Google Assistant

John Ribeiro provides evidence that Google technology shall soon be found in commercially sold cars.

-DD

Unused Features In Automobiles

Lucas Mearian finds that car buyers can be confused about high-tech features . Mearian cites the 2015 Driver Interactive Vehicle Experience Report, which indicates that:

The five features owners most commonly report that they "never use" are in-vehicle concierge (43%); mobile routers (38%); automatic parking systems (35%); heads-up display (33%); and built-in apps (32%).

"In many cases, owners simply prefer to use their smartphone or tablet because it meets their needs; they're familiar with the device and it's accurate," said Kristin Kolodge, executive director of driver interaction and human-machine interface (HMI) research at J.D. Power. "In-vehicle connectivity technology that's not used results in millions of dollars of lost value for both consumers and the manufacturers."

-DD

Mobile Accessories

Andrew Vacca shares mobile gadgets of interest to road warriors.

-DD

Driverless Cars and Law Enforcement Funding

Colin Neagle muses on how "Driverless Cars Could Cripple Law Enforcement Budgets ."

-DD

Technology May Prevent Some Auto Accidents

Stephen Lawson explores the promise of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) technology. My concern is that technology-equipped drivers will become complacent, even though older cars without a location beacon shall be on the road for another generation. And some equipment on the road may never bear a beacon. For example, I have a friend who narrowly escaped death when a pickup truck towing a very long trailer crossed the road ahead of him -- the pickup was out of his way, but he had to leave the road to avoid hitting the trailer which blocked his path down the highway.

-DD

Impediments to Technology Deployment

Lucas Mearian shares why automotive technology is four years out of date.

-DD