What To Do In Congested Traffic

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By Gary S. Vasilash

“Traffic congestion occurs when demand for roadway travel exceeds the supply of roadways. As vehicular traffic builds, drivers, freight movers and bus riders lose time and spend fuel unproductively.”—INRIX 2022 Global Traffic Scorecard

INRIX calculated that U.S. cities were among those that had significant levels of congestion.

As in having five of the top 10 urban areas that have plenty of hours lost. What’s more, there is no other country that has more than one spot in the top 10.

The cities where people crawl along during commutes for too long a time are:

2. Chicago (155 hours lost)

4. Boston (134)

5. New York (117)

8. Philadelphia (114)

9. Miami (105)

So one assumes that people optimize their time as best they can by eating, applying makeup, getting in a few pages of War and Peace, and doing other things that probably aren’t ideal for the situation.

Mercedes has a better alternative. It has developed the MBUX Virtual Assistant that the company says “is in tune with customer needs and uses generative AI and proactive intelligence to make life easy, convenient and comfortable.”

Certainly better than stewing in traffic.

What’s more, Mercedes has created more apps for its cars, like the one named MBUX Collectables, which allows the driver to check in on the world of NFTs, like Mercedes’ own NXT Superdackel collection, a digital riff on bobbleheads and the like.

One slight issue might be that the interest in NFTs seems to have waned considerably, so perhaps they may be developing an app for those interested in philatey or other image-oriented exercises.

Bored? Mercedes has developed what it calls a “hyper-personalized user experience” that even allows a bit of game playing. (Image: Mercedes)

Mercedes-AMG also announced this week at CES MBUX SOUND DRIVE, an audio execution that “uses software that allows music to react to the way the car is being driven, creating a harmonious relationship between motion and melody.”

The company worked on the development of this system with will.i.am, who said of it:

“Imagine a world where your car can become an instrument creating musical journeys. MBUX SOUND DRIVE enhances driving and sound technology, letting motorists reshape music just by driving. I’m excited to see how composers, producers, and songwriters will harness this to create new works and reimagine classics for motorist to drive to. MBUX SOUND DRIVE is not only a new frontier for music creation, but also opens up fresh, exciting and interactive listening experiences for drivers.”

Although Las Vegas is way down on the INRIX list at 127, with 41 hours lost per year to congestion, given the traffic on the Strip most people would probably prefer if drivers were paying attention to their driving rather than using something that lets “motorists reshape music just by driving.”

Attending CES was somewhat convenient for will.i.am as the Black Eyed Peas played the Venetian for New Year’s.

What Do EV Drivers Want?

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By Gary S. Vasilash

Maybe it is listed in no particular order, but on a page headlined “Electric Vehicle Benefits and Considerations” on the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, Alternative Fuels Data Center (whew!) site, those benefits and considerations are listed  as follows:

  • Energy Security
  • Costs
  • Fuel Economy
  • Infrastructure Availability
  • Emissions
  • Batteries

It would seem that there are more in the way of “considerations” than benefits here.

I suspect not a whole lot of people think “geopolitics” when they buy a new vehicle.

In the “Costs” section it explains:

“Although energy costs for EVs are generally lower than for similar conventional vehicles, purchase prices can be significantly higher. Prices are likely to equalize with conventional vehicles, as production volumes increase and battery technologies continue to mature. Also, initial costs can be offset by fuel cost savings, a federal tax credit, and state and utility incentives.”

The “purchase prices can be significantly higher” is probably a red flag for many people. And that costs will go down with greater volume doesn’t help someone who is buying an EV today. The free money from the government is certainly something that is a bonus compared to buying an ICE vehicle. And the fuel cost savings go to the next two points on the list, with fuel economy being better for light-duty vehicles, although there is the issue of charging, with the acknowledgement that “Public charging stations are not as ubiquitous as gas stations,” something of a massive understatement.

