Automotive – Page 50605 – I wish I had more to offer

Green Motion Receives Sustainability Certification

To achieve accreditation, Green Motion’s International head office was graded on-site by a qualified assessor against a rigorous set of criteria. Photo courtesy of Green Motion. Green Motion was honored with a Bronze Award from Green Tourism, a sustainable certification program. A Green Tourism Award means that a business works responsibly, ethically, and sustainably, contributes to its… Continue reading Green Motion Receives Sustainability Certification

Enterprise Taps Hockey Hall of Famer for Ads

A separate television ad will follow the adventures of the Stanley Cup itself as it’s transported through a series of events, adored by players and fans. Screenshot via Enterprise/YouTube. As the National Hockey League season heats up in January, three-time Stanley Cup winner Martin Brodeur will be featured in television ads and digital shorts that… Continue reading Enterprise Taps Hockey Hall of Famer for Ads

VW & GM Exec Statements on Electric Vehicles & Tesla Leave Me Dizzy, Confused, Laughing

Electric Cars
Electric Car Benefits
Electric Car Sales
Solar Energy Rocks
RSS
Advertise
Privacy Policy

Autonomous Vehicles

Published on January 9th, 2019 |

by Matt Pressman

VW & GM Exec Statements on Electric Vehicles & Tesla Leave Me Dizzy, Confused, Laughing

Twitter
Google+
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Facebook

January 9th, 2019 by Matt Pressman

Originally published on EVANNEX.

Big Auto’s executives have a long history of taking shots at Tesla. Now, two industry giants, VW and GM, have decided to dismiss the Silicon Valley automaker altogether and claim they’ll (instead) lead the EV revolution. Yet, their braggadocio, somehow, doesn’t seem to add up.

Two of the industry’s biggest heavyweights, VW and GM, have dialed up their bold claims surrounding electric car efforts. VW has lineup of fully electric vehicles coming in next few years.

Larry Vellequette reported in November (via Automotive News Europe) that Volkswagen’s rhetoric about electric vehicles is “the direct result of a strategy shift that came after getting caught cheating on diesel-emissions testing.” Deflecting attention from the dieselgate scandal and recent cartel allegations, VW’s corporate communications vacillate wildly from reluctant to boastful when it comes to the company’s EV plans.

In a puzzling interview with VW’s Herbert Diess shared in that article, the company’s CEO downplayed the viability of the electric car, explaining, “if you are still driving far distances, 20,000 or 30,000 miles [per year], it’s probably not the right car.” And with EVs, Deiss adds, “you’re driving on coal instead of oil, and it doesn’t make sense.” [Editor’s note: What????] That said, he concedes, “Renewable energy is a must… [so] we will be very big in electric cars worldwide because we are very strong in China.”

A look back at VW’s dieselgate scandal, which likely sparked the company’s recent PR offensive touting its “support” for EVs (YouTube: The Verge)

Deiss admits, “[Electric car] sales are picking up. It’s not all over the place, but West Coast, if you go to a parking lot, you see already a decent mix of electric cars there. Most of them are probably Teslas, but what’s happening now is that the cars become so much better.” He continues, “I think we have the best setup strategy for the electric vehicles to come. … We will be aggressive on the pricing. We will be much lower than Tesla.”

Meanwhile, GM’s former bigwig, Bob Lutz, is consistently appearing on financial news shows in order to trash-talk Tesla. Recently, he claimed, “Tesla is headed to the graveyard.” Do GM’s top brass feel the same way? Jamie Lareau (via Detroit Free Press) spoke with Mike Abelson, GM’s vice president of global strategy, for his take on EVs. He reports, “GM’s gasoline-powered cars and trucks will be the main revenue stream for the company for at least the next two decades,” according to Abelson. [Editor’s note: What?????]

GM has no plans for electric pickup trucks.

Yet, contradicting himself, Abelson adds, “We do believe we’ll lead the industry in EVs sometime in the next decade or so.” [Editor’s note: What???????]

If that’s the case, will GM, perhaps, battle Tesla in market segments like pickup trucks. No. Abelson says, “There will not be any AV/EV pickups.” [Editor’s note: OMG]

Nevertheless, it’s reported that “GM is exploring all fronts in future mobility, including talking to companies working on flying cars.”

About the Author

Matt Pressman is all about Tesla. He’s a TSLA investor, pre-ordered the Model 3, and loves driving the family's Model S and Model X company cars. As co-founder of EVANNEX, a family business specializing in aftermarket Tesla accessories, he’s served as a contributor/editor of Electric Vehicle University (EVU) and the Owning Model S and Getting Ready for Model 3 books. He writes daily about Tesla and you can follow his work on the EVANNEX blog.

Advertise with CleanTechnica to get your company in front of our readers.

