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Engineer Imagines Industry Shift Toward 3D Printing Cars

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March 5, 2013

According to engineer Jim Kor’s vision of the car-manufacturing future, 3D printing will play an important, even dominant role. Kor has engineered the Urbee 2, which could revolutionize parts manufacturing while creating an industry of small-batch automakers hoping to challenge the status quo. Kor’s goal for Urbee is to maximize miles per gallon with lightweight construction based on 3D printing. Continue reading Engineer Imagines Industry Shift Toward 3D Printing Cars

Honda Latest to Introduce Siri Eyes Free in New Car Models

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February 11, 2013

Honda has joined Chevrolet in providing vehicles with Siri integration. The automaker will implement Siri Eyes Free in three of its models this year: the 2013 Accord, Acura RLX and ILX. Drivers can connect to Siri by holding a button on the steering wheel and then use Siri to make calls, dictate text messages, play songs or use any of Siri’s other features. The driver’s phone will not light up during the exchange to avoid distraction. Continue reading Honda Latest to Introduce Siri Eyes Free in New Car Models

Auto Manufacturers Consider Computer for Your Car Windshield

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December 12, 2012
  • General Motors, Daimler AG and other automakers are working on specially designed windshields that they hope will one day provide drivers with important information about their surroundings while on the road — and make driving safer.
  • “Using a technology known as augmented reality, which overlays real world images with digital ones, these windshields could display driving directions, text messages or impending hazards, all without requiring drivers to take their eyes off the road,” explains the Wall Street Journal.
  • “The goal is to reduce head-down time and maybe make driving a more interactive experience,” says Tom Seder, GM’s chief technologist for human machine interface.
  • The technology would fuse together sensors working outside the vehicle with ones working inside, tracking the driver’s eyes.
  • This could improve safety, writes WSJ, “…for instance, an augmented reality windshield could sense that a driver hasn’t seen a car merging into his or her lane or a sudden traffic slowdown ahead. The windshield might light up red or highlight the potential hazard to cause the driver to hit the brakes.”
  • But these windshields are likely at least five years away from actually appearing in vehicles and pricing remains unknown.

Disruption: Is a Smartphone or Car the Must-Have Product for Teenagers?

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November 28, 2011
  • In a soon to be published survey, Gartner reports that 46 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds would choose Internet access over having their own vehicle.
  • “The car used to be the signal of adulthood, of freedom,” says Sheryl Connelly of Ford. “It was the signal into being a grown-up. Now, the signal into adulthood for teenagers is the smartphone.”
  • “Mobile devices, gadgets and the Internet are becoming must-have lifestyle products that convey status,” explains Gartner’s Thilo Koslowski. “In that sense these devices offer a degree of freedom and social reach that previously only the automobile offered.”
  • Connected cars may help change this emerging trend — cars that can take pictures and make calls and interact with social networks.
  • “In other words, to entice teenagers, Ford and other automakers need to make their cars more like smartphones,” suggests The New York Times.

Evos Concept Car Unveiled: Cloud-Connected Ford Goes the Extra Mile

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September 20, 2011
  • Technology is now “an experience” on the Ford Evos Concept car, unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show last week.
  • This cloud-connected vehicle knows all about your preferences, health, work schedule and much more. As a plug-in hybrid it can also “run as a full electric for at least part of its 500 mile total range,” reports Engadget.
  • The car polls your work schedule, traffic and weather information to determine when your alarm at home should wake you to get you on the road in time. It continues your cloud music from your home seamlessly. It suggests alternate routes based on last minute changes to your schedule. It alters the energy consumption, braking, suspension and steering based on the requirements of the road ahead.
  • Moreover, it adjusts the music to suit your preferences for a particular stretch of road. You can also share driving routes with your friends. The Ford Evos monitors your heart rate and pollution conditions and responds accordingly.

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