Tesla: The Donald Trump of the Auto Industry

Both have proven to be disruptors of their respective markets while simultaneously defying the laws of political and automotive industry gravity, respectively

Source: www.linkedin.com

Tesla buyers generally read the biography of Elon Musk before laying down the cash and are forever followers. There is a lot more to the automotive brand than the chrome logo these days, buyers must believe in the leader that they invest so much money into.

Connecting the road with Octoblu, IBM and Local Motors | The Big Data Hub

Recently, Joe Speed of the IBM Connected Car Project reached out to get some help bootstrapping the latest 3-D printed concept car from Local Motors with connected features using Octoblu, Node-Red and IBM IoT for Automotive

Source: www.ibmbigdatahub.com

Joe tried real hard to engage Intel automotive on this project, but despite their close proximity in Chandler, AZ they were not interested in this IoT. IBM certainly is though. Go Joe, full “Speed” ahead!

Meet the Companies Building Self-Driving Cars for Google and Tesla (And Maybe Apple)

“Everyone sees it as an opportunity to expand their business model,” said Bobby Hambrick, CEO of AutonomouStuff

Source: recode.net

Hambrick evolves to Harbrick as it becomes more aware of the sensor fusion space needed for autonomous. Recently Renesas developed a full vehicle model released last week for development of those models. It does not take quite the central computing or the graphics analytics platform developed for Google by Roush as you might think.

Tokyo video: Nissan IDS concept with Piloted Drive mode

Ghosn said that by 2020 Nissan plans to equip innovative autonomous drive technology on multiple vehicles. Progress is well on track to achieve this goal.

Source: safecarnews.com

Please watch the video! Very interesting (no doubt expensive) concept AD/EV car shows how serious Nissan intents to activate on its promise. I really like how Nissan (and Toyota) refer to the car as a partner or helper, not just a slave to drive you around. Japan OEMs could lead the world here, and by 2020 will show off in Tokyo at the Olympics.

Japanese Police to study legal aspects of autonomous vehicles

Nissan and Toyota Motor Corp., and the government are increasing efforts to put self-driving vehicles into practical use, possibly before the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in 2020

Source: safecarnews.com

Apparently, unlike the US, autonomous driving is entirely permitted in Japan as long as manual controls are available. Trust and responsibility is highly regarding in Japan. Interesting to see logistics companies welcome autonomous due to shortage of driver labor.

Watch “A Time Traveling DeLorean and the Future of Automotive Connectivity” Video at Engineering TV

Covisint is showcasing the “Future of the Connected Owner” with the actual DeLorean DMC-12 from “Back to the Future II”. They show us around this iconic vehicle and discuss how auto makers are taking advantage of their technology to enable connected ownership and cloud-based capabilities in cars.

Hosted by: Lee Teschler Videography by: Curtis Ellzey Edited by: Curtis Ellzey

Source: www.engineeringtv.com

Marty McFly: I guess you guys aren’t ready for that yet. But your kids are gonna love it.

US GAO says V2X offers benefits, but there are deployment challenges

Over the next 5 years, DOT plans to provide up to $100 million through its Connected Vehicle pilot program for projects that will deploy V2I technologies in real-world settings

Source: safecarnews.com

$100M may be a drop in a bucket the way these field test projects go and if the deployment challenges don’t get solved, there are competing approaches that might go to market quicker.