What's the latest in electronic design for the automotive industry? Rick DeMeis is in the driver's seat at the Automotive DesignLine Blog. You may contact him at .
Heard on the Beat: Intel inside F1?
- 11.11.2005
Could Intel Corp. be about to take on the sponsorship of a Formula 1 Grand Prix motor racing team? I have heard that both the McLaren and BAR teams are courting Intel. Read More…
It’s a good time to be an automotive/electrical engineer.
- 09.29.2004
It's a good time to be an automotive/electrical engineer.We've all seen the statistics and factoids about how much electronics isgoing into cars these days, and it's cool. A Mercedes S-class has more than65 microprocessors; the controversial BMW 7-series is purported to have morethan 100. That's a lot of chips.Read More…
Electronic options are getting cheaper.
- 10.13.2004
Racing season's over so I've turned my attention to road cars. I'm looking at a Dodge Magnum wagon as a tow car for the race car. It's not bad looking (for a station wagon) and outfitted with the V8, it manages to get out of its own way. Read More…
Looking at the onboard data acquisition
- 10.29.2004
Now that the rainy season has set in I'm poring over the interesting stuff my race car's onboard data-acquisiton system has collected. It's supposed to help me go faster next year. We'll see. Read More…
What we need is a device to get slow drivers out of the fast lane
- 11.22.2004
You know what I'd like to see? A device that gets slow drivers out of the left lane of the freeway. Read More…
Microsoft Streets and Trips 2005 Means Never Having to Ask for Directions
- 11.17.2004
David Strom reviews Microsoft's latest Streets and Trips software, and finds out never having to ask for directions has its downside too.Read More…
Tokyo taxis are a showcase of automotive electronics
- 11.05.2004
Japanese taxi drivers may have the ultimate automotive electronics setup.Read More…
On the Trail in an XC90
- 11.23.2004
I looked down over the edge and saw the rusted hulk of a car at least 50 years old that never was recovered.Read More…
My race car is telling me bad things
- 12.03.2004
Race car data acquisition systems don't always tell you what you want to know — only what you need to know.Read More…
You can’t always blame the hardware
- 12.09.2004
You can't always blame the hardware. My lost time braking into a corner doesn't look like it's any fault of the car.Read More…
A Gift to Last a Lifetime
- 12.22.2004
One the best presents you can give to a child are lifetime skills in surviving on the road.Read More…
Some thoughts of summer drives
- 12.28.2004
An unexpectedly heavy snowstorm leaves me longing unexpectedly early for summer convertible rides.Read More…
A seemingly important data channel goes missing.
- 01.04.2005
With all the data that my dacq system accumulates, steering input isn't one of them. Not surprisingly, that leaves some big gaps in my post-race analysis.Read More…
Brakes, gas, and steering don’t work the way you think.
- 01.12.2005
Tires and slip angles and throttles, oh my! You can use the throttle to steer and the steering to slow down. Is everything backwards on a race car?Read More…
What’s up down the road
- 01.07.2005
The New Year offers anticipated developments in automotive electronics as well as driving the latest offerings that embody them.Read More…
The Fruits of Networking
- 01.21.2005
I discovered a CD-ROM that should be of interest to just about anyone who drives or has aging parents that drive.Read More…
Displaying acquired data is an engineering feat in itself
- 01.24.2005
Too see or not to see? That's often a tough question in a crowded race car cockpit. Read More…
Jaguar adds to the family
- 02.02.2005
Last week I was lucky enough to escape New England snow and try out Jaguar's latest additions to its X-Type family.Read More…
Adding another data channel
- 02.08.2005
With a limited number of data-acquisition channels, it's tough to choose what's important.Read More…
How much technology is appropriate for racing?
- 02.15.2005
How much technology is approriate for a race car? That depends on the purpose of the racing.Read More…
Honda goes truckin’
- 02.23.2005
Honda's first pickup is a clean-sheet design from its Ohio development team.Read More…
And the winner is…
- 03.02.2005
Why isn't there an Academy Awards category for vehicles that have played important roles in films?Read More…
Playing the ballast game
- 03.08.2005
The car is a featherweight, so shifting the location of any mass makes a noticeable difference. Read More…
The value of trade shows
- 03.11.2005
Any major trade show prompts questions on the value of these gatherings. Read More…
The official winter vehicle
- 03.17.2005
While other events were being canceled due to snow, our gathering had to go on. Read More…
I love spring testing
- 03.24.2005
With the end of winter storage and the start of spring testing, it's time to see what the car can do.Read More…
Samples, samples. Who’s got the samples?
- 03.31.2005
How do you adjust a variable sample rate? More samples equals more data, but not necessarily more information — or wisdom.Read More…
Race Day!