While people generally consider batteries in the context of the range provided, the folks at the Alternative Fuels Data Center acknowledge “The advanced batteries in electric vehicles are designed for extended life but will wear out eventually.” And it points out that should a battery need to be replaced outside of warranty “it may be a significant expense.”

And then there’s the “Emissions” item. Presumably the one that is of most interest to people who are concerned about the environment. According to the Center, “Electric and hybrid vehicles can have significant emissions benefits over conventional vehicles.” Note the can. The outfit goes on to note the life cycle emissions for EVs in areas where the electricity is generated with “low-polluting energy sources” have better performance than those that are operated “In regions that depend heavily on conventional electricity generation, electric vehicles may not demonstrate a strong life cycle emissions benefit.” Note the conventional.

A question that arises is that of how many people—regular everyday people—consider buying an EV because of its environmental benefits versus other characteristics, like its generally peppy off-the-line performance or the opportunity to forego visiting gas stations or because it is a Tesla and that’s considered cool?

Goodyear tire specifically for EVs. (Image: Goodyear)

This week Goodyear introduced a replacement tire for EVs, a tire that is available in sizes to fit an array of EVs from The Model Y to the Mustang Mach-E to the Audi Q4 e-tron.

About the tire, David Reese, vice president, Product Development, Goodyear Americas, said: “We know EV drivers prioritize performance and a more-sustainable tire. The ElectricDrive 2 was designed with at least 50% sustainable materials, a focus on providing greater traction and maintaining a quiet ride.”

Tires are a big concern for EVs because (a) the propulsion system is much quieter than a vehicle with combustion propelling it and (b) they are comparatively heavy:

While not an apples-to-apples comparison, the heaviest Mustang Mach-E EV has a curb weight of 4,838 pounds; the heaviest ICE ’23 Mustang is 3,932 pounds.

Heavier vehicles have an effect on tire wear.

While it is absolutely laudable of Goodyear to be using sustainable materials in its new tire, arguably people who drive vehicles that aren’t EVs could benefit from the fitment of such tires.

And it gets back to the question of whether performance, traction and a quiet ride are really what EV drivers are looking for in a tire rather than its environmental characteristics.

BMW and EVs

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By Gary S. Vasilash

When it comes to discussions of electric vehicles, the topics seem to be, in order of frequency:

  1. Tesla. Anything. Mileage recalculations. Musk’s recreational habits. Labor issues. Massive number of vehicles being sold (which actually doesn’t get the attention that it should: when you subtract Tesla vehicle sales from electric vehicle sales, things don’t look quite as bullish as one might think).
  2. GM. Mainly its failure to produce notable volumes. For 2023 it delivered 9,154 Cadillac LYRIQs, 483 Chevy Blazer EVs, 461 Silverado EVs, 3,244 HUMMER EVs, 14 Zevo 400s, and 483 Zevo 600s (the last two are commercial vehicles). That is a total 13,838 vehicles. Out of 2,594,698 sold.
  3. Ford. One thing is the refocus on hybrids. The other thing is the changing prices for the F-150 Lightning, with the recent notable rise in MSRP. You might have imagined that when the vehicle launched the perceived demand was such that they would have quickly hit economies of scale that would cause prices to, well, not rise. For 2023 it sold 24,165 Lightnings, which is excellent in the context of GM. But when you take into account the total 750,789 F-Series trucks sold, that’s about 3%.

A company that gets little attention is BMW when it comes to EVs.

BMW i5: one of the electric vehicles in the company’s offerings–there are also the i4, i7 and iX. (Image: BMW)

Which is surprising given that in 2023 it delivered 45,417 EVs into the U.S. market.

That’s more than the GM EV sales and the Ford Lightning sales combined (38,003).

BMW 2023 EV sales account for 12.5% of its total sales.

If the number of plug-in hybrids BMW sold in 2023 (25,318) are added in to the EV number (so the number of “electrified vehicles”), it is 70,735 or 19.5% of BMW’s total sales in the U.S.

Those are some big numbers for BMW.

Seems like the lack of discussion isn’t keeping people from buying the company’s EVs.

