New Florence. New Renaissance.

Reimagining the Tuk Tuk

A pop-up store at a mall caught my eye. They had a whole variety of electric tricycles for personal and business use. The salesperson rattled off a bunch of attractive features

• Classified like an eBike – ride in bike lanes, on sidewalks, residential streets and bike trails
• 30-50 mile battery range from a single charge
• 18-28 mph speed
• No gas, license, registration, insurance required for models with a top speed of 20mph
• Minimal to no maintenance  
• Storage compartment and baskets for bags and light gear
• No pedaling required

The personal and business use cases are limitless and they cost way less than BEVs to buy and operate. Many of them look like an Italian designer rethought the tuk tuk you see on Asian roads.

The Driven says there are already 1.5 million electric trikes on Indian roads and another 1.35 million in China. As we rethink our carbon footprints and lifestyles, I have a feeling we will see more of them on Western roads

Auto features on a subscription basis

Although consumers might have gotten used to subscribing to music, movies, and TV shows, and even clothing, a subscription model for automotive options would be a dramatic shift in how cars have been sold for more than a century. Traditionally, a vehicle’s factory-equipped options are permanent, regardless of whether a car is 10 years old or whether it has been sold to a second or third owner.

But under some of the subscription model scenarios suggested by automakers, certain features might disappear as soon as the monthly or yearly payment stops, in the same way your streaming or phone services stop when you cancel your subscription or fail to pay. On the upside, analysts say that subscriptions may encourage automakers to provide software updates that help features evolve after purchase—especially when it comes to vehicles with cutting-edge technology. Some consumers also might like the idea of paying only for the non-essential luxury features they want, such as voice recognition or parking assist, for example.

Consumer Reports

Both Tesla and GM’s Cadillac unit offer their self-driving features on a subscription basis

NASCAR Next Gen Car

As the iconic Daytona 500 kicks off today, good to see NASCAR continue to innovate

"The Next Gen car, a collaboration of the brightest engineering minds in racing and the automotive industry, is designed to give the drivers greater control. It will put an emphasis back on race strategies, team personnel and vehicle setups while returning the ‘stock car’ look to NASCAR with the new Toyota TRD Camrys, Chevrolet Camaro ZL1s and Ford Mustangs. The cars, which were designed to look like the models available to fans in showrooms across the country, will utilize the latest technology to maximize performance, improve safety and provide incredible racing for fans."

Daytona International Speedway

Jetpacks take off

The British military been exploring the possibility of boarding ships at sea with futuristic jet packs that let wearers fly over the water like Iron Man.

The "Jet Suit" was made by Gravity Industries. The company released a video Sunday that showed its operators wearing jet packs and working with the Royal Marines to launch from rigid inflatable boats and land aboard the Royal Navy Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol ship HMS Tamar.

Business Insider

 

 

Redesigning Zoos and Aquariums

More recently, visitors to many zoos and aquariums see animals in surroundings that resemble their native habitat, behaving in ways that are typical for their species. What has changed?

In the intervening years, the professional zoo and aquarium community has fundamentally altered the way it views the task of caring for the animals in its collections. Instead of focusing on animal care, the industry is now requiring that zoos meet a higher standard – animal welfare. This is a new metric, and it represents a huge change in how zoos and aquariums qualify for accreditation.

From a guest column in The Conversation by director of the program in Zoo & Conservation Science at Drake University

Video below about AZA, The Association of Zoos and Aquariums

 

COVID reshaped city streets

Globally, more than 200 other cities launched similar programs early in the pandemic, rethinking how streets could be better used by people on bike or foot. Some roads closed to cars. Some parking spaces turned into outdoor dining. Other cities lowered speed limits, or gave out free bikes, or, in at least one case, experimented with one-way sidewalks to help with social distancing. Not all of the changes have lasted—and since the pandemic still hasn’t ended, it’s still too early to judge how many will ultimately stay in place. But there are also already examples of permanent change.

Fast Company

Example from Berlin, Germany – pop-up bike lanes

 

Amazon/Stellantis Car Cockpit

Amazon and Stellantis will collaborate to deliver software for STLA SmartCockpit, which will run in millions of Stellantis vehicles globally starting in 2024. The software-defined platform will seamlessly integrate with customers’ digital lives to create personalized, intuitive in-vehicle experiences through AI-enhanced applications for entertainment, Alexa-enabled voice assistance, navigation, vehicle maintenance, ecommerce marketplaces, and payment services.

The STLA SmartCockpit platform will use Amazon products and solutions that are purpose-built for vehicles, and Stellantis will have the flexibility to create custom, brand- and vehicle-specific capabilities. The software will offer curated services and experiences through an app store—all displayed through an intelligent, adaptive user interface design that presents timely, relevant information and features suited to each occupant’s individual needs and preferences.

More on the collaboration including Amazon’s plans to adopt Stellantis Ram electric delivery vans in the video below

“Stairway to Heaven” – on your truck

The Chevy Multi-Flex tailgate is a direct descendant from GMC’s MultiPro tailgate. Before it was introduced in 2019, the MultiPro was GMC’s most closely guarded secret. A 3D-printed version was hidden in a locked storage room, occasionally wheeled someplace on a covered gurney. Any Zoom-esque conference calls were allowed no video where this tailgate was concerned.

The birth of the MultiPro came in 2009 not from a C-suite type or a team of Ivy League engineers, but from a technician who has just a high school education. After one of his managers complained about not being able to reach things that slid forward in the back of his pickup, Jim Gobart realized there was a better way. Calling it “The Stairway to Heaven,” Hobart realized that if you folded the tailgate in half, you could reach further into the bed. Building on top of that, if you fold that middle part down, there’s no reason it couldn’t become a step.

Gobart’s Stairway to Heaven was the best idea…. at the absolute worst time. 2009 was the height of the Great Recession, and GM filed for bankruptcy. It wasn’t at all practical to properly vet the idea of a folding tailgate when so many other more immediate issues needed to be dealt with.

Five years later, Derek Patterson, a lead engineer, took Gobart’s idea to the new GM Innovation Hub. When GM took the prototype to test audiences, they were most impressed by three things: 1 – the ability to step into the bed more easily, 2 – that this flexible tailgate let you reach further into the bed, and 3 – that it was possible to add a second level of cargo. Fast-forward a few more years, and the GMC MultiPro tailgate has extended to the Chevy Silverado, and Jim Gobart’s name is on 11 GM patents, with more pending.

Carlifenation

2021 – Best Vehicles

One in a series of Best of 2021 posts, this one about cars, SUVs and trucks from Motor Authority

“We're in the middle of a changeover from the internal combustion engine to electric propulsion. The good news for auto enthusiasts is power comes easily for EVs. The bad news is they'll mark the end of manual transmissions and rumbling V-8 soundtracks. As the market turns toward more and more luxury and performance EVs, we'll have a decision to make here at Motor Authority: At what point does an EV win our Best Car To Buy award?

This could be the year. After driving 24 luxury cars, trucks, and SUVs that were new or significantly updated this year, we've narrowed down the list of nominees for the Motor Authority Best Car To Buy 2022 award to eight vehicles, including three EVs. We'll announce our winner, be it gas- or electron-powered, on Jan. 3, 2022.”

One of the 8 in the running is the Rivian R1T electric pickup truck which Motor Trend has also named its Truck of the Year

What's next in Car Safety

Consumer Reports on what's showing up in cars

Computer Vision, Thermal Cameras, Radar-based motion detection, adaptive driving beam headlights, driver monitoring systems and more

Here is Mercedes latest version of its ESF (Experimental Safety Vehicle)