Attendees of CES 2019 arriving at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport next week will have four options for getting to their hotels: a shuttle offering two rides for the price of one (out and back for about $15); a taxi offering one ride for the price of two (about $30), a Lyft or Uber offering one ride for the price of one ride (about… Read More
Author: Roger C. Lanctot
CES 2019 Robotaxis vs. Micro Transit
2019 the Year of Electrification
After two years of wrestling with and at least partially resolving fraud charges over its “defeat device” to manipulate emissions testing results, Volkswagen emerged in 2018 as the flag-bearer for electrification in the U.S. The company also concluded 2018 as the largest producer of passenger cars in the world.
In spite of or … Read More
GM: Stop the Downsizing!
General Motors CEO Mary Barra is known for a number of quotes one of which is: “My father was a die maker for 39 years, so I had a basic understanding of the automobile industry and what the manufacturing world was like, just from the opportunity to spend time with him, just talking, because he was a car buff.” One has to wonder what Mary’s… Read More
Volvo: Car-less is Better Than Clueless
Sweden has embraced the movement toward a cashless society with banks no longer taking cash deposits and retailers, like Ikea, experimenting with cashlessness. Perhaps taking a cue from the Swedish financial sector, Volvo Cars last week revealed its plans for a car-less stand at this week’s L.A. Auto Show – and the co-located … Read More
Auto Cyber Security: From Ignorance to Compliance
Auto makers have long relied on security by obscurity to get away with not defining or adhering to proper cyber security hygiene. This rationalization had been embraced in the context of low levels of automotive hacking mainly carried out by enthusiasts or so-called “white hat” or ethical hackers.
A new report from Strategy Analytics,… Read More
You Cruise You Lose
General Motors has two media magnets in CEO Mary Barra and Cruise Automation founder Kyle Vogt. Barra is praised for boosting GM profitability while streamlining operations and making strategic investments. Vogt, the beneficiary of one of those investments – in his autonomous vehicle technology company – embodies GM’s aspirations… Read More
For Car Makers Google Scare Means It’s Time to Share
Google says it wants to charge fees to handset makers in Europe for Android apps such as Googlemaps and Gmail, according to the New York Times. The move is clearly a reaction to the $5.1B fine imposed by the European Commission (and under appeal by Google) in reaction to Google’s perceived monopolist practices.
Is the scare… Read More
Ford in DC Refining Autonomous
When cities put on a press event to announce they are welcoming a company to town to test autonomous vehicles within the city limits the news is greeted with polite interest and some trepidation – as it was yesterday in Washington, D.C. There is an “oo-ah awesome” high-tech buzz immediately tempered by a “Why?” buzzkill.
In… Read More
Connected Cars High Tech Low Demand
The latest reliability report from Consumer Reports which dumped on domestics and rained glory upon Asian imports highlighted a conundrum facing car makers. The more effort car makers put into innovation, the greater the risk of consumer confusion, system failure and lousy reliability scores.
The picture is even worse if one… Read More
Is Your BMW Secure?
The cybersecurity of automobiles has become an increasingly critical issue in the context of autonomous vehicle development. While creators of autonomous vehicles may have rigorous safety and testing practices, these efforts may be for naught if the system are compromised by ethical or unethical hackers.
Establishing cybersecurity… Read More
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