State Fleet Managers Select Mercury Associates for Benchmarking Study
By Mark Boada, Senior Editor
The National State Conference of State Fleet Administrators (NCSFA) has selected Mercury Associates to conduct its annual benchmarking study, the first time the organization has chosen to outsource the study in its more than 20-year history.
“The conference has been doing this study for years, but we didn’t do it in a formal process like this and we didn’t do it with the assistance of an outside entity,” said Bob Williams, NCSFA president and associate director for vehicle asset management for the state of Tennessee. “Our previous studies were managed internally and involved a lot of volunteer work, but we’ve never done it at this scale or enlisted outside help like this.”
Williams said the NCSFA will reach out to more respondents for this year’s study than it ever has and will focus on more details of fleet operations as well as a “bigger picture” than previous studies. The organization’s membership consists largely of some 150 state government and state university fleets, and the survey will be sent to all of them, Williams said.
When Your Self-Driving Car Gets a Flat Tire, Who Does it Call?
Phantom Auto is working on remote control systems, often referred to as teleoperation, that many see as a necessary safety feature for the autonomous cars of the future.
Even the most sophisticated vehicles will not be infallible - a fallen tree, a sinkhole, a string of strange pylons, a flash flood, a fire or some other obstruction on a lonely road could make an autonomous car stop safely, but then what?
A car in need of help would automatically contact a Phantom Auto center, where a remote operator could use the car’s cameras and sensors to see what was happening, then maneuver the vehicle out of trouble - but someone will still have to come out and fix your flat tire.
Read the article at The New York Times.
Safety and Driver Assistance Technology Standard on New Ford Vehicles
Starting this fall, Ford will begin making a full suite of safety and driver assistance technology, including a front collision system with automatic emergency braking, standard on all of its new vehicles.
The bundle includes automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, as well as a blind spot warning with rear cross-traffic alert, a backup camera, a driver attention alert, and a lane-keep assist that provides a warning and a steering nudge when the vehicle begins to drift out of the lane.
Shortage of Natural Resources May Impact Battery Production
According to a recent report produced by independent research organization A.T. Kearney Energy Transition Institute, automobile manufacturers will face challenges surfacing from supply shortages of natural resources for battery production as they move to electrify their fleet in line with government mandate to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
“Electric car batteries rely on a host of rare materials —from lithium and nickel to cobalt. Battery makers around the world are struggling to secure supplies of these key ingredients as demand outstrips supply. This undoubtedly places pressure on carmakers, so the hunt for alternative technologies is on,” explained Romain Debarre, managing director, A.T. Kearney Energy Transition Institute.
Cobalt, the report held, is in particularly short supply globally and reserves could be depleted completely by the time 300 million EVs are produced —a modest proportion compared to the 1.2 billion cars on roads today.
Read the article at Economic Times.
Ford’s New Lineup Has a Refreshed View of the Future
Ford is refreshing or revamping its entire aging lineup of SUVs while adding gas-electric hybrid powertrains, two new off-road SUVs and two new trucks.
The current model lineup is among the industry's oldest, and the new products should help dealers who have struggled against competitors with fresher vehicles.
"I have a reinvigorated view of the future," said Richard Bazzy, who runs a Ford dealership in Pittsburgh's northern suburbs and is among dealers who have been critical of company management. "We've been waiting for a long time. We weren't sure what we were waiting for. Now we know."
Read the article at Chicago Tribune.
