Uber was on a mighty roll throughout 2016 picking up strategic alliances with Ford Motor Company and Volvo Cars (for test vehicles) adding talent (cybersecurity experts Chris Vlasek and Charlie Miller) and acquisitions (Otto) and rubbing up against university researchers (Carnegie Mellon). So it was jaw-droppingly hideous… Read More
Author: Roger C. Lanctot
Mind-Boggling Uber Hubris
Waymo Misses the Boat… Wayless?
The big news in the world of transportation today is Alphabet’s spinoff of its automated driving business into a business unit called Waymo. The effort is positioned as Alphabet’s formal attempt to commercialize automated driving technology.
The project has been greeted with much fanfare and rumors of a late 2017… Read More
#CES2017: Aftermarket to the Rescue
Has it really been 50 years? Listening to a George Hotz Udacity podcast got me to thinking that the upcoming CES 2017 in Las Vegas will be a turning point in automated driving technology. It was just two years ago that Audi was self-driving itself from California to Nevada for CES 2015, but we don’t seem to have come that far in … Read More
It’s Apple TomTom Time Again
It’s December and time for the annual Apple-should-buy-TomTom rant. Of course, we know Apple prefers younger, smaller companies with brighter and clearer long-term prospects, but we also know Apple navigation sucks and if there is one thing TomTom does well it’s navigation… and traffic.
To stir the pot, … Read More
Car Connectivity Lost
The frustration in the room was palpable yesterday at the annual Vehicle Connectivity Workshop gathering of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). The prospect of dedicated short range communication (DSRC) technology achieving its long-sought mandate to connect cars and infrastructure hung tantalizingly… Read More
Car Companies Should Steer Clear of Uber’s Red Ocean
It is no secret that Uber drivers struggle to make a living driving for Uber. The most popular guidance for Uber drivers is to use the service to supplement existing income, not as a full-time job. But Uber is transforming transportation with billions of dollars of investment, billions of dollars in fares and billions of dollars … Read More
Foggy 5G Forecasts Coming into Focus
My colleague and automotive safety system guru at Strategy Analytics, Ian Riches, is fond of citing Amara’s Law. Named for Roy Amara (1925-2007), research, scientist, forecaster and long-term president of the Institute for the Future, the “Law” states: “We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology… Read More
Automobility: The End of Infotainment
Padmasree Warrior, CEO and chief development officer of NextEV USA, kicked off day two of the LA Auto Show’s Automobility LA with a powerful perspective on the current state of the automotive industry. She rattled off the usual litany of congestion, highway fatalities, emissions and changing usage and ownership models… Read More
Uber: From Ride Hail to Blackmail
The U.S. State of Maryland is in the midst of a confrontation with Uber over fingerprints. Maryland wants Uber (and Lyft) to collect the fingerprints of its drivers as part of its background check process. Uber does not want to do so and is threatening to leave the state.
In the run up to a Maryland Public Service Commission hearing … Read More
Automobility: The Bot in a Box Boom
The Automobility event, which starts today ahead of the Los Angeles Auto Show, will be remembered for introducing the bot in a box. While Ford Motor Company President and CEO Mark Fields will take the stage this morning to tout Ford’s leadership in transforming transportation with new vehicle ownership models and mass produced… Read More
The Data Crisis is Unfolding – Are We Ready?