The Screen in Your Car Is Beckoning
With American traffic fatalities recently hitting a 15-year high, an infotainment arms race seems like the last thing we need right now. The car industry is poised to give us one anyway.
Researchers have demonstrated that touchscreens can reduce drivers’ visual awareness of their surroundings. They also increase the risk of errors. “Touchscreens and 65-mph bouncy highways don’t work very well together,” says Kelly Funkhouser, the head of connected and automated vehicles at Consumer Reports.
One study found that drivers selecting music with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto had slower reaction times than those who were high from smoking pot.
Read the article at Slate.
Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess on the Race to Electric, the Chip Shortage and Elon Musk
CEO Herbert Diess wants electric cars to make up half of the Volkswagen Group's sales in 2030, and 100% of its sales in major markets should be zero-emission by 2040. To achieve those goals, he has to dramatically shift one of the world's largest carmakers away from the internal combustion engine.
The chip shortage has gotten worse. The back ends of the suppliers are mostly based in Malaysia, and three plants were hit hard. Diess thinks that they will overcome this situation towards the end of the month, and then they should see relief. Semiconductors will be on short supply probably for several months.
Diess see a much bigger transition for the industry when cars are becoming autonomous, because cars will be used differently, used by more people. There's a lot of of business potential and it's still a long way to go. Their first fleets probably will come to market in 2025, and the first private cars driving autonomously also in 2025 or 2026. But it's now time to invest, and to prepare. And that's what we are doing.
Read the article at CNN Business.
Exclusive: We Drive the 2022 Rivian R1T Off-Road Across the Trans-America Trail, Part 1
MotorTrend and Rivian complete the first-ever electric off-road transcontinental adventure made possible for the first time thanks to the new 2022 Rivian R1T electric pickup and the Trans-America Trail - from the dunes of Nags Head, North Carolina, on the Atlantic coast, to the cliffs of Port Orford, Oregon, overlooking the Pacific.
The new 2022 Rivian R1T electric pickup truck is uniquely suited for this overland expedition. The first modern EV pickup to hit the market, the R1T—and Rivian as a whole—is conceived around the idea of electrifying the outdoors.
MotorTrend together with Rivian dedicated 43 days to the adventure, split into five legs. Ride along with us here as we partake in the first-ever electric off-road crossing of the Trans-America Trail.
Read the article at MotorTrend.
How To Spot Water Damage on a Flooded Used Car
One of the most common examples of fraud and deception is a flood-damaged vehicle listed for sale as a clean used car by the most unscrupulous of individuals. Whether that’s lying on a title, forging signatures, or forgoing documentation altogether, scammers will always find new ways to scam.
Check if the car originated from a flood-prone or coastal region, look for significant gaps in the information, keep an eye out for significant repairs, and scrutinize inconsistencies. If you can’t be certain about everything that has happened to the vehicle, you might want to move on to the next car.
Things looking too good, too perfectly clean, can be a bad thing. Underneath the carpet is where everything collects, so you might find rust, but you also might find dirt and debris that shouldn’t be inside of a vehicle.
Read the article at The Drive.
Donlen is One of the Best and Brightest in the Nation
Donlen has once again been named one of the Best and Brightest Companies to Work for in the Nation®.
Winners in this competition demonstrate a commitment to excellence in human resource practices and employee enrichment through work-life balance, employee education, diversity, recognition and retention.
Donlen’s CEO, Tom Callahan, explains, “As we embark on the next era in fleet as a standalone fleet management company, we recognize how important it is to continue to foster a collaborative and supportive culture that empowers employees to develop and use their own skills and competencies, as they help move Donlen forward as a fun and exciting place to work.”