- 04.08.2005
Race day was a success and the data log shows lots of improvement over last year, but with room for plenty more. Read More…
‘Road Ragers’
- 04.20.2005
Is there some correlation between certain brands of cars and the propensity of their owners toward boorish behavior? Read More…
Formula One-on-One
- 05.02.2005
Two Formula One drivers battled it out for an exciting race in Italy. Despite all the technology, it's all down to driving skill. Read More…
3 to stop
- 05.10.2005
I came away most impressed by another traditional strongpointthe brakes.Read More…
FIA, females, and racing
- 05.19.2005
Danica Patrick is the hot new driver at the Indy 500 this year. She's the first woman to qualify so close to the front of the grid.Read More…
Perfume, pony cars, and processors
- 05.27.2005
What do microprocessors have in common with perfume? Their marketing, for one.Read More…
Get ready to rumble (strip)
- 05.31.2005
I tried fooling the system by letting the car drift right with the left turn signal on. Read More…
Cheap gas
- 06.08.2005
The cheapest gas is a good deal if you don't spend too much time or miles getting to it.Read More…
(Hybrid) Escape to the Cape
- 06.16.2005
Best mileage occurred stuck in a traffic jam, creeping along on the electric motor. Read More…
A plague on all your houses
- 06.21.2005
Formula One racing could use a dose of manners and common sense. Read More…
Formula One race shows what’s important
- 06.22.2005
Whether you liked the F1 Grand Prix race in Indianapolis or hated it, it shows what you think racing is all about.Read More…
Challenging future engineers
- 06.28.2005
The program tests university teams to come up with technology to reduce energy consumption and emissions in a consumer friendly vehicle. Read More…
Formula One technology to be shown the door?
- 07.07.2005
Nearly 100,000 fans of Formula 1 racing voted and said technology is not the most important part of racing.Read More…
Till our cars have faces
- 07.13.2005
A bit of summer silliness: Which cars have great 'faces?' Read More…
The ultimate blending of technology and sport?
- 07.19.2005
With a telematics system, teams may not only know competitor locations and speeds but when their rivals are attempting to make a move. Read More…
Ragtop ramblin’
- 07.27.2005
A 604-hp Mercedes, lobster, and we're wearing sunglasses–hit it!Read More…
San Jose Grand Prix a mixed bag
- 08.01.2005
I've got mixed feelings about the first San Jose street race.Read More…
The beast within
- 08.10.2005
The 2006 Charger R/T I drove lives up to the reputation of its predecessor. Read More…
Adding another data channel
- 02.08.2005
With a limited number of data-acquisition channels, it's tough to choose what's important.Read More…
What’s in a name?
- 08.16.2005
If you're like me, you may have thought the Audi brand name is an acronym. Read More…
Marry an engineer?
- 08.24.2005
Think about those characteristics as engineers that drive our spouses or loved ones crazy. Read More…
Doing what we do best–innovate!
- 08.31.2005
Sometimes I see a story or editorial that's spot on, and will wish that I wrote it. Read More…
A boomermobile
- 09.07.2005
It is not farfetched to see a car that augments a driver's skills that decline with age, allowing independent living. Read More…
Riding with the Pros
- 09.21.2005
A rocketship ride around Infineon Raceway courtesy of Mario Andretti and Scott Sharp.Read More…
Ride Along with Mario!
- 09.28.2005
Our in-car video shows Mario Andretti hustling a Porsche GT3 Cup car around California's Infineon Raceway.Read More…
Technology, old and new
- 10.07.2005
Think about how far technology has come in the last 35 years or so. Read More…
One giant leap
- 10.12.2005
It was analogous to having Lindbergh fly solo to Paris the year after the Wright Brothers first flight. Read More…
A car is born
- 10.19.2005
Car development has evolved from hand drawings and clay modeling to the digital world of product lifecycle management. Read More…
How much video can you fit in a car?
- 10.27.2005
There are a lot of ways to use video inside, and outside, of a car.Read More…
How much video can you fit in a car?
- 11.02.2005
There are a lot of ways to use video inside, and outside, of a car.Read More…
It’s showtime!
- 11.09.2005
The aroma of gourmet food punctuated by the smell of new cars means only one thing–it’s Press Day at the auto show! Read More…
AUDIO BLOG: Musings of a master
- 12.02.2005
Listen to motorsports legend Mario Andretti discuss the state of racing in the U.S., Formula 1, as well as automotive technology and the challenges faced by automotive engineers. Read More…
How much automotive electronics is enough?
- 01.03.2006
The inexorable rise of electronics in our cars raises the question: how much automotive electronics is too much?Read More…
Is satellite radio the Betamax of the 21st Century?
