, which lets a user's cell phone interact with a vehicle's electronics system using radio waves rather than wires, eliminating the need for costly on-board hardware or a separate service.

The combination of changing technology and changing customer desires was the main driver behind Ford's decision.

Ford had hoped to make Wingcast service available on 2003 model vehicles, but the service never got off the ground.