Conti Demos Crystal Display

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By Gary S. Vasilash

“With the Crystal Center Display as a key component, we want to turn the world of interior design on its head and create an innovative focal point for premium vehicles of the future – one that grabs attention and stirs emotions. We are moving away from the straightforward display of information and elevating it to a highly personalized user experience,”–Dr. Boris Mergell, head of the User Experience (UX) business area, Continental.

Conti’s collaboration with Swarovski. (Image: Continental)

Dr. Mergell is talking about an infotainment display that Continental has developed with crystal company extraordinaire Swarovski. Turns out that in addition to producing necklaces, rings, bracelets, and the like, there is another part of the company, Swarovski Mobility.

Continental developed a microLED display that is integrated into the crystal panel. The microLEDs provide the brightness and contrast for the 10-inch infotainment display. The information displayed seems to float in the slim crystal slab.

Seems like Conti is going for something of a Steampunk aesthetic for its displays: classic decorative crystal meets the cloud.

Self-Driving Is Desirable. So Is Cake Without Calories.

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By Gary S Vasilash

The “Consumer Attitude’s Around Autonomous Vehicle Technology Survey” indicates that there is a solid base of consumers who are ready to spend money to buy self-driving capability for their next vehicle.

Perhaps.

That is, there is a blur between advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving, even though the survey conducted for Ghost Autonomy, a developer of autonomous driving software, provides definitions of both, with ADAS including “automatic emergency braking, blind spot and pedestrian detection, lane keeping assist, surround view, parking assist, driver drowsiness detection and gaze detection” and autonomous driving technologies based on the SAE five levels, but claiming “L3-L5 is considered fully autonomous driving that does not require human backup,” which is not the case, because L3, while it lets the driver do other things, also requires that the driver be capable of reassuming, well, driving.

BMW Pesrsonal Pilot L3: yes, a driver is still required to regain control when needed. (Image: BMW)

For example, BMW has launched “BMW Personal Pilot L3,” which will be available to purchasers (adding 6,000 euros to the sticker) of the BMW 7 Series—in Germany only.

According to BMW this system provides “Level 3 capability as defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers,” and it “allows drivers to redirect their focus to other in-vehicle activities when travelling at up to 60 km/h (37 mph) on motorways with structurally separated carriageways.”

However, the driver “still has to be ready to reassume the task of driving at any time – i.e. as soon as the situation on the road requires them to or the stretch of road suitable for using the BMW Personal Pilot L3 comes to an end.”

In other words, “human backup.”

According to the Ghost Autonomy survey, 52% of those who have experienced self-driving (which arguably would be those who have ridden in a Cruise or Waymo vehicle, as FSD’s name notwithstanding, Tesla’s product isn’t self-driving, at least not within the existing classification, and it actually requires that the driver keep hands on the wheel) would “consider buying a car with full autonomy sooner if the technology was available today,” which is sort of a moot point because (a) it isn’t and (b) its not likely to be anytime soon.

What’s more, those “drivers who’ve experienced self-driving,” 78% of them, are willing to pay $5,000 or more upfront. Arguably this will be a lot more than $5,000 because the aforementioned BMW system would be about $6,600, and the Tesla FSD package (“Your car will be able to drive itself almost anywhere with minimal driver intervention and will continuously improve”) adds $12,000 to the sticker.

One finding in the survey that is certainly laudable is that when asked to rank the factors considered when they purchase their next vehicle they are:

  1. ADAS
  2. Keyless or phone-based entry and start
  3. Premium infotainment screen and sound
  4. Premium interior/exterior trim
  5. EV/battery powertrain

Yes, safety systems rank first.

But one wonders whether that answer isn’t analogous to what people say at the dentist office when asked about their brushing and flossing habits.

Who is going to say even on a survey that awesome audio is more important to them than safety?

2024 NACTOY Winners Examined

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By Gary S. Vasilash

This morning the 2024 North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year (NACTOY) awards were announced.

And with no further ado. . .

