Category Archives: Uncategorized

On the Volkswagen I.D.

You know, I really don’t want to drive anymore.  I used to love it,  as a teenager drag racing my hunk of junk hand-me-down Saab like it was a souped up ’69 Mustang, I had a lot of fun behind the wheel.  But now that I’m older, I really just want to get from point B to point A, safely, quickly, with the least amount of distractions.  With the introduction of ride sharing services like Uber, autonomous drive technology, and better public transit in many places, driving is sort of becoming a pastime, rather than a necessity.  I never thought I would say this, but I’m all for it.  I would love to just plop down in my car, check the news, prepare for work, learn a new language, and boom, be at point B, without looking up from my iPhone.

American drivers spend an average of more than 17,600 minutes behind the wheel each year, according to a new survey. -AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety

Let’s get out my calculator here.  That is about 48 minutes a day that we spend concentrating, worrying, stressing, and reacting to whatever the road throws our way.  I never really noticed how much I don’t want to be driving until one day I was chauffeuring my wife and father in law, in my father in law’s car, through a busy, foreign super metropolis.

Which bring me to the Volkwagon I.D., VW’s first foray into the electric vehicle market.  The car has an expected release date in 2020 and has specs that seem pretty optimistic right now.  It will be an affordable all-electric hatchback priced at about $30,000.  The range, 375 miles per charge, is truly astounding at that price point. The I.D. has a 168 HP electric motor which is pretty strong for the small hatchback that it is and the instant torque that electric motors are capable of.  The I.D. will be equipped with hardware for autonomous driving called I.D. pilot mode.  But VW says the full-autopilot feature won’t be completely ready until 2025.

The I.D. represents that fact that major manufacturers are starting to take innovative  automotive seriously.  So it is great to hear that VW has finally loosened it’s grip on the diesel passenger car, and is making an effort to participate in the all-electric drive market. But something tells me that they might be late to the autonomous drive market by 2025, with many major players like Uber, Hyundai, Tesla and more already putting autonomous vehicles on asphalt.

The Volkswagen I.D. is an exciting prospect as and affordable everyday electric driver with autonomous capability.  Let’s hope it won’t be too late for VW to take advantage of of revolutionary transportation technology will be moving very fast before 2025.

CarbonCounter.com has a great app where you can compare prices and carbon emissions

You’ve gotta check this out! The folks over at MIT have crunched the numbers and found overwhelming support that not only do electric vehicles emit less pollution over their lifespans, but many are also cheaper after tax rebates. The results are surprisingly obvious. If you need help understanding, the points to the left on the chart are cars that cost less (initial price, maintenance, and fuel), and points that are lower on the chart have less lifecycle emissions (production, tailpipe, electricity generation, ett.). So don’t worry, these MIT guys have factored in all of the assumptions to make your choice easier. You can also customize the app by changing variables such as the cost and sources of electricity and gasoline prices. This is a fascinating app and I hope they keep it updated for future makes and models. Electric vehicles are orangish yellow.

Carboncounter was created by Marco Miotti, Geoffrey J. Supran, and Jessika E. Trancik at the MIT Trancik Lab, based on reference [1], and programmed by Marco Miotti using AngularJS and D3.

Costs are given in 2014 USD. Vehicle specifications were obtained from manufacturer websites and cars.com, and are based on 2014 models (except for the Toyota Mirai, Chevrolet Bolt, and Tesla Model 3). Emissions were calculated based on the Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) model, developed by Argonne National Laboratory. Fuel economies reflect the official EPA ratings, which are based on a standardized test procedure specified by U.S. federal law.

Details on the calculation of costs, greenhouse gas emissions, and emission targets can be found in the Supporting Information of reference [1].

[1]: M. Miotti, G.J. Supran, E.J. Kim, J.E. Trancik, Environmental Science & Technology, 2016.

Seven magical societal benefits that driverless cars might deliver

The driverless car is becoming more than just a possibility. Google already use autonomous cars within a designated zone around their business and several manufacturers are extremely close to developing the true driverless vehicle. It is safe to say it is merely a matter of time before it becomes a reality. There are several benefits associated with driver less cars. Some of them are meant to provide better safety when behind the wheel; others are eco-friendly and a lot more secure to the environment. Let’s have a closer look:

_DSC3862

  1. Safety

The most obvious benefit from driverless cars taking over the road is the decreased risk of accidents. As every driverless car knows the position and speed of the other vehicles on the road it is able to predict and avoid accidents. This is coupled with some major advancements in safety measures which will increase the ability of any vehicle to stop quickly. Fewer accidents will mean fewer injuries and a potential huge saving to medical costs around the world as well as reduced insurance premiums.

