Double decked-out wireless charged buses stopping in London

londonbusWhen you think of London and the big red double deck buses, you don’t think of bleeding edge technology. However next year, some hybrid London buses will recharge while they are stopped at bus stops. The buses will not have to plug-in to a charger but will have battery juice topped off  by wireless inductive charging.

The wireless chargers will be built into  bus stops in London, next year  The Enviro400H E400 hybrid buses, with wireless charging capabilities, will run on route 69 between Canning Town and Walthamstow. The inductive charging to on-board batteries will occur at the bus stops at either ends of the route.

Volvo XC90 Apple CarPlay Android Auto later: ADAS now

volvocx90Volvo announced its new  XC90 coming to the US in April starting at $48,800.  Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support will follow its release.

Technically it’s considered an SUV, the Volvo XC90 made on a scaleable architecture with a vertical touchscreen and many ADAS features. The pleasant interior is styled in leather and wood.

Telsa S will have voice dialing and more connected car features per owners’ requests

tesladThe PR darling of EVs, Elon Musk has responded to feedback from customers who bought  an ad in a local Palo Alto newspaper in the form of a Tweet and more. Elon Musk tweeted that the customers were right and many of the features will be implemented soon.

Some connected car features wanted are voice dialing by speaking the numbers, a larger touchscreen spot for answering calling to avoid disconnecting incoming call by mistake. 

iPhone 5/5C/5S CarPlay Delays 2015 for MB, Volvo while Hyundai on target

VolvoCarPlayIt looks like that many of the carmakers who committed to Apple CarPlay for iPhone5 and later are not able to get the feature out this year and will launch CarPlay at later dates.

So far Mercedes, Volvo, Honda do not have exact dates for  CarPlay with most coming in 2015 while CarPlay compatible Hyundai 2015 Sonata models are being sold with a promise of a CarPlay update by the end of this year.

Volvo testing self driving, autonomous cars at AstaZero

volvotaVolvo has opened AstaZero as a test site for traffic safety solutions, in the hopes that by by 2020 no one should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car. Volvo has been working with magnets that can be sensed in the snow. The Volvo XC90 has advanced run-off road/brake at intersection and AT&T 4G LTE. Volvo also tests autonomous cars in Gothenburg.

Volvo plans development of active safety systems, to prevent accidents with AstaZero as the premiere proving ground, near Volvo Cars headquarters in western Sweden.

EV charging stations # >Starbucks & 1st BMW i DC Fast & apps

chargepointappThere are more ChargePoint charging stations than Starbucks, McDonald’s, 7-Eleven: 8,160,Dunkin’ Donuts or Wal-marts. BMW’s new fast chargers are supported. EV owners can find charging stations online or via Android and iPhone apps.

When drivers realized there are so many places to  charge an EVs, they’re more likely to consider buying EVs.  There are many charging stations are at many stores.

With 18,000 charging locations across U.S. and Canada, ChargePoint has more spots than the number of Starbucks: 14,958, McDonald’s: 13,890, 7-Eleven: 8,160, Dunkin’ Donuts: 7,681 and Walmart: 5,256.

 

Connected Car Expo previews at CTIA Vegas 9/9-11

connectedcarexpoThe Connected Car Expo has announced the roster for CTIA Super Mobility Week in Las Vegas, NV, September 9-11. The event is expected to a preview of the Connected Car Expo at the LA Auto Show November 18-20.

Before the show are several days devoted to Ford, with the Ford App Developer Conference on September 8, the over night Ford Hackathon (9/8-9/9) and Ford App Pursuit (9/9-11).

There is a CCE pavillion with mobile apps from Hertz Neverlost, Lixar, OnStar and Speaktoit.

Tesla 2 hire connected car hackers from other side

tesla8Tesla Motors is calling all computer hackers to break into their head—units and win a spot on their blog or even a job.

Telsa plans to hire up to 30 employees/hackers/programmers and displayed at the Def Can conference in Las Vegas, last week.

In connected car apps to reach 269 million by 2018, thanks 2 CarPlay and Android Wear

telematicsfeturesA new report by Juniper Research on the telematics sector  found that the number of in-vehicle apps in use is expected to reach 269 million by 2018, representing a more than five fold increase on last year’s figure.

Connected Cars: Consumer & Commercial Telematics and Infotainment 2014-2018 reports growth will be fueled by solutions such as Apple’s CarPlay, which will promote in-car apps.

Teens don’t like parents texting while driving either

teensparentstextdrivingIt’s not only teens who text while driving but parents engage in distracted driving in front of their children.

A new survey from Liberty Mutal Insurance and SADD shows that parents drive without a seat belt, text, and driving after consuming alcohol, the same practices parents tell their kids to not do.