  • North American Car of the Year: Toyota Prius & Prius Prime
  • North American Truck of the Year: Ford Super Duty
  • North American Utility Vehicle of the Year: Kia EV9
Kia EV9: 2024 NACTOY Utility of the Year. In 2023 Kia also took that NACTOY category with the EV6. Seems that company really has it going on with electric utes. (Image: Kia)

To look at this a more closely:

The Car category also included the Hyundai IONIQ 6 EV and the Honda Accord. Several people whom I’ve talked with (full disclosure: I am one of the 50 jurors for the awards) thought it would more likely be the Accord than the Prius.

While all three are excellent cars, the transformation of the Prius from something that was somewhat awkward to an object of desire (with really good gas mileage) undoubtedly pushed it over the top.

In trucks, the Ford Super Duty was up against the Chevrolet Colorado midsize pickup and the Chevrolet Silverado EV. The NACTOY awards are consumer-centric, not commercial-centric. Which led me to wonder about the Super Duty being a finalist. Then two things happened:

  1. I talked with Detroit Free Press car reviewer Mark Phelan (also a juror) who pointed out that plenty of people buy Super Duty trucks as daily drivers
  2. I spent time behind the wheel of a Super Duty and discovered that in terms of the tech and the amenities it gave nothing up compared with cars or utilities

That the Silverado EV didn’t take the trophy probably surprised some people at GM HQ because this is their Ultium-based offering in the full-size truck segment and it betters the specs of the Ford F-150 Lightning, the EV pickup that won the NACTOY award in 2023. Perhaps the $74,800 price for a work truck kept Chevy from winning.

And in utilities, the finalists that the Kia EV9 faced were the Genesis Electrified GV70 and the Hyundai Kona/Kona EV. In mid-November when the finalists were announced the Kona wasn’t on the list and the Volvo EX30, a small electric crossover, was. But Volvo had to pull the vehicle from consideration because it wasn’t going to have vehicles in-market before the end of 2023.

Two things about the utility situation:

  1. Kia also won the category last year with the EV6
  2. As Genesis is a sibling company with Hyundai and Kia, it is clear that the three companies have remarkable capabilities in the utility space—including the electric utility space

And that second point raises another consideration:

The traditional domestics had the Truck category. But nothing in the other two categories.

Is that a model for long-term success?

Rivians Built But Not Delivered

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By Gary S. Vasilash

In reporting its 2023 Q4 production numbers, Rivian stated it produced 17,541 vehicles at its factory in Normal, Illinois, and delivered 13,972 during the same period.

Manufacturing Rivians in Normal. (Image: Rivian)

In Q3 it built 16,304 vehicles and delivered 15,564.

In Q2 the numbers are 13,992 made and 12,640 delivered.

And first and numerically least, in Q1 it produced 9,395 vehicles and delivered 7,946.

So for the full year it built 57,232 vehicles and delivered 50,122.

In Q3 Rivian management’s guidance was that it would build 54,000 vehicles during 2023, so there is a 3,232 bonus, apparently.

But doesn’t the ~12% of vehicles that were built in 2023 and not delivered seem like a lot sitting in lots?

Four Films If You Forego “Ferrari”

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By Stephen Macaulay

According to box office receipts, Ferrari didn’t exactly blow the doors off of theaters in its opening weekend, taking in $6.8 million domestically at the box office according to Deadline.

For a bit of context: Car and Driver notes a 2024 Ferrari Daytona SP3 starts at $2.2-million.

Which means that a three-car garage could have within it somethings that cumulatively have a price tag almost equivalent to what the movie took in across the country in wide release.

So in the event that you’re interested in seeing a racing-related movie that doesn’t star Adam Driver wearing his belt well above his waist, here are some alternatives that are, for various reasons, worth a watch:

Winning (1969). Paul Newman raced cars in real life. What’s more, he was respected in the racing community, not some sort of ne’er-do-well who went slumming in the pits when he wasn’t in front of a camera. This movie is about a driver who wants to win “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” a.k.a., the Indianapolis 500. Winning, which includes Joanne Woodward (who plays Newman’s character’s wife, which means this is not exactly a stretch roll) and Robert Wagner (whose street cred could come from his being born in Detroit), is not the Greatest Spectacle in Cinema. But it has Paul Newman.

