Ford Partnering with Amazon on Connected Cars
Ford Motor Co. and Amazon Automotive are teaming up to provide new Ford car buyers the latest in connectivity services with the rollout of Ford's embedded Alexa technology. The two companies have been working together for nearly five years now.
“Software updates are common across billions of connected devices but not yet for vehicles. Ford Power-Up software updates will change that by quickly bringing it to millions of people,” said Alex Purdy, head of Business Operations, Ford Enterprise Connectivity (FEC). “We’ve invested in more seamless technology so updates can happen while you’re sleeping — making your next ride a better experience.”
This is good news for F-150 buyers. Ford will be embedding hardware and software that will operate Amazon’s Alexa system. It will allow drivers to issue commands by voice. Purdy said the F-150 upgrade is just the beginning.
Read the article at The Detroit Bureau.
How the USPS Mail Trucks Could Still Go Fully Electric
President Biden has continued to express his desire for the entire federal fleet to be replaced with electric vehicles as part of his massive infrastructure overhaul. The United States Postal Service (USPS), the biggest government fleet is about to start turning over - but the replacements aren’t as green as many hoped.
Oshkosh won the award in February, and says some of the mail trucks it builds may be electric when they hit the road in 2023. There’s also the possibility that Workhorse will formally challenge the contract, A reversal may not be needed, though.
The USPS has only committed to investing $482 million so far, which Oshkosh is supposed to use to “finalize the production design” of the vehicle. Oshkosh has agreed to make between 50,000 and 165,000 trucks over 10 years. The USPS has also been careful to say that the current fleet will be replaced with not only the new mail truck, but also what it refers to as “commercial off the shelf” vehicles.
Read the article at The Verge.
Three Post-Pandemic Predictions for the World of Work
Companies are starting to bring employees back to the office and will have to strengthen their “social architecture. Employees and other stakeholders are demanding leaders step up and put some concrete action behind their words. What are the policies behind the mission? When there is a gap between words and action, people will spot it and call leaders out.
Agility will grow in importance as an X factor that sets high performers apart. CEOs and heads of HR are talking more about looking for talented people who understand the importance of embracing ambiguity - as well as people who are able to learn new things quickly and, if necessary, unlearn them just as fast.
Fostering and embedding the corporate culture will have to become a priority. The core skills of leadership will matter more than ever. Leaders will have to work overtime to share the company’s values, and the stories behind them.
Read the article at strategy+business.
Wearing Headphones While Driving is a Bad Idea, and Now We Know How Bad
Driving with headphones on or earbuds in is illegal in many places, but even in the areas in which it's not illegal, it's a bad idea because it destroys your sense of spatial awareness. Ford decided that it was curious about how bad an idea it is, so it put together a study in Europe to quantify that.
It was found that the people listening to music via headphones were on average 4.2 seconds slower to identify cues than those without headphones -- practically an eternity when you're talking about the difference between crashing into someone on a bicycle and avoiding them.
Read the article at MSN.
John Cail, Senior VP of Mobility, Provides Merchants’ Perspective on Fleet EVs, Last-Mile Delivery
By Ed Pierce, Contributing Editor
Although Merchants has recently announced a spate of electric vehicle-related announcements, Senior Vice President of Mobility, John Cail, explains that the news is the result of the company’s ongoing electric vehicle initiative.
“We’ve been building our electric vehicle strategy for some time, including electrified vehicle fleet management services, charging, OEM relationships, and more.
“Merchants is developing and implementing EV strategies because we foresee that’s where our clients are migrating,” he adds. “We are building out our ecosystem of partners and are ahead of the curve and will remain out in front in order to offer our clients the best possible outcomes.”