- 01.10.2006
Sirius Satellite Radio gave Howard Stern $220 million in stock. My advice to Stern: Cash that in before it tanks. Read More…
More than just football
- 01.17.2006
While most TV sets will be tuned to the football playoffs this weekend, there is one show car guys will want to record for later viewing. Read More…
Digital–not all there yet
- 01.23.2006
John Moloney, head of Penske Racing's tech group, notes the limits of technology. Read More…
Stop the upgrade madness!
- 01.31.2006
As cars get loaded with more software, there's a big temptation to upgrade the system in the field. Read More…
What happened to the 42V auto?
- 02.10.2006
Why didn't this prediction materialize? More puzzling, how have the dire problems, that were predicted if we stayed with 12V systems, been avoided? Read More…
What goes around, comes around
- 02.16.2006
The “Great Race” may not be the Indy or Daytona 500 but hybrids racing around the world in 80 days!Read More…
It’s that time of year
- 02.28.2006
With the last icy blast of winter running through the Northeast right now, what better time for this year's Winter Vehicle Awards? Read More…
Hybrid madness
- 03.08.2006
Gas/electric vehicles like the Prius make us feel good, but they don't make a lot of sense. Read More…
Do we really need this vehicle?
- 03.19.2006
Maybe because spring is around the corner, there is a renewed marketing push for the golf cart version of the Segway human transporter.Read More…
Touch the truck: DARPA robot rolls at ESC
- 03.30.2006
Get “hands on” with one of the robots (and its developers) that completed last fall's DARPA Grand Challenge autonomous vehicle desert race.Read More…
Chips for kids?
- 04.07.2006
Youngsters could carry electronic tags in congested areas or near schools to alert drivers to go slow for street safety.Read More…
Get the lead out
- 04.21.2006
There are estimated to be more than five million used lead-acid car and other vehicle batteries that are unaccounted for.Read More…
Analog men (and women)
- 04.28.2006
As typified by automotive wireless, is the number of analog-savvy people needed to translate requirements into silicon limited?Read More…
New hurdles for autonomous vehicles
- 05.04.2006
If racing improves the breed, then announcement of DARPA's urban-environment Grand Challenge is good news for robotics and autonomous vehicle technology–and aging Baby Boomers.Read More…
The future is in good hands
- 05.08.2006
This MIT program aims to encourage and interest “underserved” high school students in science, engineering, and careers in technical fields.Read More…
Clear the air
- 05.11.2006
The advent of cleaner diesel engine technology this fall, along with hybrid cars and gasoline engine improvements, will give consumers a troika of fuel efficient automotive choices.Read More…
ECUs Boost SUVs
- 05.18.2006
Automotive electronic control units and software are pacing efficiency improvements in truck-based vehicles.Read More…
A Reason Why We Become Engineers
- 05.24.2006
His name may not be familiar to you, unless you're one of the Baby Boomers that grew up watching early TV shows about exploring “outer space.”Read More…
Big Brother Is Rebating You
- 05.25.2006
GM takes an unusual approach to lowering the price of its gas guzzlers. Read More…
It’s the Tires, Stupid!
- 05.29.2006
Horsepower, aerodynamics, and even talent take a back seat to the arcanse science of calculating tire slip angles. Read More…
Youth will be served
- 06.06.2006
Open wheel racing in the U.S. looks to be definitely on the rebound after last month's Indy 500.Read More…
Hands-off control
- 06.09.2006
I knew something was up when I got into the driver's seat and couldn't find a semblance of a lock in which to put the electronic key.Read More…
Dialing for parking
- 06.16.2006
The system locates and directs a driver to an open parking space and provides for paying fees.Read More…
Bypass Bluetooth
- 06.26.2006
Don't have a Bluetooth equipped car? Here's a way to link a music player or cell phone to your car (or home stereo) wirelessly.Read More…
Now you can watch for Big Brother
- 06.29.2006
The latest twist is car navigation data that provides drivers with the location of traffic cameras.Read More…
Open, Open-Wheel Racing
- 07.07.2006
Here's hoping that American open-wheel racing is on the right track. Read More…
Mazda’s MX-5, fun for the sun
- 07.13.2006
On the road you have to pay attention, because the steering is so quick (and fun to work) that any distraction may find you wandering in your lane.Read More…
Road to the autonomous car
- 07.25.2006
“These vehicles are closer than people think,” says Freescale's Peter Schulmeyer.Read More…
High-tech racing vs. Mother Nature
- 08.04.2006
Sometimes even the best racing technology can't protect us from good old Mother NatureRead More…
Right to repair?
- 08.15.2006
Have today's cars become so electronically complex that only factory trained technicians at dealerships should repair them?Read More…
Watching Big Brother (sort of)
- 08.22.2006
Now motorists will know if their car is equipped with an Event Data Recorder that some OEMs have been installing to record crash data.Read More…
A sound idea?