Days of Thunder (1990). Although Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman (unlike Newman and Woodward when they made the above), weren’t married when they made Days of Thunder, they were wed after meeting on the set.* Apparently the smell of exhaust and burnt rubber has some aphrodisiac qualities. This is a movie that deals with a racing series that is rife with opportunity, a racing series that is quintessentially American in a way that no other racing series is: NASCAR. This film was directed by Tony Scott, who worked with Cruise in 1985 for the Simpson-Bruckheimer production Top Gun. While cars do fly—accidentally, of course—this is no Top Gun. But Robert Duvall as the chaw-chewin’ crew chief is worth watching.

Driven (2001). Sylvester Stallone, of course, wrote Rocky. He also wrote Driven. Singular-word titles notwithstanding, Driven is no Rocky. Driven reunites director Renny Harlin with Stallone: the two worked on Cliffhanger, which Stallone co-wrote, and which is his ken, also starred in. (And again, a one-word title.) Driven, about a young driver played by Kip Pardue (who? Exactly), who is taken under the wing of veteran driver, played by Stallone (who can’t help himself), is, well, predictable but with some good racing footage.

Grand Prix (1966). This is the car racing movie of all car racing movies. Directed by John Frankenheimer, this film shows the challenges of winning a sufficient number of races to achieve the overall Formula One trophy. What’s interesting is that even back in the mid-‘60s the whole commercial aspect of motor racing is revealed (James Garner loses his sponsor and must join a Japanese team—remember, this is 1966!). And while we take an international cast for granted now, this movie brings in a French driver (Yves Montand), a British driver (Brian Bedford), and a Japanese driver (Toshiro Mifune). When it opened, the film was shown at Cinerama-capable theaters, which made it even more astonishing. It also gave rise to the cameos of real drivers. Days of Thunder may have Richard Petty and Rusty Wallace, but Grand Prix has Jimmy Clark and Juan Manuel Fangio.

*On the subject of pairings: in 1986 Newman and Cruise were together in The Color of Money, which focused on shooting pool, a somewhat less frenetic but no less cutthroat sport than motor racing.

Tesla: Still Not Self-Driving

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By Gary S. Vasilash

“The two times Autosteer allowed my car to roll right through intersections with stop signs were especially nerve wracking. I could tell from icons on the car’s screen that it could see the sign, yet it did not disengage Autosteer or stop. After digging around Tesla’s website, I discovered that Tesla says obeying stop signs and stop lights is a function included for those who pay for Full Self-Driving. Should you really have to pay extra to keep the software your car comes with by default from doing reckless things?”—Geoffrey A. Fowler, Washington Post columnist, on his experience in his Tesla Model Y after the over-the-air update that was a response to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s investigation, a recall that is meant to make Autopilot safer. As Fowler chronicles, he didn’t feel as though there is an improvement.

Or, as he put it, “I found we have every reason to be skeptical this recall does much of anything.”

“Fisker” Rhymes with “Kroger”

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By Gary S. Vasilash

Although Fisker describes its mission as creating “the world’s most emotional and sustainable vehicles,” chairman and CEO Henrik Fisker announced, “I’m excited to give our loyal members the opportunity to elevate their ownership experience.”

By doing something of an emotional or sustainable nature?

Nope.

But by earning points in the Fisker Loyalty Program.

That’s right: Fisker has a scheme wherein owners (or those holding reservations for the Fisker Ocean: enrollment for both groups is automatic) can get points that they can redeem for things like beanies and thermos bottles.

Fisker: “We are constantly looking to improve our Loyalty Program in ways that respond to our customers’ needs and that help us stand out from the competition.”

Which makes one wonder what it thinks it is competing with.

CVS?