Detroit: The Electric and Autonomous Motor City
It happens like clockwork each January in Metro Detroit: automotive journalists from all over grumble at settling into the Motor City’s cold climate for a few days for the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). The show in Detroit marks the beginning of “auto show season,” when the calendar is filled with auto shows across...
A No-Nonsense Guide to the Car of Today
There’s a lot of buzz about self-driving cars making their way to your local dealer. Five years ago we were told we would see them arrive in 2017. Well, here we are. Where are our robotic chauffeurs? …We may have been oversold on hyperbole, but there are many truly great innovations available right now in the car of today that...
Is a Focus on Performance Killing Tesla’s Competitors?
It’s not just about having a new electric car anymore – it seems you need to have neck-snapping 1,000 horsepower performance to make an impression. Then again, it would be nice to have a business plan to accompany all the high-velocity fireworks and hoopla. Welcome to 2017 and the EV upheaval. If Tesla’s high-performance mode is...
Why the ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) Age is Far From Over
Is the age of Internal Combustion over? If you have a personal attachment to your gasoline- or diesel-powered vehicle and are worried that the tidal wave of electric vehicles will make your choice of propulsion go the way of the vinyl record, take hope. While Tesla appears to garner every other automotive headline (except those...
LiquidNano Launches New Liquid Windshield Protection
LiquidNano Launches New Liquid Windshield Protection for Pre-Order on Kickstarter LiquidNano Inc. has just announced the KickStarter launch of its new and highly innovative product LiquidNano Windshield, a state-of-the-art liquid glass protector for automotive windshields. Building on the successful launch of its popular Mobile...
Cyber Security in Your Car: It’s Getting Complicated & Dangerous
The headlines all read, Self-driving cars are here! People want autonomous cars! Or, more accurately, Self-driving cars are coming sooner than we think – whether we like or not! What those headlines, or the accompanying stories, rarely relate are the unintended consequences that come from vehicle autonomy. Those unintended...
The Top 4 Electric Supercars
Not very long ago, the word “hybrid” sparked the thought of a Toyota Prius or a radically sluggish competitor that would get almost 50 miles to the gallon. Little thought was given to performance or style. All that mattered was fuel efficiency. No one ever imagined this technology could be incorporated into supercars. Few realized...
California Seeks to Steer the Driverless Car (off the road)
The scene is California, specifically Northern California, home to Silicon Valley and some of the most aggressive automotive regulations in the world. The hottest technologies on the market revolve around the autonomous car concept. Google has had its custom self-driving Lexus SUVs running around for years and has augmented them with...
Driverless Cars are Ready to Disrupt Traffic: Are You?
Whenever someone opts for an Uber or Lyft instead of taking their own car to an urban destination, valuable real estate is left vacant: a parking space. Parking, a tedious and infuriating task on its own, is also a known villain in city traffic congestion. Donald Shoup, a professor of urban planning at the University of California,...
Top 6 AWD sports cars of 2016 under $40,000
With new and advancing technologies in the automotive world, some of the leading vehicle manufacturers in the “sport” class have developed an entirely new breed of sports car. These new vehicles are the results of decades of technological engineering, making them some of the most high-performing vehicles in their class. They are also...
#CES2017 Self-Driving Vehicle Test Ride
Look Mom: No hands on the wheel, or eyes on the road! What is normally a dangerous activity in a vehicle is arguably dangerous no more. Hyundai demonstrated – spectacularly – just how well an autonomous, or self-driving, vehicle can navigate and negotiate the busy Las Vegas streets mere days before the opening of CES 2017....
Google's self-driving car project gets its own name
"For nearly eight years, we’ve been working towards a future without the tired, drunk or distracted driving that contributes to 1.2 million lives lost on roads every year," writes John Krafcik, CEO of Google Self-Driving Cars, on a recent post on Medium. "Since 2009, our prototypes have spent the equivalent of 300 years of driving time...
Microsoft and Automakers Usher in the Cloud Car
Software giant Microsoft is teaming up with Nissan and Renault SA to bring cloud-connected cars to the road -- with an estimated ETA of 2018, according to Bloomberg. The ramifications of "cloud cars" range as far as their benefits. Drivers/users (a new industry amalgam) will be able to monitor their cars, run diagnostics, and peer into...
Tesla’s Life-Saving Autopilot
Tesla cars have been in the news recently concerning the safety of their autopilot feature, which many have been using (against Tesla’s instructions) as a sort of “virtual butler,” a driver that will take you wherever you want to go without needing your attention or intervention. In light of the bad press, Tesla CEO Elon Musk...
Andy Gryc Chats About Connected Car Shows
Innovation & Tech Today: What were the top ten most exciting developments at the L.A. Auto Show and CCE? Andy Gryc: How about six? Valasek & Miller’s UConnect hack over the summer single-handedly changed the discussion around automotive cybersecurity from Maybe to When? Car companies are going to have to get real smart...
Tesla Model 3 Preorder Bonanza
Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the release of their latest electric vehicle offering, the competitively priced Model 3. The latest in Tesla’s line of zero emission vehicles promises to have a 215-mile range, a 0 to 60 mph acceleration in under six seconds and auto pilot-assisted driving capabilities. Tesla received over 115,000...
Knowing You’ve Had Enough
App-Driven breathalyzers have broken into the market, using connected car technology to provide a vital safety solution. By: John Faulkner Point Zero Eight. That’s not the name of a new action movie, but the maximum alcohol limit in all 50 states. Exceed it and get caught driving? Your life will change...
Autonomous Cars: State of the State
After showing signs of life in 2014, autonomous cars became all the rage during the 2014-15 automotive trade show season, giving us a glimpse into our near future. By John Faulkner With everything in our busy lives demanding attention, it’s difficult to stay informed on the movement to wrestle the steering wheel out...
The Denver Auto Show and the Rise of Smart Car Technology
By Peter Gietl I was fortunate to go to the Denver Auto show on behalf of Innovation & Technology Today, and was able to see some amazing cars. I jotted down a few thoughts about some cars I loved and trends I saw. Mercedes Benz is trying to aggressively merge their roots of making some of the best luxury cars on the road, with...