GM OnStar & Amazon Alexa Team Up for Safety Beyond the Road
GM has partnered with Amazon to make OnStar Guardian available via Alexa, the very popular cloud-based voice service.
OnStar Guardian has become one of the many Alexa ‘skills’ or apps available on Amazon’s flagship at-home communication device.
Customers requesting assistance, as in “Alexa, please call for help,” will be connected to an OnStar Certified Advisor, who are trained to offer help beyond roadside repair or rescue.
On GM’s website, Jeff Wajer, the head of OnStar Guardian Home, relates a very personal story of how he believes the simplicity of accessing OnStar Guardian via Alexa brings a greater sense of security into the home, especially since it can be utilized by his son, Hunter, who has Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD.
Auto Sales Show Positive Trends in July as Global Chip Headwinds Ease
August 1, 2022 - Auto sales - a key barometer of the economy - showed positive trends in July, signaling that companies have mitigated the production hurdle caused by semiconductor shortage. But industry executives warned that this improvement could be impacted by any hike in interest rates and commodity price inflation.
The country’s largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki, recorded sales of 175,916 units in July 2022, an increase of 8.28 per cent over July 2021.
Tarun Garg, director (sales, marketing & service), Hyundai Motor India said: “With the improvement in the semiconductor situation, the passenger vehicle segment is showing positive trends, riding on the green shoots of pent-up demand and customer desire towards personal mobility. Further, the newly launched Hyundai Tucson has built strong momentum ahead of the festive season and received an overwhelming customer response. We remain optimistic towards the prospects of the Indian auto industry.”
Electric Ford F-150 Lightning Goes to the Police Academy, Sprouts Light Bar
July 28, 2022 - Police forces across America will soon have access to Ford's new F-150 Lightning Pro SSV police truck. The new cop pickup is spun off the all-electric Lightning, and while that part is novel, the package is, for the most part, modeled after the regular F-150 Police Responder rig.
This is purely a patrol and response vehicle, even though the standard-range battery version's dual electric motors combine for 452 hp and 775 lb-ft of torque, and the big-battery, long-range model gets 580 hp and the same mighty torque figure.
Ford also will install the requisite red-and-blue or white-and-amber roof lights for departments that request it. And beyond the lighting on the truck itself, Ford points out that the ProPower Onboard power sources in the frunk and bed can be used to power accident-scene lighting and emergency equipment.
Solar Chargers Will Be a Total Game-Changer for EV Owners
July 31, 2022 - The onset of electric vehicles offers different nations a chance to rethink much of their urban planning. The United States is one of the more egregious offenders, with massive open parking lots that lead to sweltering heat in the summer and icy wastelands of nothingness come winter.
A UK-based company, 3ti, has a potential solution to at least part of these issues, and one that should have been implemented long ago.
"Solar is an abundant source of renewable energy - yield from our first Papilio3 unit at Surrey Research Park has already topped 4.86MWh, and all 12 charging points have been in regular use," says Tim Evans, 3ti founder and CEO. "The most recent International Energy Agency statistics show that, thanks to higher solar and wind power generation, renewable electricity production is up by 9.8% year-on-year across all Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, but there is still plenty of room for further improvement."
Guaranteed EV Charging for Fleets: On Time, Every Time
AMPLY is keenly focused on delivering fleet charging in a guaranteed way - so that it’s on time, every time.
