It looks like road trips will never be the same again. Ford Motor Company and University of Michigan students teamed up to create Caravan Track, a new app to connect cars heading out on cross-country adventures.

The concept is simple: Connect your caravan of vehicles (yes, it’s social so you need to know other motorists equipped with the same gear) through social media networks to share your trip information between vehicles. You can compare itineraries, scope out new routes, get restaurant information, or even signal for a pit-stop. Essentially, anything you did over your walkie-talkie can be streamlined over the network.

Whether or not it’s a hit is yet to be seen. Certainly, it’s a niche appeal. For starters, it is unclear whether it will have any other use other than for the occasional thousand-mile voyage. For shorter journeys, it seems like a bit of a hassel to coordinate the trip in this way than through, say, a phone call. And, the distraction of the interface to the driver raises safety concerns. Ford has not given a specific date for commercial release.

Despite all this, we are impressed with Ford’s dedication to new media technologies and bringing a new level of interaction to its auto design.

You may remember Ford’s Fiesta Movement, a social media advertising campaign. Well, now Ford is going advertise and test the new app by giving the U. of Michigan students two Ford Fiestas  and sending them to Silicon Valley, a trip dubbed “American Journey 2.0.” We expect to see the material shortly as part of a larger social media marketing effort. YouTube videos are already in the works.

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