Lynn Walford

Better Ways to Electrify Connected Electric & Hybrid Cars Coming from UC Riverside, Soon

ucrUniversity of California, Riverside (UCR) is launching its Sustainable Integrated Grid Initiative to research renewable energy for batteries and electric/hybrid electric vehicles. UCR calls it the largest renewable energy project of its kind in California.

The University will celebrate Wednesday May 21 with a ceremony with viewing of an electric trolley, electric cars and an autonomous vehicle. There will be lab tours and demonstrations of solar energy, batteries and energy efficiency technologies. Student projects will showcased.

GM Chevy OnStar open AppShop closed for remodeling

mylink-overview-connect-cnt-well-1-980x316-01At CES, GM and OnStar announced OnStar AppShop for  Chevy vehicles with the ability to book hotels on Priceline.  Chevy cars and trucks were expected to have AT&T 4G LTE by the summer, with Kaliki audio news stand.  At SXSW, the company announced Beats Music streaming would be in the Chevy AppShop while giving free rides around the festival.  However, there is a delay and the open OnStar AppShop is closed for 2015 GM car models.

Apparently, there were “quality issues” for the apps  and the AppShop will be delayed to insure  a great user experience.

LA Connected Car Expo set for more connected car connections & connected city summit

connectedcarexpoThe Los Angeles Auto Show announced the board members and director of this year’s Connected Car Expo (CCE). There is a new conference director and support from people from Aeris Communications, AT&T, Ford, Google, MERA, Pandora and Strategy Analytics.

The Connected Car Expo will be held in conjunction with the LA Auto Show Press Days November 18, 19 and 20. A new feature will be the Connected City Summit, which will address how technology is transforming  transportation and safety to infrastructure in  cities.

The conference director and advisory board will be help shape the connected car and city events.

Volvo’s Drive Me Driving Itself in Gothenburg & NYC

volvotestdriveGoogle isn’t the only company with self-driving cars.  Volvo’s “Drive Me’ program has 100 self-driving Volvos on public roads in every day normal driving situations

The first test cars are already rolling around the Swedish city of Gothenburg and the Autopilot technology is performing well.

Park Your Car in the Solar Yard|BMW i8 Solar Car Port with Matching Luggage

BMWcarportThe BMW i8 plug-in hybrid designed for zero-emission can be charged by a specially designed solar car park port. It looks like something right out of the Jeston’s but also looks like a futuristic flying car hop will come out and serve you burgers and a shake. For a special connected car assemble, you can also getting a matching set of luggage from Louis Vuitton.

At the international media launch of the BMW i8 in Los Angeles, BMW showed a solar carport concept developed by BMW Group DesignworksUSA. It offers cutting edge  electricity generating technology from solar power with a svelte design that coordinates with the style of the BMW i8.

Big Growth & Big Bucks from Connected Cars in 2018

gold_ferrariIn 2018, 420 million automobiles will be connected to the tune of over $11Billion (US Dollars).

The growth rate is a 57% Compound Annual Growth Rate from the 45 million connected vehicles in 2013 reports IDATE, noting that driving the connected car ecosystem are profits and safety issues.

Nokia Invests in Connected Cars with HERE Mapping Locatioin Tech

NokiaqheredataHere Ye! Here Ye! Nokia has not given up on HERE mapping and location technology.- Nokia is investing one hundred million dollars ($100M) in the  Connected Car fund to be managed by Nokia Growth Partners (NGP). The fund invests in companies for new innovative connected and smart vehicles.

Connected Car and Connected iPhone(CarPlay)/Smartphone Features Most Wanted

appradio3What drivers want when they buy a car has changed greatly in just two years. The most wanted features have gone from spiffy headlights to connected car infotainment/entertainment features found on smartphones.

JD Power first asks about features without mentioning the price, then finds out what people want after the price is mentioned.

Smart Connected Rearview Nissan Mirror, Smarter & a Winner

nissansmartrearviewThe Nissan Smart Rearview Mirror is smarter than your average mirror.  It uses a special camera to make the view of what is behind the Nissan, clearer, better and safer.

In fact, the Nissan Smart Rearview Mirror won the 2014 Traffic Safety Achievement Award.