auto-drive software

Model X teased: What I wish it revealed about Tesla, plug-ins

The X plug-in SUV makes sense, but I'd like something more daring

Could a higher plug-in standard be set?

If you believe in the trickle down theory of technology, the Tesla Model X — teased today by Tesla — makes a lot of sense. A luxury electric SUV compliments Tesla’s Model S, creating greater scale, while enabling the company to better leverage the technologies it is outsourcing to the likes of Chrysler and Toyota, such as for the RAV4 EV.

But I think that as visionary as Tesla has been this early in the plug-in game, they’ve missed a big opportunity. Read more…

The self-driving electric car is here

The VW eT! with auto-drive

Follow me eT!

A few days ago I wrote that the plug-in I really wanted was the self-driving plug-in. Well, I’m one step closer to having my dreams fulfilled, thanks to the new Volkswagen eT! electric van.

OK. The eT! isn’t a fully self-driving vehicle just yet, but it can drive itself in some situations. Read more…

The car of the future seems less and less predictable

Catching up to the Jetsons?

And maybe even far less relevant

Want to spend less money on gasoline, but can’t afford a new, more fuel efficient car. No worries. A new Smartphone app can reduce your fueling costs by 20 percent according to a new MIT/Princeton study.

And that’s just the beginning of how the cloud is going to fundamentally change the auto industry — maybe even far more than the plug ever will. Read more…

CAFE: The first step to autonomous cars, but not necessarily electrification

Self-driving Prius competing in DARPA challenge

The he said, she said of new CAFE rules

Lots of interesting news out there regarding the new CAFE rules. However, if one thing is clear, it’s that what the impact of these new CAFE rules will be is almost anyone’s best guess.

Nevertheless, the most noteworthy idea I’ve seen so far isn’t the change coming to the auto industry in terms of powertrains, but in terms of safety — and how that translates into autonomous cars. Read more…

Finally, a bold GM move I can EN-V

The $10,000 solution to high gas prices.

GM looking more and more into the future

I’ve never been much of a GM fan. When it comes to leadership regarding US energy security, GM has used its position as the most important automaker in the world quite poorly. Nevertheless, GM has been showing some signs of change.

Hybrid pickup trucks, the Chevy Volt and a renewed focus on quality fuel efficient small cars have provided hopeful signs in recent years, and now comes word that the EN-V is headed into production. Read more…

Making plug-ins 86 percent more energy efficient today

A T.27 electric prototype acing a crash test.

But only if we dare think outside of the box

I’ve been following the Gordon Murray T.27 story for some time now. Sure, the T.27 electric car is too small to fit the American market, but for China, Asia and the future of the auto industry, the T.27 is beginning to foretell a compelling story.

For instance, the fact that the T.27 is already 86 percent more energy efficient per km than the Mini E, for instance, demonstrates the real world potential of much cheaper electric cars. Read more…

Time for Google to become an automaker

Auto-drive, not electrification, is the key to the future of the auto industry

Reinventing personal mobility might be too disruptive for major automakers

In many ways the Big 3 are back. While in the short term, that’s good news for US manufacturing, is it really good news long term? Or, are major automakers simply driving down a dead end road?

To be sure, US manufacturers are embracing fuel efficiency more than ever, and that is a good thing. But, is the car as we know it already dead, and might that simply be too much for the US auto industry to handle? Read more…

Is the Big 3 too big to fail, too big to innovate?

Are the Big Three innovative enough to rethink mobility?

Is it easier to maintain the status quo?

Great corporations, at least from a shareholder’s perspective, provide great corporate guidance, enabling them to meet or beat most quarterly expectations. Consequently, it often seems that an in-ordinary amount of corporate attention is focused on quarterly statements rather than the future.

But, is this corporate mindset the best environment for innovation, especially innovations that might lead to very disruptive technologies and business models? Can automakers truly embrace out-of-the-box thinking when it comes to automotive change? Read more…

The next Prius: Why there might never be

The evolution of the car is becoming less and less about the powertrain.

The car is dead, only we just don’t know it yet

Today, the Toyota Prius is easily the best car in the world. It’s not perfect, but it’s the closest. When all factors are considered, the Prius is one of the best values out there according to the likes of JD Power, Consumer Reports, Kipplingers and Forbes, for instance.

And at $4.00 gas, the Prius only shines brighter.

Fortunately, a few new options will make the Prius even better. Read more…

Disruptive technologies: The hydraulic fuel cell hybrid

Breaking out of the transportation box

Is the battery really the future of the auto industry?

In my opinion the key to US energy independence, as well as a vibrant US auto industry, will be disruptive technologies. Consequently, something like auto-drive, I believe, offers the potential to change everything about transportation in ways we can barely imagine.

Of course, there are many other disruptive technologies out there as well, such as batteries, carbon fiber or photovoltaics. And recently, I’ve wondered more and more if hydraulics, particularly hydraulic fuel cell hybrids, could become a disruptive technology. Read more…