Amazon Tesla Uber and DoorDash

Amazon Tesla Uber and DoorDash
by Roger C. Lanctot on 12-27-2020 at 6:00 am

Amazon Tesla and Uber DoorDash

As the death toll in the U.S. from COVID-19 approaches 300,000 I am impressed by the resilience of pandemic doubters and deniers. I’m talking about the point-three-percent-ers* who have shifted from calling COVID-19 a hoax to encouraging as many people as possible to get the virus to “get it over with.”

Maybe “impressed” isn’t… Read More


Tesla: The Eyes Have It

Tesla: The Eyes Have It
by Roger C. Lanctot on 12-13-2020 at 6:00 am

Tesla The Eyes Have It

David Zipper of Harvard’s Kennedy School writes in Slate that the incoming Biden Administration should “bring the hammer down” on Tesla Motors for its mis-labeled and therefore misleading Autopilot application and the recently updated Full Self-Driving software beta in the interest of the general public. Zipper’s plan,

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The Future of Connected Car Advertising

The Future of Connected Car Advertising
by Roger C. Lanctot on 12-06-2020 at 6:00 am

The Future of Connected Car Advertising

“Ads definitely work, but we can’t tell you how or why or give you any evidence,” – Tim Hwang, research fellow, Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology

Two recent episodes of the Freakonomics Radio podcast tackle the question “Does advertising actually work?” and they coincided with a presentation… Read More


DoorDash IPO Spins COVID-19 Impact

DoorDash IPO Spins COVID-19 Impact
by Roger C. Lanctot on 11-21-2020 at 6:00 am

DoorDash IPO Spins COVID 19 Impact

The outlook for DoorDash’s highly anticipated public offering announced last week is inextricably bound up in the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It seems that the worse the COVID-19 pandemic becomes, the better the IPO circumstances look for DoorDash, but that’s not exactly how DoorDash tells the tale.

DoorDash filed… Read More


Time to Listen to GM’s Mark Reuss

Time to Listen to GM’s Mark Reuss
by Roger C. Lanctot on 11-18-2020 at 10:00 am

Time to Listen to GMs Mark Reuss

General Motors President Mark Reuss told Reuters last week that he is worried about the COVID-19 pandemic currently running rampant in the U.S. and globally. “I’m so worried about it because it’s accelerating and it’s not being contained,” he said during a “fireside chat” at the Reuters Automotive Summit which concludes Monday.… Read More


What the Hell is C-V2X and Should I Care?

What the Hell is C-V2X and Should I Care?
by Roger C. Lanctot on 11-07-2020 at 6:00 am

What the Hell is C V2X Should I Care

Automotive innovations have the greatest impact when they create what can only be described as magical experiences. The most magical experience of all is the car that avoids hitting things, or the car that parks itself.

I feel pretty strongly that cars should not hit things – that this is a product defect. The introduction… Read More


Elon Musk’s Aspirational Automation

Elon Musk’s Aspirational Automation
by Roger C. Lanctot on 11-01-2020 at 8:00 am

Elon Musk Aspirational Automation

Tesla Motors kicked off the release of its latest earnings with news of record results and the release of the company’s Full Self Driving beta. Leading up to the earnings, most attention was focused on whether Tesla will meet its original target of 500,000 vehicle shipments this year in spite of the negative impact of the pandemic.

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EV Pickups: The Week That Was

EV Pickups: The Week That Was
by Roger C. Lanctot on 10-17-2020 at 6:00 am

EV Pickups The Week That Was

From a legislative squabble, to a COVID-19 superspreader event, to claims of fraud and deception, the race to bring a pickup truck to market with an electrified powertrain went into overdrive last week. At the heart of the contest is the pursuit of ridiculous profit margins and impressive sales with Ford Motor Company’s F-Series

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Uber’s Grim Green Grift

Uber’s Grim Green Grift
by Roger C. Lanctot on 10-04-2020 at 8:00 am

Uber Green

Uber Technologies won’t be reporting its latest earnings for another month, but when it does so in November the news is not expected to be good. In an effort to flip the script in advance of that report and distract attention from the ongoing COVID-19-induced decline in its core ride hailing business, Uber has launched Uber Green

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The Car Data Monetization Muddle

The Car Data Monetization Muddle
by Roger C. Lanctot on 09-30-2020 at 6:00 am

The Car Data Monetization Muddle

Four years ago, this month, McKinsey published a report – “Monetizing Car Data” – which continues to simultaneously haunt and mock the automotive industry. The report claimed that by 2030 the so-called “car data market” would be worth as much as $750B.

SOURCE: McKinsey

This report spawned… Read More