Traffic, weather, gas prices, even movie times -- the SYNC knows all.

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SYNC, the Ford/Microsoft on-board cleverness system, is now even smarter. As well as being able to link up to iPods and Bluetooth-bearing cell phones, and then obey spoken commands, SYNC’s latest upgrade includes one more bell. Or is it a whistle?

In conjunction with Sirius satellite radio, this is a new take on GPS-based navigation, known as Travel Link. It provides real-time traffic information (including speed and flow), five-day weather forecasts as well as current conditions (taking in hurricane and tropical storm tracking, and conditions at ski resorts), and information from 120,000 gas stations, so users can choose by price, distance or brand. The system can then calculate a route to the chosen forecourt.

This improved SYNC system will be introduced on the all-new 2009 Lincoln MKS luxury sedan, available this summer. A six-month introductory subscription to Sirius Travel Link will be included. After that, Ford plans to phase the system in so that many new Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles will be SYNC-equipped by the end of the year.

And it‘s not just wall-to-wall drivers’ stuff. From a database of 4,500 theaters, there are movie listings, times, ratings, running lengths and addresses, plus up-to-the-minute sports scores (with the ability to customize for one’s preferred team). Which is a bit of a shame. It’s quite nice when the streets empty out a little on Superbowl Sunday.

-- Colin Ryan