car news

Sam joins Leo to talk about the latest car news. Lately, Sam drove Hyundai's Premium e-Vehicle, the Genesis GV70. It uses biometrics to authenticate payments for gas, keyless entry, and even the expansion of ultra-wideband wifi. Biometrics can also be used to watch the driver in order to make sure they are paying attention to the road. Sensors will monitor driver behavior with infrared cameras and alert the driver to keep watch of the road. It's possible that in the future, drivers will need face ID to start the car, an ideal security measure.

Sam joins Leo to highlight BMWs latest electronic vehicle: the iX. Launching in early 2022, it's an SUV crossover that has a questionable design. Sam says that BMW has gotten a bit "off the rails" with their design recently. It'll also be cellular-connected to allow for vehicle-to-vehicle infrastructure communications, and also be equipped with LIDAR sensors. 

Sam joins Leo to talk about a new kind of heads up display that uses augmented reality to give the driver more information. The new generation hud will be hitting the market in the coming months (2021). HUDs have become fairly common since it's debut in 1988. It projects light through an LCD in your dashboard onto the windshield. HUDs make the information look like it's hovering about 3-4 away above your hood. 

Sam Abuelsamid joins Leo to talk about the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and their research towards reducing fatalities on the highways. There's a sister organization in Britain that does the same thing. They do independent crash testing of new cars to see what impacts affect drivers and passengers. The current research is on driver-assist systems. But instead of crashing into another car, they test with inflatable cars towed behind another car in order to test the reaction time of driver-assist systems, which they grade on a 0-100 score.

Sam joins Leo to talk about the new electric Jeep Wrangler. Leo says that the Jeep Wrangler is extremely popular. People just love them. So an electric version makes sense. Chrysler is also offering for 4 wheelers, solar-powered charging stations at popular off-roading locations. Users will be able to stop and plug in to recharge emissions-free. One of the first locations will be the Rubicon. 

In other EV news, Ford Mustang Mach E buyers can now use an app to customize their Mach E before taking delivery.

Sam joins Leo to talk about the Michigan Connected Corridor. An initiative designed to create transportation infrastructure driven by data from drivers as they travel. The initiative will create a 40-mile corridor between Detroit and Anarbor, which will offer an affordable roadway for autonomous connected vehicles. The infrastructure will also have sensors and internet connectivity, assigning lanes to autonomous vehicles based on capacity. Other vehicles will have access who pay a toll. 

Sam joins Leo to talk about a new car company called LUCID, which will be building a new line of electric vehicles in Arizona. Leo says it's got a great design that omits headlights in favor of strips of Super Bright LED lights running across the nose. The VP of engineering was the designer of the Tesla Model S. Lucid also provides battery packs for electric racing leagues. 

Sam says that the Lucid will cost over $100,000 and will have a super high range battery as a result. 

Sam joins Leo to talk about how regular auto companies cannot sell direct to customers without independent dealers. Tesla has no dealerships, so they can sell direct. Sam says it was a good deal in the early days because auto companies didn't have to sit on inventory and dealerships were local businesses offering services. But now, it's more of a challenge because the market has changed, leaving the traditional business model is in flux. 

Sam joins Leo this week to talk about Rivian's Electric Delivery Vans. Amazon has placed an order for 100,000 of them to round out their in house fleet of delivery vans. Amazon is going all-in with converting their delivery vehicles to electric, and Sam says it's going to explode over the next few years because it makes a great deal of sense. When you're putting 100,000 miles a year on a delivery van, the operating costs are flat out more affordable going with electric. And Sam says that companies like GM and Ford are building electric vans starting next year.

Sam joins Leo to talk about storing cars for long periods. If you have to park your car, there are some things to do to protect them. First, get a car cover. This will at least protect a car from caked-on dust and dirt from long term storage. At the very least, you can get a roll of plastic wrap and wrap it up. If it's not going to move for longer than a few months, the best thing to do is fill it up to the top. That will minimize air and prevent fuel oxidation. There are also additives you can add to preserve the fuel.