- 08.31.2006
The press release I just received noted the design and building of the Auto Sound Museum.Read More…
The human touch
- 09.06.2006
The Cadillac presentation I attended last week talked about the latest electronic and technical improvements to the car linebut there was also renewed emphasis on hand craftsmanship and quality.Read More…
Technology convergence
- 09.13.2006
Audi's A3 S line quattro brings together two technologiesthe Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) transmission and adaptive headlights.Read More…
They don’t make cars like they used to
- 09.24.2006
Thank goodness they don't, because today's autos are cleaner, safer, more efficient, and more reliable.Read More…
Challenging young engineers
- 09.29.2006
Summer jobs and co-op assignments put student engineers in the real engineering worldbut the Challenge X competition takes that experience even further.Read More…
Expanding the niche
- 10.06.2006
Long considered a quality instrument-component supplier, infotainment and body electronics applications are allowing Hamamatsu to widening its reach in the automotive market.Read More…
Speaking of voice recognition
- 10.11.2006
Automotive speech recognition is so widespread already that Nuance currently equips one million cars per quarter with its products.Read More…
Strengthening the backbone
- 10.17.2006
If Airbus had integrated wiring design tools, they wouldn't find themselves in an extended delivery delay crisis for the first A380 super jumbo jets.Read More…
Hybrids, navigation, and market outlook
- 10.18.2006
Auto electronics topics ranged far and wide as I cruised the floor at the Convergence 2006 conference.Read More…
Battery health, HIL, and robots For Xmas
- 10.19.2006
The end of the Convergence 2006 conference saw no letup in interesting automotive (and other) electronics developments.Read More…
Have any wacky ideas?
- 10.30.2006
Organizers of next year's automotive-themed Design Automation Conference have decided to cut loose.Read More…
Kickin’ tires: Part 1
- 11.06.2006
Here's a look at some of the auto electronics developments car makers have in store for the 2007 models.Read More…
Kickin’ Tires: Part 2
- 11.07.2006
Auto electronics developments for 2007 models include hard disks for nav systems and thermoelectric heated and cooled cup holders.Read More…
Off-road navigation
- 11.27.2006
It's been called a “military grade” cell phone with navigation that can be kicked, drowned, or toasted.Read More…
This is infotainment?
- 12.07.2006
Be forewarned, America. Recent news here out of Boston noted the first use of flat panel TVs in taxis for advertising.Read More…
Life on the street
- 12.18.2006
Here is a new way of “sticking it to the (common) man,” at least when it comes to electronically finding a parking space.Read More…
Beyond the autonomous car, and the nature of man
- 12.23.2006
If you think autonomous cars are pretty far out how about nano-robots that can heal the body from within? Might they lead to a world without children?Read More…
What is a Segway?
- 01.03.2007
Seems like “Catch 22” is alive and well, in the presence of a ban on Segways in Holland.Read More…
Camera for the car guy
- 01.17.2007
If what you do behind the wheel qualifies as “action” (at least in your mind) here is a cool way to chronicle it–and impress that special someone.Read More…
From Mars to your driveway
- 01.29.2007
Autonomous vehicle technology being tested with the rovers on Mars could see use in automobiles.Read More…
Hey, this is better than Super Bowl TV commercials
- 02.05.2007
What I mean is the list of Top 10 Most Memorable TV Cars.Read More…
Hail The Innovators
- 02.23.2007
Electrical and electronics engineers were well represented in the 2007 inductees to the National Inventors Hall of Fame.Read More…
Does form follow function?
- 03.04.2007
As engineers we perhaps like to think that, if form does follows function, then a design will be correct.Read More…
Are there any unsafe cars?
- 03.12.2007
With all cars earning either four our five star crash ratings, that question might be argued as being moot.Read More…
Teardown that Prius!
- 03.19.2007
Check out this video to see what it's like to take apart a hybrid vehicle–in about one minute.Read More…
Technology and art
- 04.09.2007
This year's Automotive Hall of Fame choices honor both technology and style.Read More…
The impossible (automotive) dream?
- 04.16.2007
It may be easier to build a private spacecraft than an efficient car.Read More…
Hybrids on the road
- 04.23.2007
The architecture's the same but the driving experience can be different.Read More…
Preposterous Prius postscript
- 04.30.2007
What's this, one state failing Prius hybrids for emissions?Read More…
Big night at MIT
- 05.21.2007
From Rub Goldberg to robotics, future engineers show their stuff.Read More…
The autonomous car is here–sort of
- 05.25.2007
This VW Golf navigates obstacle courses on its own.Read More…
Hybrid falls by the wayside
- 06.04.2007
Honda drops Accord hybrid, but clean diesel to debut.Read More…
The hybrid experience
- 06.11.2007
Here's more help on picking the right fuel efficient car.Read More…
Move over (please)
- 06.18.2007
Now there is a group to protect the 'rights' of left-lane drivers.Read More…
Under the radar (gun)
- 06.25.2007
Using a radar/laser detector, I found myself actually driving slower.Read More…
No iPhone for me
- 07.01.2007
Wait 12 hours in line? These folk did and then tore an iPhone apart to see what's inside!Read More…
Baby, you can park my car
- 07.09.2007
Will high tech parking meters lead to even more harassment in our lives?Read More…
In the good ol’ summer (racing) time
- 07.16.2007
There's nothing like the competitive challenge of racing to push the boundaries of technology while satisfying the competitive sporting urge.Read More…
Hybrids ’round the clock
- 07.20.2007
Think hybrids are 'wimpy?' Well here's one that just won a 24-hour endurance race.Read More…
Speed (hybrid) racer
- 07.29.2007
Here are more details on Toyota's Supra HV-R hybrid racer that won the Tokachi 24-Hour Race Read More…
Electric cars rule!
