Tech Giants Most Trusted to Build Self-Driving Cars

CARS.COM - A new study finds American consumers have slightly more faith in tech giants such as Google and Apple than in traditional automakers to build autonomous cars. Trust in ride-hailing companies, such as Uber and Lyft, to develop such cars was far behind.
The study, by connected car services company Inrix, also found that they put significantly more trust in tech companies to protect their collected private data, though 29 percent don't trust any company to do that.
The international study of more than 5,000 people in the U.S., U.K., Germany, France and Italy found three main concerns about connected cars (those with internet connections) and autonomous cars (connected cars that can control themselves): trust in making the cars, protecting data privacy and safety.
"A new battleground is emerging between automakers, tech companies and ride-sharing companies in the race to develop connected and autonomous vehicles," said Bob Pishue, Inrix senior economist, in a statement. "With hundreds of millions of connected cars expected to be on the roads within the next 15 years, the market share will be owned by companies that can educate drivers and gain consumer trust."
Regardless of how they feel about them, 62 percent of U.S. consumers expect to see many autonomous cars within a decade.
Details of Americans' concerns revealed in the survey:

• 27 percent trust tech giants to build autonomous cars, versus 23 percent for conventional automakers and just 4 percent for ride-hailing companies.
• 1.4 times more Americans trust tech giants to protect the privacy of their connected car data than automakers, with Generation X and millennials most trusting of tech companies. Nearly half of baby boomers trust no one.
• It's the expectation of 71 percent of respondents that autonomous vehicles will be as safe or safer than cars today, though among baby boomers, 73 percent do not believe they will be safer.
• Blind sport warning is the most desired feature, followed by stolen car tracking, night vision, traffic alerts and rerouting, and front and rear collision warning.

by: cars.com 


Tech Giants Most Trusted to Build Self Driving Cars................................... www.redlineautosales.ca/tech-giants-most-trusted-to-build-self-driving-cars.htm

Millennials have less connection to first car than boomers

A new survey from CarGurus reveals that the first car buying experience of millennials starkly differs from that of previous generations.
Compared to millennials, baby boomers were not only found to have been more involved when selecting their first car, but were also far more likely to have contributed to the purchase cost, the online automotive shopping platform said. While only 37 percent of millennials surveyed said they contributed to the cost of their first car, 65 percent of baby boomers told CarGurus they paid for some or all of their first car, according to the survey. And 53 percent of Gen Xers contributed to the cost of their first car.
"Our data shows a clear generational shift in the dynamics of first car purchase," said Sarah Welch, senior vice president of consumer marketing, said in a news release. "Given the rise of autonomous vehicles, ride sharing and sweeping urbanization, it will be interesting to see if future generations show the same trend in parents controlling the first car purchase or if we'll see a drop-off in dependents needing a car at a younger age."
Twenty-three percent of millennials' first cars were hand-me-downs, while only 10 percent of baby boomers were, according to the survey.
The survey also found that millennials were more likely to receive their first car from a family member, and were just as likely to not have a choice. Thirty-four percent of the millennials surveyed said they were given their first car for either school, a job or extracurricular activity.
Thirty-three percent of millennials did not have a say in their first car, as opposed to 24 percent of baby boomers.
Although the survey shows clear differences in first car buying experiences between generations, it presents a few similarities, as well.
The survey found that 83 percent of all first cars were either bought or given used and 55 percent of drivers got their first car between the ages of 16 and 18.
Additionally, the survey also asked participants to name their favorite car brands. Chevrolet is the only brand to top each generation's list of favorite brands. The overall most popular brands amongst all the drivers surveyed are Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, Honda and Dodge, respectively.
The following are lists of the top five brands for each generation.
Baby boomers: Most popular first-car brands

1. Ford
2. Chevrolet
3. Volkswagen
4. Plymouth
5. Toyota

Generation X: Most popular first-car brands

1. Ford
2. Chevrolet
3. Toyota
4. Dodge
5. Pontiac

Millennials: Most popular-first car brands

1. Chevrolet
2. Honda
3. Toyota
4. Ford
5. Nissan

CarGurus said it conducted the online survey of more than 1,800 randomly selected participants last month. Survey participants included drivers who have owned a car, ranging from 18 years of age to 70.

by: autoremarketing.com

Millennials Have Less Connection to First Car than Boomers......... www.redlineautosales.ca/millennials-have-less-connection-to-first-car-than-boomers.htm  #redlineautosales

Most motorists will turn to driverless cars

According to a recent study made by an independent research group, 95% of U.S. car miles will be traveled in cars that are self-driving, electric, and shared with others. RethinkX produced the report, and its makers believe that the change will happen within the next 13 years.

