CES 2014: Ford and Domino’s Pizza Announce In-Dash Ordering (video)

aNewDomain.net — At CES 2014, we dropped by Domino’s Pizza (NYSE: DPZ) at ShowStoppers and learned about its deal with Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F). Here’s our Gina Smith with more on Ford and Domino’s Pizza in-dash delivery plans.

Beginning this summer, Domino’s customers who have saved Pizza Profiles on the Domino’s site  — or via its mobile apps for Android and Apple iOS  — will be able to order pizzas from the dash of their Fords this summer. Your car will need the Ford SYNC Applink in-car connectivity system on board, which more than 1 million Fords have right now. A couple of voice commands and your pizza is on its way — or ready for pick up. How will it work? I spoke with Domino’s VP Dennis Maloney at ShowStoppers to get the, um, skinny. More details on the Ford and Domino’s Pizza deal, below the fold.

Video: Gina Smith for aNewDomain/producer Justin Grant for aNewDomainTV

So the deal is, if you have a Ford with a SYNC in-car connectivity system, you’ll be able to place any “easy order” you’ve saved on your app via your Ford’s voice-activated system.

To get your pizza, you don’t even need the app. The Domino’s website has the Easy Order feature right on it. Or save your preferred pizza size and configuration on your app.

The deal is significant, Domino’s execs told aNewDomain.net, in that Domino’s is among the first if not the first retail fast food outlet to become available through Ford’s service.

At Wednesday’s formal announcement, the day after we interviewed the folks at Domino’s, execs spoke about the deal in glowing terms. This isn’t just about pizza, people.

Julius Marchwicki, global product manager for Ford SYNC AppLink, said:

We’re thrilled to add Domino’s to the ever-expanding lineup of mobile apps Ford drivers can use hands-free … Americans love pizza, and now they can have one ready for carryout or delivery when they are on their way home or heading to a gathering with friends.”

SYNC AppLink is available on easily 1 million Ford cars out there, Ford execs said, naming the Ford Focus, Fiesta, Mustang, Explorer, Flex, Edge, Expedition, Transit Connect, Fusion, Taurus, F-150 truck, Super Duty, E-Series and C-MAX hybrids among them. In a statement, Domino’s Pizza president and CEO Patrick Doyle told reporters:

This is, no question, one of the coolest in a long list of recent technology innovations for Domino’s … to be able to partner with a brand like Ford, with its terrific SYNC technology, to offer yet another way to bring our ordering app experience to life makes it all the better.”

It’s a deal as American as, well, Domino’s and Ford. We’ll be taking a look at this app and the service when it rolls out this summer right here at aNewDomain.net.

For aNewDomain.net, I’m Gina Smith.

Gina Smith is the New York Times best-selling author of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak’s memoir, iWoz Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer and Had Fun Doing It (W.W. Norton, 2005/2007/2012). With John C. Dvorak and Jerry Pournelle, she is the editorial director at aNewDomain.net. Email her at gina@aNewDomain.net, check out her Google + stream here or follow her @ginasmith888.