- 08.06.2007
And when you think about the circumstances, it's easy to see why.Read More…
What were these people thinking!
- 08.13.2007
If Lee Iacocca were dead, he'd be spinning in his grave.Read More…
Hybrid limits?
- 08.27.2007
If more people want hybrid cars, they may not be able to get them.Read More…
‘Go Ahead Punk … Make My Day!’
- 09.10.2007
Think this phrase came from the big screen? Originally it did. Now, however, thanks to Horntones, the familiar voice blares out from under the hood of your car.Read More…
GM insider tells all
- 09.16.2007
In the past quarter century, GM's world market share was 54%; now it's down to 13. Why?Read More…
Plug-in hybrid highlights ESC
- 09.21.2007
Advanced battery packs improve Prius performance, but warrantee and liability issues could be roadblocks.Read More…
Mass driver distraction
- 10.01.2007
Sometimes you wonder if there are group influences on driver behavior–especially Red Sox fans.Read More…
Sin of omission
- 10.08.2007
How can you compile a list of the best urban cars and leave off the Prius?Read More…
All charged up
- 10.15.2007
Engineers are nailing down the technology needed for Chevy's Volt–just don't call it a hybrid.Read More…
An icon sells out?
- 10.22.2007
Bob Dylan has just signed up to shill for Cadillac–and it's the Escalade no less!Read More…
No respect
- 10.29.2007
Once again the Toyota Prius gets the Rodney Dangerfield treatment–now it's for Green Car of the Year.Read More…
DARPA doesn’t disappoint
- 11.05.2007
Being at the Urban Challenge weekend was fun, inspiring–and akin to Woodstock for techies. Our coverage includes exclusive photos and video.Read More…
To those about to design–we salute you!
- 11.12.2007
Engineers are cool–and here are some reasons why.Read More…
Best of the best
- 12.03.2007
Here are the stories you picked as the most interesting for the year.Read More…
Malibu run
- 12.10.2007
Chevy's mid-size Malibu is a shot across the hood of the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.Read More…
Playboy’s best (cars that is!)
- 12.17.2007
When the magazine picks the hottest cars, what do you think is involved?Read More…
You may have missed this
- 01.02.2008
In the year-end listmania of Top 10 This-And-That, here's one item that maybe slipped by.Read More…
Let’s not be nearsighted
- 01.07.2008
Maybe some vision is needed at the Wall Street Journal.Read More…
$1.99 a gallon gas!
- 01.21.2008
Here's an alternative fuel development that's been under the radar.Read More…
Resistance is futile!
- 01.25.2008
Are we moving closer to resembling Star Trek's Borg Collective?Read More…
Hey, this ain’t fake!
- 02.04.2008
Turns out Toyota's Tundra commercials are real and not CGI.Read More…
Racing under (and with) the green
- 02.11.2008
The American Le Mans racing series will start powering up on cellulosic ethanol this season.Read More…
Challenges and opportunities
- 02.15.2008
Are these greatest problems engineers will be called on to solve this century? Perhaps apathy is the greatest.Read More…
CO2 as fuel?
- 03.03.2008
Add a little H2 and this greenhouse gas could serve as feedstock for synthetic methanol fuel.Read More…
How much auto electronics do we need?
- 03.17.2008
What do you expect for electronic features in a car?Read More…
Remembering Arthur C. Clarke
- 03.31.2008
The time I met him, it was his sense of humor that stood out.Read More…
The case for adaptive cruise control
- 04.07.2008
This video shows traffic “shock waves” that ACC could prevent.Read More…
‘Green’ is the new ‘black’
- 04.21.2008
Automotive environmental consciousness front-and-center at SAE.Read More…
Top tech transportation
- 05.11.2008
Here's (Italian) food for thought on the top 10 high-tech cars.Read More…
Has auto electronics gone too far?
- 06.29.2008
While electronics systems proliferate, there are some that should have never been invented.Read More…
Personal independence
- 07.03.2008
There's one car considered the enabler of the freedom of movement we take for granted.Read More…
Let’s get real!
