This failed as submarine PR; it made me think badly of both Ford and IDEO, for being behind the times.

Google Maps already does all of this. A wordy NYT article describing a meandering and expensive process to build a very obvious piece of software isn't a realistic portrayal of the capabilities of the developers, but makes me feel like they're idiots, out of touch, and incapable/incompetent.

If you're going to do submarine PR, at least make it make you look good.