Car? Not for me!
Retail auto sales in the U.S. could drop as much as 29 percent as alternatives to traditional vehicle ownership become more accessible and affordable, decreasing the number of miles consumed by personally owned vehicles. This is according to the Cox Automotive Evolution of Mobility Study, released in mid-January. The latest study shows the cost of automobile ownership continues to be a major issue for many Americans, with nearly half of consumers surveyed believing car ownership is too expensive. Consumers are open to exploring new transportation methods versus owning, with more one-third (36 percent) of respondents interested in reducing the number of vehicles they own in the next five years.
The glorious lightness of the MX-5
The 2019 Mazda MX-5 Miata may not be the fastest car out there, but it sure is fun, say the editors of Cars.com. The car is said to handle well, with power, and is pretty fuel-efficient. “But the Miata magic is more than just what the car can do,” they write. “It’s how it makes you feel, as well. Walking up to it, you notice the super-tidy dimensions. … It’s also simple to use – the top opens and shuts with ease from the driver’s seat, but it’s so light and easy to manipulate that Mazda doesn’t bother with a power mechanism. Flip a handle, throw it back, snap it down, and you’ve let the sunshine in. There’s also the added security of the RF model, with its powered hardtop, but you’ll be giving up some of the Miata’s glorious lightness with that heavier lid.” (FYI: Last year, Cars.com named the 2018 Volkswagen Golf GTI as its Most Fun-to-Drove Car.)
Opioids more dangerous than car crashes
A person is more likely to die from an accidental opioid overdose than from a motor vehicle crash, according to the National Safety Council. The odds of dying accidentally from an opioid overdose have risen to one in 96, eclipsing the odds of dying in a motor vehicle crash (one in 103). Preventable injuries are the third leading cause of death, claiming an unprecedented 169,936 lives in 2017, and trailing only heart disease and cancer. Of the three leading causes of death, preventable injuries were the only category to experience an increase in 2017, according to NSC analysis of the CDC data issued in December. A person’s lifetime odds of dying from any preventable, accidental cause are one in 25 – a change from one in 30 in 2004.
Drive-in
ConnectedTravel®, collaborating with Honda, launched its mobile infotainment, commerce, and rewards platform, called Honda Dream Drive. The system offers a proprietary voice-controlled user interface into a range of search, reservation, ordering and purchasing services integrated with Honda’s in-vehicle payment technology. Drivers and passengers can find and pay for goods and services such as fuel, food, coffee, movie tickets and parking. They are rewarded with points, redeemable at more than 50 brick-and-mortar locations as well as online retailers.
Keep your eyes on the road
Tel Aviv-based Eyesight has teamed up with Samsung Electronics to produce a “Driver Monitoring System” to keep drivers on their toes. The system will monitor a driver’s gaze direction, pupil dilation, eye openness, blink rate and head position to detect levels of drowsiness and distraction. A car manufacturer can decide what to do next – e.g., sound an alarm to alert the driver, suggest a rest, or activate more self-driving features.
Your car feels your pain
Feeling like everything’s coming up roses this morning? Or maybe you’re feeling glum? Whatever the case, Kia’s “Real-Time Emotion Adaptive Driving (R.E.A.D.) System – under development – will personalize a vehicle cabin space by analyzing a driver’s emotional state. The technology uses sensors to read the driver’s facial expressions, heart rate and electrodermal activity. It then tailors the interior environment according to its assessment – potentially altering conditions relating to the five senses within the cabin. AI technology is said to enable the system to establish a baseline in user behavior, and then identify patterns and trends to customize the cabin accordingly. Another feature of the R.E.A.D. System is Kia’s music-response vibration seats, which adapt seat vibrations according to sound frequencies of the music being played.
Crash landing
There are more than 13 million auto accidents every year in the U.S., often leaving drivers confused and uncertain of what to do in the minutes following the collision. CCC Information Services has produced a system (Accident Advisor) – for sale to car makers – which will prompt drivers to capture facts and photos of the accident, and offer them the option to digitally notify their insurer of the accident. Drivers will be able to search for collision repair shops and in conjunction with other CCC offerings can in many instances even get text message status updates as their vehicle moves through the repair process. Participating insurers will be able to receive accident documentation from their policyholders, which can help the insurer improve claim handling time and the policyholder experience.
Mandatory breathalyzers
This year, California joined the majority of states that have laws requiring drivers with drunken-driving convictions to install breathalyzers in vehicles they own or operate, reports Kaiser Health News. The gadgets, known as ignition interlock devices, are mounted on the steering wheel of a vehicle and prevent it from starting if the driver’s blood-alcohol reading is above a predetermined level. In California, the breathalyzers are mandatory only for repeat offenders. Five other states – Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Montana and Ohio – have similar laws. Thirty-two states and D.C. require the devices even for first-time offenders. The advent of such laws across the United States in the past 15 years has been accompanied by some good news; Deaths involving drunken driving are only about half of what they were in the early 1980s, though they have ticked back up in recent years.