Technology to Detriot's rescue?

[Newbiewar]

This is a good article, accually i only read the first part, but i need to go to work...
MSN's Tech and Gadgets
[quote name='http://msn-cnet.com.com/Technology+to+Detroits+rescue/2010-11389_3-5992268.html?part=msn-cnet&subj=ns_5992268&tag=mobile']Technology to Detroit's rescue?
December 13, 2005, 4:00 AM PT
By Brian Cooley


On top of all the arcane business problems they face, General Motors and Ford Motor also suffer from boring cars.
Factor out Cadillacs, F-Series trucks, Corvettes and Mustangs, and Detroit is handing us uninteresting vehicles. What could make their cars more interesting? More horsepower? No, almost every car today has an ample amount. Swoopier sheet metal? Nope. Regulations, litigation and fuel efficiency demands have put an end to really gorgeous cars. No, the way to inject excitement and fascination back into American cars is to return them to their leadership in technology innovation, a position they once gripped tightly.

It was the American carmakers who brought us waves of new tech over the last century--automatic transmissions, air conditioning, self-dimming high beams, hemispherical combustion chambers, sequential tail lights, the WonderBar radio and, yes, even the hoary old V-8-6-4 engine. (Hey, I at least applaud the attempt.)

But mention the phrase "technologically advanced car" today and I believe most consumers will imagine a Japanese or German product.

Detroit needs to get back in front of the parade. Their potential customers spend many hours and many dollars shopping for technology products. On weekends they stroll the aisles of Best Buy for sport. They wear a Sam Browne's worth of gadgets around their plump waistlines. They can tell you the specs on their iPod, digital camera, HDTV, broadband connection, smart phone and TiVo. Ask about their American car and they mostly recall the rebate it came with.

To realign themselves with our love for innovation, here are some right-now technologies (all home-grown in America, by the way) U.S. carmakers can and should get in front of:

HD Radio
Developed by U.S. firm Ibiquity (which itself was formed by the merger of two homegrown U.S. predecessors), HD Radio takes our current broadcast radio stations from analog to digital, retaining their existing dial position. It delivers digital clarity that makes FM sound like a CD and AM sound like FM. It also creates a secondary channel for each station to offer a "version B" of itself. The radio industry--a medium with higher penetration than TV or the Internet-–is all over it.

Navigation with traffic
In-dash nav systems are a dud. But add live traffic information and they become the antidote to America's favorite water cooler bitch session topic: traffic jams. Just a few carmakers currently offer in-dash nav with live traffic; Ford and GM could yet steal the thunder if they move fast and use their considerable weight to encourage improvements in the data sensor infrastructure. Check out Pioneer's new AVIC Z-1 for a glimpse of a live traffic nav unit that also has important learning ability.

A great control surface
I've driven BMW's iDrive, Audi's MMI and the Infiniti Controller. Let me tell you there is still plenty of fertile ground to capture in the area of the definitive vehicle interface. Just like American companies standardized the PRNDL column-mounted gear lever, we can sort out this new control surface mess. Note to Ford: Your spin-off Visteon has a very interesting control surface in its TACNET line for cop cars. Check it out.

A new OnStar
Instead of positioning OnStar as the system that helps the feckless when they lock their keys in the car or drive off the road for no apparent reason, GM could reposition it as a source of useful daily information and assistance. Use its network and brand equity to create a really comprehensive drivers' information service that doesn't require a tedious call to a live adviser. Drivers could get restaurant reviews and reservations, store promotions, movie reviews, schedules and ticketing--all powered by audio content and geotargeting-–and without the cumbersome chat with an OnStar operator unless necessary. I'm not versed in the network technology that underlies OnStar, but I suspect it can do things that are sexy, not just prudent. As it is, having OnStar just makes you feel like a dork who needs adult supervision, not a technology adopter.

In-car TV
I'm going out on a limb with this one, but I think there is a significant market for in-car TV (for rear-seat passengers, of course.) Rear-seat DVD systems are nice, but having to shuttle DVDs back and forth from the car is archaic. There is great traction to be found in live TV on the road. KVH and RaySat currently offer antennas that tune DirecTV and DISH. And both are developing low-profile antennas that don't look like they belong on a bus, perhaps even hiding inside a vehicle's headliner, which then opens the door to becoming factory options. They're probably pounding on doors in Detroit right now; take their meetings.

Car entertainment hub
I dreamed of a wireless, smart entertainment hub for cars in a previous column, and immediately heard veiled references from several manufacturers that they're working on it. Get in front of the introduction of such a system. It will create a new state of seamless integration between our personal portables and our cars, two classes of products that people are avid about.

No one of these is going to reposition Detroit overnight, but a consistent and persistent pursuit of such high-touch, in-car tech will over time restore to American car brands something they offered when I was a kid: the latest and the greatest.[/quote] Edited December 21, 2005 by Newbiewar

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Good read and excellent points!

[Cremazie]

I really like what he has to say. I hope someone in Detriot is reading this.