Moreover, the researchers believe that about 60% of U.S. vehicle stock will be composed of autonomous electric vehicles that will be owned by companies that provide Transport as a Service. Evidently, the predictions presented above would only happen once self-driving vehicles receive governmental approval.

From the moment when authorities will let companies sell driverless cars and deploy them for the general public across the USA, another decade will pass until they outnumber regular cars.

The same research estimates that it will be four to ten times cheaper per mile to use Transport as a Service (TaaS) offers than to operate an existing paid-off vehicle by 2021. The costs will get driven down by improving electric vehicle technology, lower insurance, cheaper finance, and not using fossil fuels.

American households will be able to save an average of $5,600 per year if they give up a gas-powered car for TaaS for all their journeys. Cost savings like the one presented have the potential of making numerous families ditch their automobiles for driverless electric vehicles that are used only when required.

We cannot help wondering what is supposed to happen, in the given situation, to all of the cars that the people described above used to own.

Evidently, people will still own cars in 2030, but not that many will be interested in doing that. Fortunately, the study does not believe car enthusiasts will disappear, as they would probably have to kill us all, but those who use vehicles as simple means of transportation are expected to ditch personal vehicle ownership and use TaaS solutions.

The market disruption predicted by the researchers will lead to jobs being lost in many fields, but other opportunities will be open in their place. We think that they are a bit on the optimistic side, but do not exclude the possibility of these predictions becoming true in a bit more than a decade.

by: autoevolution.com

 

Most Motorists Will Turn to Driverless Cars................... www.redlineautosales.ca/most-motorist-will-turn-to-driverless-cars.htm

Ford on Front Lines of Fight Against Car Sickness

Stop-start traffic and winding roads can worsen a condition that is most prevalent in passengers, especially children and teenagers, and can be aggravated by sitting in the back, head down playing video games or watching movies.

Crossed signals between eyes, ears can make riding in car sickening experience.

COLOGNE, Germany - Ford has hurled down the gauntlet and is taking on car sickness.
Researchers with Ford of Europe, assisted by motion-sickness experts, are studying ways to head off the queasiness - or worse - that can despoil a drive and afflicts more than two-thirds of people at some point.
Stop-start traffic and winding roads can worsen a condition that is most prevalent in passengers, especially children and teenagers, and can be aggravated by sitting in the back, head down playing video games or watching movies.
But the researchers say adult passengers who stared at screens throughout a short journey fell ill after an average of just 10 minutes.
"Comfort is a huge focus for the way we design the cars of the future - and we want to do everything we can to reduce car sickness," Eike Schmidt, research engineer at the Ford Research and Innovation Center in Aachen, Germany, says in a news release.
Yawning and perspiring are warning signs of a condition caused by mismatches between signals the brain receives from the eyes and from the organs of balance, in the ear. Only people old enough to walk get motion sickness, as do pets.
Initial tests showed when screens were mounted higher, and the road ahead could be seen on either side, volunteers were less likely to feel sick. Further experiments will explore alternative ways journeys can be displayed in the cabin so unseeing passengers can be warned of events such as twisting roads or humpbacked bridges.
"Car sickness is a complex problem. It is a natural reaction to an unnatural stimulus that cannot be cured as such. But we can look to alleviate the symptoms," says Jelte Bos of TNO, Perceptual and Cognitive Systems in Soesterberg, Netherlands.
"For many drivers who think their child has a problem with car sickness, it might simply be that their child has a problem with their driving. Adopting a smoother driving style goes a long way towards reducing feelings of nausea - and it reduces fuel costs too."
Tips for avoiding car sickness include running the air conditioning; using a pillow or other head support; moving to the middle of the back seats, or the front passenger seat, to see the road ahead; avoiding sudden braking, harsh acceleration and potholes where possible; and drinking cola but not coffee.

by: wardsauto.com



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