Innovation Series Summary

by John Koehler Comment Closed
**This post contains affiliate links and the publisher may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links.**   Through this month we looked at how four areas of innovation are dramatically changing automobiles: how they move, how they’re accessed, and how our experience in them is changing.  Specifically we looked at Vehicle Connectivity, Mobility Solutions, Fleet Electrification, and Autonomous vehicles.  All of these innovations are at least partially rolled out, but at the same time it is clear that there is an expectation of dramatic change in the next 5-10 years, where many of the items that are a novelty today will become at least a substantial minority, and in some cases potentially the dominant technology in place. I had the opportunity earlier this week to attend an excellent conference called AutoMobility LA – it occurs during the 4 days preceding the annual Los Angeles Auto Show.  The conference organizers did a great job of assembling excellent speakers and...
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Autonomous Vehicles

by John KoehlerNo Comments
**This post contains affiliate links and the publisher may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links.**   Today we look at the last of the four major automotive innovations reviewed in this series: autonomous vehicles, also known as self-driving cars.  This was placed at the end of the series because it is also the innovation that will be the latest in coming, and especially in becoming dominant, if it does.  As a reminder, the other three innovations we have covered are Vehicle Connectivity, Mobility Solutions, and Fleet Electrification. Autonomous Vehicles Overview Almost every vehicle on the road today has some autonomous features - the first one available was cruise control - but with features like parking assistance, lane departure warnings, more advanced cruise control, and collision avoidance features new vehicles are more autonomous than ever.  Beyond that there are several companies, including Waymo, part of Alphabet (nee Google), that are developing and testing self-driving vehicles.  As we get closer...
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The More Things Change…

by John Koehler Comment Closed
**This post contains affiliate links and the publisher may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links.**   The "Internet Revolution" is now about 20 years in the making, dating back to the 1990's and overcoming a major hiccup in the dot-com crash in 2000. However, it picked up again as people recognized that the answer to everything humankind had accomplished until then wasn't equally suited to a stand-alone digital process.  Similarly, while more and more businesses are striking a better balance of how connected tools can facilitate, not replace, an existing process, it's important to recognize that the internet changes almost everything.   Since the second largest line item in many family's budget (after housing) is the money spent on vehicles, it's important to keep in mind what is (and what isn't) changing, since any lease agreement includes some bit of future forecasting.  While the lessor needs to do most of this forecasting in order to set the...
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