The everyday movements of tens of millions of American cars are being monitored with a huge amount of personal information being collected - everything from how fast a person drives, how hard he brakes, to how much fuel his car uses and the entertainment he prefers.
Often without owners’ knowledge, carmakers have transformed the automobile to a sophisticated computer on wheels that offers even more access to our personal habits and behaviors than smartphones do.
“Any company that has tons of data about consumers and can control the interaction with them is going to have the capability and incentive to try to use that information to the company’s advantage — and possibly to the detriment of consumers,” Ryan Calo, an associate professor of law at the University of Washington said.
Read the article at The Washington Post.
The renewable energy subsidies survived Republican tax reform, including the $7500 electric vehicle tax credit which begins to phase out after a company sells 200,000 electric vehicles.
The 200,000 limit on the tax credit was added in 2009 when Congress extended incentives for plug-in vehicles passed during the George W. Bush administration, as a way to move the nation toward energy independence.
Tesla and G.M. have benefited from the tax credit, but will soon lose their competitive edge as they both are expected to reach the 200,000 limit this year.
Read the article at The New York Times.
Ford's latest Sync 3 infotainment system is integrating Waze via AppLink so you'll be able to plug in your phone and have Waze displayed on the touchscreen, operate it via the screen or voice commands, and hear the prompts from the audio system.
The Waze app gives navigation directions for best routes using crowdsourced information from Waze users on the road.
"With the flexibility of our Sync 3 software and AppLink, customers can easily use Waze to get all the traffic and navigation help they need — on a big screen and without having to fiddle around with their phones while driving," said Don Butler, Ford executive director for Connected Vehicle and Services.
Read the article at Cars.com.
LeasePlan USA announced the appointment of Greg Buckland to the position of chief information officer (CIO).
As CIO, Buckland will manage all aspects of LeasePlan USA’s information technology (IT) functions and ensure delivery of all IT services to support the business requirements of internal users and customers. In addition to overseeing technology activities in the United States, Buckland will lead additional regions, including Brazil, Canada, India and Mexico.
LeasePlan USA also recently appointed Matt Patterson to the position of senior vice president, general counsel and secretary. In this role, Patterson will be responsible for both the legal and human resources functions of the organization, as well as secretarial functions for the LeasePlan USA Board of Directors.
Read the news at LeasePlan USA.
Automotive industry researchers at Boston Consulting Group believe that by 2035, new mobility technology will account for 40 percent of industry profits.
Automakers will have to step up their investments in key areas like autonomous vehicle technology, battery production facilities, electric-vehicle charging infrastructure and self-driving taxi fleets in order to get their fair share of future profits.
"OEMs face a double-whammy challenge of needing to make investments in these growth areas at the same time that their margins in their core business are declining," said Michelle Andersen, a BCG partner and coauthor of the study.
Read the article at Forbes.