IAA Mobility: The Un-Car Show

IAA Mobility: The Un-Car Show
by Roger C. Lanctot on 10-10-2021 at 6:00 am

IAA Mobility The Un Car Show

IAA Mobility held in Munich last month was the first post-pandemic international auto show to take place outside of China. The organizers positioned automotive displays in city-center plazas while car companies rubbed shoulders with large suppliers and tiny startups on the show floor at the conference center.

Attendees would… Read More


Autonomous Vehicle Rationale Breaks Down

Autonomous Vehicle Rationale Breaks Down
by Roger C. Lanctot on 10-03-2021 at 6:00 am

Autonomous Vehicle Rationale Breaks Down

The latest SmartDrivingCars podcast raised fundamental questions regarding the rationale for developing autonomous cars while debating the various paths to market adoption. The discussion took place between Alain Kornhauser – faculty chair of autonomous vehicle engineering at Princeton University and Adriano Alessandrini,

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Auto Shows Return in Spite of COVID

Auto Shows Return in Spite of COVID
by Roger C. Lanctot on 09-26-2021 at 6:00 am

Auto Shows Return in Spite of COVID

I knew something special was going on in Munich last week at IAA Mobility – the first international auto show to be held outside China since the start of the pandemic – when a senior executive stepped off the stage before his talk to a modest crowd to say to me (sitting in the second row): “What are you doing here?” I don’t remember whether… Read More


LiDAR and the End of the Musk Marketing Masque

LiDAR and the End of the Musk Marketing Masque
by Roger C. Lanctot on 09-19-2021 at 6:00 am

LiDAR and the End of the Musk Marketing Masque

One of the key differentiating characteristics of companies working on autonomous vehicles is the willingness to explain or disclose the manner in which this technology works. Tesla and Mobileye have been standouts in the explainer category.  Companies like Waymo and Cruise have been less distinguished.

Tesla, though, … Read More


Uber, Lyft Fail their COVID-19 Test

Uber, Lyft Fail their COVID-19 Test
by Roger C. Lanctot on 09-12-2021 at 6:00 am

Uber Lyft Fail their COVID 19 Test

The COVID-19 pandemic taught many lessons and revealed various weaknesses in global supply chains and business models. The transportation industry was hit particularly hard as people stopped moving thereby taking down public transit, crashing rental car companies and airlines, and erasing the fleets of ride hailing operators.… Read More


Can/Will NHTSA Rein in AVs Bad Boys?

Can/Will NHTSA Rein in AVs Bad Boys?
by Roger C. Lanctot on 09-08-2021 at 10:00 am

Autonomous Vehicle AV Bad Boys

There’s a new sheriff in town at the U.S. Department of Transportation in the form of Department Secretary Pete Buttigieg with an acting deputy in Acting Administrator Dr. Steve Cliff at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). NHTSA has served notice on bad boy Tesla CEO Elon Musk that it is investigating

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GM Fires First 5G Shot

GM Fires First 5G Shot
by Roger C. Lanctot on 08-29-2021 at 10:00 am

GM Fires First 5G Shot

Connecting cars remains one of the most unnatural acts in the world of IoT. “Connected Car” headlines might make you think otherwise, but the reality is that precious few cars on the road today are connected with a live, provisioned and functioning wireless connection. That being said, General Motors claims 16M of those cars

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Are We Done with ICE Vehicles?

Are We Done with ICE Vehicles?
by Roger C. Lanctot on 08-22-2021 at 10:00 am

Are We Done with ICE Vehicles?

U.S. President Joe Biden served notice on the automotive industry that he expects auto makers to shift 50% of vehicle sales to those with electric power trains by 2030. Of course, he included plug-in hybrids in the mix – perhaps in deference to Toyota – and Tesla was oddly absent from the announcement made on the South… Read More


Your Car Should be Smarter

Your Car Should be Smarter
by Roger C. Lanctot on 08-15-2021 at 10:00 am

Your Car Should be Smarter

SEC. 24102. HIGHWAY SAFETY PROGRAMS.

Section 402 of title 23, United States Code, is amended — by striking ‘‘accidents’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘crashes’’; by striking ‘‘accident’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘crash’’ — from amendment to Senate infrastructure legislation

The Biden Administration

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Musk’s Massive Mobile Gambit

Musk’s Massive Mobile Gambit
by Roger C. Lanctot on 08-11-2021 at 10:00 am

Musks Massive Mobile Gambit

A few weeks ago Mobile World Congress included among its keynotes a live interview with Tesla CEO Elon Musk moderated by Mobile World Live Publisher Justin Springham. The subject was Starlink, the low earth orbit (LEO) constellation intended to deliver global Internet access.

Mobile World Congress Musk keynote interview

Tongue-in-cheek… Read More