2020 The Year of Live In-Car Remote Assistance

2020 The Year of Live In-Car Remote Assistance
by Roger C. Lanctot on 01-12-2020 at 10:00 am

2020 The Year of Live In Car Remote Assistance

After years of travel and computing remotely while on the road I have found that there are two magical experiences for the business traveler. One of those experiences is the hotline support I get from my preferred airline – United. The other is the live remote assistance I periodically receive from my company’s in-house IT department… Read More


CES 2020: Dashboard Distraction Dilemma

CES 2020: Dashboard Distraction Dilemma
by Roger C. Lanctot on 01-05-2020 at 10:00 am

CES 2020 Dashboard Distraction Dilemma

Tesla Motors did it again. In September of 2019 Tesla launched its “Software Version 10.0,” a software update targeted primarily at in-vehicle infotainment systems. Principal among the extensive menu of updates was something called “Tesla Theater” which added streaming video content sources including Netflix, Hulu, Youtube,… Read More


Who is Driving This Car Anyway?

Who is Driving This Car Anyway?
by Roger C. Lanctot on 01-01-2020 at 10:00 am

Who is Driving This Car Anyway

My Lyft driver in San Jose thought his Hyundai had “autopilot,” alluding I suspected, to Tesla Motors’ feature of the same name which has placed that company at the forefront of driving automation development and the focal point of fatal crash investigations. Before either of us got hurt I gently disabused my driver of his dangerous… Read More


Learning to Love Lyft Again

Learning to Love Lyft Again
by Roger C. Lanctot on 12-29-2019 at 6:00 am

When I landed at San Francisco International Airport last Tuesday morning around 1 a.m. I was determined to locate the airport taxi rank and take a cab to my hotel in Santa Clara. The idea of hailing an Uber or Lyft seemed essentially nonsensical to me since I knew professional taxi drivers would be waiting as they usually are at most… Read More


AAA: Killer Automotive Safety Systems

AAA: Killer Automotive Safety Systems
by Roger C. Lanctot on 12-26-2019 at 6:00 am

AAA is out with a new study, conducted on its behalf by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, that purports to show, among other things, that advanced automotive safety systems may lull drivers into a false sense of security leading to distracted driving or worse. The takeaway from this impressively elaborate study is

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Put Uber out of Our Misery

Put Uber out of Our Misery
by Roger C. Lanctot on 12-06-2019 at 2:00 pm

The time may have finally arrived to put app-based transportation options out of commission. The latest report of 3,000 rapes and sexual assaults committed on or by Uber drivers in 2018 highlights a serious and possibly growing shortcoming of gig-type ride-hailing and delivery services: the weakness of driver background checks… Read More


GM’s CES No Show: EmBARRAssing!

GM’s CES No Show: EmBARRAssing!
by Roger C. Lanctot on 11-28-2019 at 6:00 am

After failing in 2017 and 2018 to put a single woman on-stage to deliver a high profile keynote, the Consumer Technology Association featured four female keynoters in 2019. Until recently, two women were on the docket for the 2020 show in January, but news arrived last week that General Motors’ CEO Mary Barra had cancelled… Read More


Mustang Mach-E!

Mustang Mach-E!
by Roger C. Lanctot on 11-21-2019 at 6:00 am

Ford Motor Company detonated an epochal explosive in the form of an electrified Mustang SUV on the eve of the Los Angeles Auto Show last night. The move marked an industry altering turning point as auto makers commence the process of electrifying their internal combustion engine line-ups in anticipation of a global market embracing

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Google Gaining ADAS Ground

Google Gaining ADAS Ground
by Roger C. Lanctot on 11-10-2019 at 6:00 am

Google’s Head of Android Auto Partnerships, Jens Bussman, joined me on stage last week in Munich at TU-Auto Europe to discuss Google’s progress and priorities in the global connected car market. The standing-room-only audience was treated to an overview of Google’s plans and some clarifications regarding its different assets… Read More


VW Drops Connected Car Bombshell

VW Drops Connected Car Bombshell
by Roger C. Lanctot on 11-03-2019 at 6:00 am

A senior executive from Volkswagen North America kicked off Enterprise Ireland’s first annual “CASE: Driving the Future” mobility symposium last week with the announcement of the launch of its next generation Car-Net connected car platform. The new solution represents a breakthrough by allowing for the customer selection

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