- 07.14.2008
Any list of economical, yet fun-to-drive cars should be affordable for the average working stiff–not like most of these vehicles.Read More…
Stop whining!
- 08.01.2008
Diesel engine advocates have a good case to make, despite the higher cost of the fuel.Read More…
Steam rollin’
- 08.17.2008
Driving a hydrogen fueled BMW is not so much a revelation as reaffirmation of its technology.Read More…
The sounds of silence; or, the law of unintended consequences
- 09.07.2008
Are hybrid cars too quiet, and if so, what should be done about it?Read More…
Non-combustion cars getting attention, in non-obvious ways
- 09.14.2008
Electric cars, air-powered cars: what's next to catch the media's attention?Read More…
Is it the same old song?
- 10.13.2008
We've heard fuel savings claims before. Is it different this time?Read More…
‘Failure is not an option!’
- 10.23.2008
When was the last time you saw a gathering of engineers stand up and cheer?Read More…
Little things mean a lot
- 11.17.2008
Modest economy and emissions gains, when spread out, can become significant.Read More…
Start me up!
- 11.23.2008
Romance and cars have always had a connection. Now there is a new one!Read More…
Ford trumps Prius
- 12.08.2008
Next generation technology makes hybrid power trains more compact and efficient.Read More…
On the radio
- 01.26.2009
An evening stint on talk radio convinces me the public is eager for auto technology development.Read More…
Marketers trump engineers
- 02.23.2009
BMW's new Mini convertible highlights purposeless technology.Read More…
Battery R&D heats up
- 03.18.2009
Despite the steady stream of bad news coming out of the global automotive industry these days, efforts are underway to remake it a more energy efficient, cleaner enterprise.Read More…
Kettering U. and an auto revival
- 04.01.2009
Engineering students at the “West Point of the automobile industry” may hold the key to its recovery. Read More…
There’s a(n electric) Ford in your future
- 04.03.2009
E-vehicles will debut next year–and a drive in the Fusion hybrid.Read More…
On the brink, GM responds with electric rickshaw
- 04.08.2009
A two-seat Segway and Howie Long commercials aren't going to rescue General Motors.Read More…
Safety first: 3-point seat belt turns 50
- 04.14.2009
The three-point seat belt, developed 50 years ago by a Volvo engineer, is estimated to have saved 1 million lives.Read More…
‘I Got Soul (And I’m Superbad!)’
- 04.20.2009
Someone at Kia certainly has a sense of humor.Read More…
Auto design gets modular
- 04.24.2009
Those engineers at the cutting edge of automotive design appear to be taking a page from NASA's Apollo program to land humans on the Moon in the 1960s.Read More…
Hot car: Chevy Malibu
- 04.29.2009
Why isn't GM promoting the hell out of its Chevy Malibu, which is getting rave reviews?Read More…
Good, bad Karma
- 05.27.2009
There appears to be no shortage of ideas and competition in what is called the “premium sports car” market.Read More…
Car songs
- 07.08.2009
As car songs go, the collection on Neil Young's recent album, “Fork in the Road,” isn't bad. Read More…
Toyota plans new sports car for uncertain U.S. market
- 08.05.2009
It's not clear there's room or even much demand in the U.S. for a new sports car, whether it's from an American car maker or a leading overseas auto manufacturer like Toyota.Read More…
Plugging Volt
- 08.18.2009
Can GM's Volt live up to the billing, namely 230 MPG in the city?Read More…
Ford’s recovery plan
- 09.15.2009
Ford has a lot of work to do, but they didn't take a bailout and didn't bail out of the car business.Read More…
Ford grabs design, reliability awards
- 10.28.2009
Popular Mechanics magazine has released its 2010 Automotive Excellence Awards.Read More…
Ground truth in Detroit
- 11.05.2009
A Google Map tour of Detroit reveals the stark economic impact of the decline in U.S. auto manufacturing.Read More…
There’s something electric in Denmark
- 12.03.2009
A U.S. startup is working with Denmark's biggest utility to develop the recharging infrastucture needed to make electric cars practical.Read More…
Signs of hope in Detroit
- 01.11.2010
There are new signs of hope coming out of devastated Detroit.Read More…
Toyota’s nightmare
- 02.01.2010
We're about to see whether Toyota really does have a handle on its gas pedal problem.Read More…
Toyota plays the lobbying game
- 02.22.2010
If an analysis of the Japanese car maker's post-recall lobbying efforts is accurate, it spells the beginning of the end for Toyota as a dominant global manufacturer.Read More…
MIT unfolds the ‘CityCar’
- 03.10.2010
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are extending the Zip Car rental concept with a project called “CityCar”.Read More…
NASA enlisted to study Toyota throttles
- 03.30.2010
U.S. automotive safety regulators have enlisted NASA scientists to help solve the mystery surrounding Toyota's electronic throttles.Read More…
Porsche, BMW and the cutting edge of car design
- 04.08.2010
A new exhibition in Atlanta highlights the Golden Age of auto design.Read More…
Analysis: Visibility low, R&D up
- 04.29.2009
This week so far was a week of depression for the German automotive industry and its suppliers. Semiconductor vendors, tier ones and OEMs took the lift off their quarterly records, and what they exhibited was gruesome. What are the perspectives for the industry?Read More…
All-electric cars, something for mollycoddles?