CleanTechnica Clothing & Cups

AI Predictions For 2019 From Technology Leaders

If 2018 is any indication, 2019 will see AI play an even bigger role in our lives than we imagined. It will be deployed in ways we don’t realize and to do things we didn’t expect. We won’t even be aware of when it is being used for or against us. And there may not be any appeal of AI decisions. Further, it will be everywhere deployed by everyone thanks to various companies democratizing the technology. These are the observations of leaders from around the industry as reported by Forbes.

“We are seeing the democratization of AI through open source algorithms, affordable computing power and AI specialized hardware,” said Roy Raanani, CEO and founder of Chorus.ai. “Google TensorFlow released open source software to allow anyone to build on Google’s own machine learning algorithms. Also the introduction of AI specialized hardware by Apple, Google, Tesla and NVIDIA is increasing AI performance by tens to hundreds, and enabling that performance in smaller form factors.”

Santi Subotovsky, General Partner at Emergence, and Oded Gal, Head of Products at Zoom Video Communications, believe AI will reshape business meetings by increasing productivity and surfacing hidden insights. AI combined with speech recognition can enable automatic note-taking. It can also surface non-verbal cues that participants of a meeting could miss.

Expect facial recognition as a standard part of the conference room. Much insight can be gained from knowing who used the room, when, and for what purpose.

Candace Worley, Chief Technical Strategist at McAfee, sounds a cautionary note. She believes there will be special oversight of AI usage due to the “legal, ethical, and cultural implications.” She cites the fact that “AI has demonstrated unfavorable behavior such as racial profiling, unfairly denying individuals loans, and incorrectly identifying basic information about users.”

Nick Caldwell, Chief Product Officer from Looker, offers the most optimistic endorsement of AI by suggesting we stop giving its decisions greater scrutiny than we do for humans. He uses a doctor as an example. We trust her professional judgment without forcing her to cite all the studies, research, journals, and lectures she consumed that factored into her decision. He acknowledges that sometimes AI will make mistakes. But for AI to do its best work, we have to get out of its way.

There are a few differences between AI and doctors. For one, we know exactly how, where, and by whom doctors are trained. We can audit that process and be sure it meets expected standards. Second, doctors are accountable for their mistakes. And there are certainly times when we get to question their judgment.

Legally, we still have not worked out what the training standard should be for AI, or who is liable when AI makes a mistake. Will insurance companies cover AI like they do other professionals? Despite these issues remaining open questions for now, it seems professionals in a number of industries are set to integrate it even more in their processes and in our lives.

Car and appliance makers glow as China eyes consumption boost

Become an FT Subscriber. Gain access to global coverage from local journalists on the ground in 50+ countries working around the clock to break news, analyze, spot risks and opportunities. Join over 300,000 Finance professionals who already subscribe to the FT. Go to Source

October 2018 new car pre-registration figures

RT @SMMT: WATCH: 2018 was an important year for – See how we are tackling all the biggest challenges https://t.co/IWR2I0zJwc…

Autoliv Announces Departure of Chief Financial Officer

Contacts

Autoliv

Klarabergsviadukten 70, section B7

111 64 STOCKHOLM
+46 (0)8 587 206 00

+46 (0)8 411 70 25

http://www.autoliv.com

Stina Thorman

Acting VP Corporate Communications

+46 (0)8 587 206 50

+46 (0) 709 578 150

https://www.autoliv.com

stina.thorman.external@autoliv.com

CES 2019

Press Conference News Videos Photos Related Links Press Conference Press Conference: January 7, 2019 | 10:00am – 10:45am PST | Mandalay Bay Hotel & Resort, Jasmine Ballroom Videos Panasonic Booth: LVCC Center Hall #12908, Jan 8-11, 2019 https://www.panasonic.com/… Go to Source

Unmanned systems: Silent Falcon UAS assisting Pojoaque Pueblo in New Mexico, Resolute Eagle UAS adopts MPU5 technology, Ford and Michigan State expand research partnership

In this week’s/today’s roundup from the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) which highlights some of the latest news and headlines in unmanned vehicles and robotics, the Wildflower International technology firm pairs with Silent Falcon UAS in Wildflower’s bid to build a new data service, PAE ISR upgrades the Resolute Eagle UAS with new communication… Continue reading Unmanned systems: Silent Falcon UAS assisting Pojoaque Pueblo in New Mexico, Resolute Eagle UAS adopts MPU5 technology, Ford and Michigan State expand research partnership

They Came, They Gamed, They Went Bonkers: Inside Our CES 2019 Gaming Suite

Seek and you will find. Knock and you will enter. If you know the right people or, rather, if the right people know you, you’ll be ushered into NVIDIA’s black and green bedecked suite at the serene Wynn Hotel, just a few minutes from the chaos of CES 2019 this week at the Las Vegas… Continue reading They Came, They Gamed, They Went Bonkers: Inside Our CES 2019 Gaming Suite