  1. Traffic

Theoretically there will actually be fewer vehicles on the road as a driverless car can be sent back to your house to be used by a family member or even used by someone else commuting to work. In effect, the car could become less personal.  In addition to this a car which knows where all the other vehicles are on the road will easily be able to plot and navigate the best possible route to any destination without needing to encounter traffic.

  1. Free time

Whether you are a salesperson or just a regular commuter you will spend many hours every week behind the wheel of your car driving. In the future this will not be necessary. Instead you will be able to use this time to get important paperwork or other issues resolved. The cars of the future will be wirelessly linked to the internet making it possible to do anything while commuting. The result is more free time, either in the car to get stuff done, or, at home when you would normally have to complete you paperwork and other tasks.

_DSC3890

  1. Emissions

Despite a variety if control mechanisms emissions are still steadily increasing. Much of this is actually connected with the increase in the number of cars on the road. Increased vehicles increases traffic and the need to start and stop. This dramatically increases emissions. However, an autonomous car will be able to work out the right speed and route to take to get to a destination without actually needing to stop, dramatically reducing emissions. In addition it is likely that many of the next generation of vehicles will be electric and have zero emissions.

  1. Improved Transport Links

As mentioned the driverless car is likely to be a less personal possession and ore about simply getting to where you need to go. In effect there will be massive car sharing pools. Buses will no longer be necessary in towns; the electric car will simply turn up at your door and drop you off. It is even possible that a car charge could be made to every household which would cover the cost f keeping the car pool charged. A car could then be dispatched in seconds to any house via an electronic link.  Transport would be available for everyone!

  1. New Job Creation

The driverless car will result in job mosses as there will no longer be a need for long distance lorry drivers, taxi drivers, or eve, pizza delivery drivers. However, the other side of this is that there is likely to be an increase in software jobs and wireless technologies and support for the infrastructure of the autonomous car.

Acura Precision Concept

  1. Better Health

Traffic jams are said to be extremely bad for people’s health as they increase blood pressure and the risk of strokes, heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems. If driverless cars eliminate traffic jams they will also eliminate a large amount of stress! Now that’s definitely good news, since most drives today are pretty angry when they’re behind the wheel.

Wouldn’t you agree that driverless cars might make our lives easier? Everyone wants to get from point A to B in due time, and never be late. Driverless cars might actually improve our lifestyles. We could get anywhere, anytime and without having to worry about accidents or other drivers on the street.

 

By Christopher Austin and PPCGB.com!

The ZUS smart car charger review

The 2010’s have seen a rapid integration of personal electronics in automobiles. From usb ports in Scions to full fablet installations in high end luxury vehicles, including the Tesla Model S. Electric vehicles will afford a large array of opportunities for this type of integration. Someday, we will probably be able to “text” our car to come pick us up- or better yet, pick up our children from soccer practice if you prescribe to minimalist, barely there parenting.

289
The ZUS smart car finder & car charger is an intriguing, evolution on your typical usb cigarette lighter adapter. The enterprising young company raised enough money on Indiegogo to start shipping out real, really there units.

The ZUS has a few interesting features:
• ElegantShineTM lighting ie a blinky light when it’s plugged in.
• Military Grade Quality. I must admit, this thing does feel more solid and durable than your typical car adaptor. It’s also blacked out and tactical too. None of that baby beige or mother of pearl nonsense.
• 2x charging so you can charge your iPads, iPhones, and military drones twice as fast.
• Smart Car Locator. This seems to be the major feature of the device. More on that later.
• Designed in Germany. Germans are sophisticated, engineering geniuses right?
• Smart Device Detection. I don’t know what this means

288

So obviously, about the Smart Car Locator, you are going to need to download the app for that at your Apple App Store or Google Play. I did, and it implored me to join the Nonda Fans club. I generally don’t make friends with my phone adapters but I had to in order to use the GPS location feature.295

Once you have downloaded and signed into the application, the adapter pairs with your phone pretty seamlessly. We first tried to use the GPS with an LG G Phone in an open parking lot somewhere in the rural outskirts of Seoul, Korea. The phone had a lot of trouble utilizing the compass feature of the application and pretty much led us in circles. Secondly, we paired an iPhone 5s with the charger, and it really worked as advertised. The compass worked and helped us navigate back to the car from 60 meters away. Another handy feature was the map, you can see where your car is parked relative to your position via Google maps, and I thought that feature was really handy for people who are directionally challenged.

The ZUS smart car charger only paired with one of our phones at a time, which leads us to believe that is the case for all phones. This might make it limited for family use. But overall, this is a pretty nicely built dual usb adapter with an added GPS feature you may or may not use often.

Pros:
-simple, elegant packaging
-sturdy design with subtle LED
-dual USB ports angled for easy passenger and driver
-simple and easy to use GPS app
Cons:
-Bluetooth pairs one phone at a time
-GPS worked with 1 out of 2 of our phones