- 06.30.2008
If all-electric cars will be the future, the industry still has to invent add-ons for this type of cars to lure buyers. After all, some persons do nut buy with their brains but with their sensesRead More…
A sudden coming-out
- 07.10.2008
Ideas have their time, and once in a sudden it seems that they mushroom at many places at the same time. Currently, it seems like the electric car is such a sudden idea. Read More…
Self-delusion in the tier one camp
- 07.17.2008
According to recent anylysis, the tier one camp has improved its position in the struggle with automotive OEMs. But the improvement might not last for long.Read More…
Navigation system mysteries
- 07.24.2008
Automotive navigation systems pose the consumer into an inextricable conflict: Either he (or she) wants a user-friendly, powerful device with unacceptable estetic constraints, or he gets an outdated device at an equally unacceptable price. Read More…
Does electronics make life boring?
- 07.31.2008
In the earlier days, in-car electronic systems never failed since cars went without them. Driving, thus, was more interesting — but not necessarily more enjoyable. Read More…
Market turbulences and uneasy feelings
- 08.07.2008
Many of us do feel uneasy when they hear the current bad news in the automotive industry. But it is anything but clear that this trend will have negative consequences for the electronics industryRead More…
Foot prickle and multimedia
- 08.14.2008
Stimulus satiation is a big word too big for some multimedia designers who are working to open up additional bandwidth in our nervous system. There are unused channels into our brains. Be ready to utilize them!Read More…
Car electronics and innocence
- 08.21.2008
With car-to-car communication, automotive electronics suddenly requires secure platforms and encrypted channels. Are we paranoid?Read More…
Handbags and horsepowers
- 08.28.2008
A study has investigated the differences between the genders regarding the car of their dreams. The results are surprising well, somehow. Read More…
Trojan Horse in our cars
- 09.04.2008
Once in a sudden, everybody is talking about cars taking online. Navigation systems, Stolen Vehicle Tracking (SVT) applications, automatic emergency calls, road toll systems. But these systems have their downsides. Read More…
Throw hydrogen across the fence, please
- 09.18.2008
When the bigwigs of the automotive industry met this week on their annual FISITA conference, in the attached little expo one could see everything that makes the engineer's (and the automotive addict's) heart beat faster. What was not on display was the answer to the question of tomorrow's fuel. Read More…
Rocket science in the truck industry
- 09.25.2008
For trucks, for a long time electronics seemed a thing of another world. Now the truck vendors have discovered that they can reduce accidents by electronic controls and assistantsRead More…
Is Pandora’s Box a cuddly subcompact?
- 10.09.2008
Aftermarket automotive software modifications have been restricted hitherto to repair shops. Fiat now has crossed the invisible limit. Read More…
Time for a slimming diet
- 10.23.2008
There are many ways to bring the fuel consumption down. The most efficient one seems taboo.Read More…
The chance in the crisis
- 10.30.2008
In every crisis lies a chance. For the European automotive, the chance lies in throwing the switches for sustainable ways of individual mobility. Read More…
Beta test in Silverstone
- 11.13.2008
Formula one allows techiques to recover kinetic energy. Are racing cars becoming 'green'?Read More…
Solar power dreams
- 11.20.2008
We write the year 2015. This morning, I went to work with my car. With my electric car, I should say. Read More…
Argy-bargy over exhaust gases
- 12.04.2008
The automotive industry, again, complains about EU plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars, though the potential towards this end is far from being exhausted. Read More…
Electric reanimation with reaction time
- 01.15.2009
Despite an entire trade fair literally electrified by alternative drives, it will take some while to make these concepts fit for mass markets. Read More…
Hidden gem from the Swiss mountains
- 01.28.2009
A Swiss outsider shows that technology competition among e-cars just has begun.Read More…
Any dashboard as long as it is ours
- 02.05.2009
“You can get it in any color as long as it is black.” Wasn't that Henry Ford saying about his Model T 75 years ago? It still is reality in our automobile environment!Read More…
E-Cars as power grid stabilizers — a pipe dream?
- 02.26.2009
Utilities are keen on electric cars since they need their batteries to stabilize the grid. Can this plan work?Read More…
Is hydrogen superior to all-electric concepts?
