Category Archives: electronics

Mercedes ‘EQ Ready’ App Picks EV or Hybrid for You

A new Mercedes “EQ Ready app” allegedly helps motorists decide whether it makes sense for them personally to switch to an electric car or hybrid. The smartphone app can record real journeys made by the user, analyze his or her everyday driving and compare it with numerous parameters of electric and hybrid vehicles. Continue reading

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FCA Joins BMW, Intel, Mobileye on Autonomous Driving Development

“To advance autonomous driving technology, it is vital to form partnerships among automakers, technology providers and suppliers,” said FCA Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne, whose financially fragile company or parts of it are being explored for possible sale by a Chinese automaker.
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Continental, Magna Drive Two Autonomous Cars to CAR Conference

The automated driving vehicles crossed into Windsor, Ontario before going north to Sarnia, Ontario and returning into Michigan. The first cross-border demonstration (hands free publicity stunt?) of its kind, allowed the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) to test automated driving technology in a variety of settings. Continue reading

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DENSO to Invest $75.5 Million in Michigan and Ohio

“Expanding our team and resources now will help us make a future of autonomous cars and advanced electric vehicles possible,” said Kenichiro Ito, chairman of DENSO’s North America Board of Directors. Continue reading

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Mercedes-Benz Untertürkheim Plant Threatened by EVs?

For all Mercedes-Benz plants, the question of the role of locations of key components production is, of course, of great importance for the future e-mobility. Continue reading

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Kiss Your Privacy Goodbye as Mastermind Grows

More than 6,000 dealerships now have access to the Mastermind technology that uses thousands of data points, gathered from the dealer management system (DMS) and combines it with Big Data – social media profiles, financial records, product and consumer life-cycle information, socio-demographics among other privacy invasion data – to calculate when a customer is ready to buy and why. Continue reading

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Technology Key for US Transportation Infrastructure

Department of Transportation (aka DOT) government employees responsible for the construction, management and maintenance of the main arteries that traverse the U.S should have comprehensive decision-making tools or so maintains Logicalis US, an international managed services provider. Continue reading

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2018 S-Class Takes Driver Assistance Upward?

Daimler is gushing about considerably extended driving assistance functions on the new S‑Class that appears to be a continuation of industry trends. This fall – in what is perhaps over-billed as a major step towards autonomous driving – Mercedes-Benz S-Class will have Active Distance Assist Distronic, and Active Steering Assist – forgive the marketing quasi-babble. Continue reading

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Silly, but Serious Safety Recalls from Mercedes and Kia

Recalls continue to bedevil automakers as airbag and software issues at Mercedes-Benz and a bad brake vacuum hose at Kia show. These are the result of quality control and development issues in what are admittedly complex automobiles. Continue reading

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Autonomous Systems Ignore Users, It’s Claimed

During the last 15 years, autonomous systems offered by automakers have been a succession of partially automated parking and driving systems that are mostly accurate and sometimes comfortable, but rarely easy to discover or use, according to a new study. Continue reading

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Porsche to Show New 919 Hybrid For Le Mans at Monza

Porsche has had great runs at Le Mans recently in the top LMP1 class, and historically in other classes as well. During 2015 and 2016, its Le Mans Prototype 919 Hybrid took overall victory in Le Mans and won the World Championship titles for Manufacturers and Drivers. Continue reading

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Connected Cars – Toyota and NTT Want Standardization

The companies want – not without substantial self-interest – a platform for data collection, accumulation, and analysis for building and administering the collection and accumulation of “huge amounts of vehicle information and other data received from large numbers of vehicles.” Continue reading

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Toyota Quality and Production Engineering Laboratory to Morph into a Public School

Toyota still occupies the Erlanger campus but has been deserting it as the company consolidates its North American headquarters in Texas. Continue reading

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Geneva – Infiniti Shows Freshened Q50

Infiniti Q50 is a mid-cycle freshening with added electronic systems that goes on sale later this year. Continue reading

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Renault-Nissan, Transdev To Study Autonomous Vehicles

The Renault-Nissan Alliance and Transdev will develop mobility services system for autonomous vehicles. The goal is to study mobility services with fleets of electric autonomous vehicles for public and on-demand transportation. They want a comprehensive, modular transportation system to enable clients to book rides, and mobility operators to monitor and operate self-driving car fleets – in short what every major automaker is pursuing. Continue reading

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