Which disqualifies them in my mind, until they come up with a way to use the system without providing any personally identifiable information to Google. The good thing about the Ford variant is that you can use Apple CarPlay (and I don’t think you need to “log into” Google to pair a phone.)
Must you sign in with Google to pair Apple car play to a 2025 Ford Explorer?
I do not know. I only played with the Lincoln version for a short time and didn’t try to pair my phone. My sales guy explained that most of the features of the Lincoln Digital Experience (it’s the same thing) don’t work unless you log into Google. Conceptually, it’s actually very nice and smooth. While you can’t tell because of the way it’s designed, there are actually 3 separate screens in the pillar-to-pillar display (not including the IP screen). They do a good job of visually blending them so they look like one continuous display.
I would suggest you direct your question to @Administrator
Not in my GM vehicle, audio is always running. But if you select a different audio source, then it drops until the new source is ready. For example, I can use FM, XM satellite, phone or a native streaming app as different audio sources. XM and streaming can take a few seconds to load new content.
Google maps in my GM vehicle has Tesla Superchargers in it, came two weeks after GM got access to Tesla chargers. You can also just plan routes in Google maps on your phone and send it to the vehicle directly, no need for any OEM app.