- 03.17.2009
Why care for smart grid and batteries as a buffer for the grid? Hydrogen can be produced with much less complex approaches. And it could be an ideal fuel for the cars of the future. Read More…
No single panacea in automotive world
- 04.16.2009
While HEV and electric drive concepts dominate the headlines, there are other approaches pursuing the same goal of better fuel efficiency and lower emissions. In all of them, electronics plays a major role.Read More…
Poring over breakdown statistics
- 05.07.2009
Every year, motoring associations publish the breakdown statistics. And every year we find the same suspects populating the top rankings. Is there something wrong with quality management?Read More…
Buyers would chose e-cars, if. . .
- 05.14.2009
Electric cars have a good ecologic image. Nevertheless, only a minority of consumers would buy one. There is something missing with e-cars, a poll has found.Read More…
Wash-outs and other minor complaints
- 05.29.2009
These days, the European automotive industry is spellbound by its internal overcapacity problems. Thus, no-one sees the Tsunami approaching at the horizon.Read More…
Bluetooth integrates them all
- 06.26.2009
A generation of car users drives around with a navigation system stuck at their windshield with arguable estethics and negative consequences for safety. Now a research project aims at creating an interface to integrate these devices. It's high time.Read More…
Valley of Darkness
- 07.07.2009
The gloomy forebodings in the automotive industry have gotten a name. It is a study by Alix Partners on the industry outlook for 2009 and the coming years. Already its headline “Even though I walk through the Valley of Darkness” is a portent of depression.Read More…
Guardian Angel, off-guard
- 07.09.2009
Electronic live saving systems such as antilock brakes or airbags are reliable? This is what most of us like to believe – and what the industry says. Statistics disprove it.Read More…
Show time in Berlin
- 08.19.2009
The German program to foster electromobility is a drop in a bucket. Other countries have acted faster and more consistently. Read More…
Home alone, with a hangover
- 09.03.2009
With the scrappage incentives being phased out in Germany and the US, the industry has to reinvent itself amidst the crisis. Read More…
Innovation vs. gloom
- 09.15.2009
At the Frankfurt IAA it become apparent that the challenges are yet to be faced for large parts of the automotive industry. But at the same time, the way out of the situation is emerging. Read More…
Days to recall
- 02.11.2010
Spectacular recalls currently dominate the headlines. But software glitches and poor material selection are only the visible part of the problem.Read More…
What’s the status of FCV research?
- 06.21.2010
Fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) are already in use, but only for demonstration purposes. Fuel cells indeed came into the spotlight last year when leading carmakers said they expected to launch a few hundred thousand FCVs to the market as from 2015. Read More…
Chevy Volt flap: What’s the big deal?
- 10.17.2010
Some fans of electric cars and hybrids, and a few folks in the press, are getting all in a knot about Chevy actually having a “direct link” from the gas engine to the wheels in its Volt “range-assisted” electric car. Well maybe its just good engineering.Read More…
Tech’s turn on top
- 01.26.2011
Technology grabbed the majority of time in President Obama's State of the Union speech. But where do we go from here?Read More…
‘You asked for it, you got it, Toyota’
- 02.09.2011
The U.S. government has vindicated Toyota's electronic control technology in the spate of sudden acceleration incidents, but what happens to the automaker's reputation?Read More…
Hybrid sales shrink while diesel grows
- 03.15.2011
The current fuel price spike not withstanding, sales of hybrid cars dropped last year while diesel-powered purchases grew.Read More…
EXCLUSIVE! I’m driving a Nissan Leaf EV for a few days
- 03.31.2011
If you have any questions about the Nissan Leaf, leave a comment here and I'll try and answer it.Read More…
Now that they have our attention!
- 12.16.2011
NTSB's recommended banning of cell phone use in cars has certainly focused debate about distracted driving causes. (And listen here to a discussion with the chairman of the board.)Read More…
Auto show musings
- 01.23.2012
You may have missed these under reported developments coming from the recent auto shows.Read More…
Remember ‘If Microsoft made cars…’ jokes?
- 02.16.2012
For a split second on a recent test drive, I felt they had.Read More…
You probably don’t know who won the Super Bowl
- 03.06.2012
Not the game, but which auto ads during the event were most effective.Read More…
Super robot able to leap buildings in a single bound!
- 04.01.2012
If you think you've seen all possible forms of robotic locomotion, think again.Read More…
Nissan Leaf redux
- 04.09.2012
A look at new features, including a photovoltaic charging panel, and cold-weather performance.Read More…
Nav system ‘scam’
- 04.12.2012
How would you thwart thieves use of stolen car's GPS navigation system?Read More…
Autonomous cars: Sooner than we think?
- 05.14.2012
In the short term, vehicles will be able to take over many driving functions—but full autonomy may be farther down the road.Read More…
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