[hyperv6]

GM is not as far out as this guy wants to make it vs the cars from Japan or Germany. Keep in mind may of the features on the Caddys he leaves out will be showing up in the regular GM cars in the not too distant future. GM offeres now Hot washer fluid, air conditioned seats, HUD, HUD with GPS navagation direction on your windshield, stability control will be offered across the line, cylinder on demand on car like Chevy and Pontiac, DVD systems in vans that could be included in cars. Electronic Bosh braking systems that are the first step to brake by wire, MP3 radio/cd satelite audio systems, I Pod plugs in the new radios and much more. These items are just the Pontiac, Buicks and Chevys. I think were GM and Ford could do more damage is build a better Korean car. The cars from Korea are hurting all the other imports as they are cheap and don't look as bad as they used to. If you alway wonder why most salesman want to know what kind of car payment you can afford it's because most buyers worry more about the monthly payment amount and warranty vs if a car has a electric nose blower. The key is lower labor cost and not so much gadgets on the high volume cars sold today. Now I am not saying you need to not add the new options buy price is king and a good warranty goes and in hand to where Toyota fears! Night vision was a good Idea but no one bought it and I Drive is hated by most. Tech just to sell cars will not do it alone.

[Paolino]

What are "sequential taillights"?

[balthazar]

'60s T-birds & Cougars had them, 3 bulbs that blink in sequence from the inner side to the outer... reinforcing the 'I'm turning this way' directive. They were pretty cool then, tho I'm not aware any cars have them in recent times (??).

Cadillac offers satellite TV in at least the Escalade- I saw an article about it over the summer.

Ahhh; vindication: >>"Swoopier sheet metal? Nope. Regulations, litigation and fuel efficiency demands have put an end to really gorgeous cars. "<<

[razoredge]

Most excellent truth hyper. Great warranty and the need not to use it is key to automotive success.

The price thing is an issue, unless everyone is OK with Americans working for penuts but thats another topic that just cant be absorbed by the "Other" Americans that are doing gggggggrrrrrrrreeeeeeeaaaaaatttttttttt !

As for this "tec" all I can say is here comes another 500 lb's to add to the unladen weight. Im one that does not want this crap in my cars, I drive for the road, I like the view out the window and I do not want electricity controling anything Im banking my life on. I ve had more than enough experience with electo over hydro to know it has the personality of a robot. Why so much money needs to be wasted changing things that do not need fixin is beyond me. Not one, not one! of the test drivers I have seen test a car on the track have not mentioned the first thing they like to do is shut off control systems so they can feel what the hell they are doing.

The decline of civilization

[balthazar]

As for this "tec" all I can say is here comes another 500 lb's to add to the unladen weight. Im one that does not want this crap in my cars, I drive for the road, I like the view out the window and I do not want electricity controling anything Im banking my life on.

Damned straight!
Electronic throttle- snort! WTF for? So the solenoid or microprocessor fails due to heat or vibration or an overworked sweatshop assembler in Bangladesh and takes a dealer service department & $600 to fix, when the previous throttle cable did the job as efficiently and cost $25 & a box wrench to repair? The one mercedes 2-seat roadster weighs 4500 freekin pounds, even festooned with plastic as it is! My buddy's Corvair weighs about 2600 lbs with less than 200 lbs of plastic- inconceivable!! I tell people my full-size truck weighs under 4000 and they don't believe me; everybody is so used to trucks & SUVs weighing 5000-6000 lbs nowadays. I don't want or need NAV or side curtain airbags or 6-disc CD changers or A/C seats or most of the other 300 baubles and trinkets everyone clamors for. I know- I am in the minority.... but I truely believe there is a market for the 'Minimalist Car', one where the average bill for even minor repairs isn't automatically $400 and it doesn't weigh 4000+ lbs. Where are all the environmentally-obsessed people yammering about getting lighter, more efficient cars?? Not that I enjoyed them but they went extinct in favor of cooled drink holders.

[PurdueGuy]

'60s T-birds & Cougars had them, 3 bulbs that blink in sequence from the inner side to the outer... reinforcing the 'I'm turning this way' directive. They were pretty cool then, tho I'm not aware any cars have them in recent times (??).

I've seen Mustangs with that - the last design before the current one. I think it was an aftermarket setup, but it was sweet.

I truely believe there is a market for the 'Minimalist Car', one where the average bill for even minor repairs isn't automatically $400 and it doesn't weigh 4000+ lbs.

The S-series fits that bill pretty well. Any ol' mechanic can work on it, if you even need to take it to a mechanic instead of DIY'in it. Weights about 2300 lbs. I would love to see a modern incarnation of the S-series - something smaller and about 500 lbs lighter than the Ion. GM brags about how many cars it has that can get 30 mpg, but they no longer (to my knowledge) have a car that can get 40 mpg. The Metro, Prism, and S-series all fit that bill. Now we have the Aveo, which only gets 35 mpg. :unsure:

[Paolino]

'60s T-birds & Cougars had them, 3 bulbs that blink in sequence from the inner side to the outer... reinforcing the 'I'm turning this way' directive. They were pretty cool then, tho I'm not aware any cars have them in recent times (??).

Cadillac offers satellite TV in at least the Escalade- I saw an article about it over the summer.

Ahhh; vindication: >>"Swoopier sheet metal? Nope. Regulations, litigation and fuel efficiency demands have put an end to really gorgeous cars. "<<

[post="62315"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Oh wow! That's so funny--I saw a 60's T-Bird about a year ago and saw it doing that when he signaled... figured he made that himself ;)

I don't know any cars today that do that though?