CONNECTED – THE KEY WORD FOR THE 2014 LA AUTO SHOW

2015 Audi  TTS with Mark Dahncke on right in background as seen on the opening day of the Los Angeles Auto Show. Image Credit: Brandon O’Brien / Motor Driven Images

CONNECTED – THE KEY WORD FOR THE 2014 LA AUTO SHOW

Are you “connected”?  Or should I say is your car “connected”?  This is a key topic at the Los Angeles Auto Show which opened to the media on November 18th.

There were a number of programs dealing with the future of the “Connected Car”.  This is not the future in, ten years, but next year.  One speaker likened this to the “period of the muscle cars”. He stated that if you missed that era you will not want to miss this one.  Miss it?  I do not think any car owner will be able to miss it. 

So what does “Connected Car” technology entail?  Smartphone integration, voice activated systems, your car receiving software updates from the manufacturer (Tesla), automotive apps, and autonomous drive to name a few.  Only time will tell if all of these will last the test of time or prove their safety. Two of the manufacturers that presented their products were Audi and Volvo.

Audi has taken the centrally mounted CRT and moved it into the instrument cluster.  In collaboration with nVidia they have developed what Audi calls “the virtual cockpit”. A concept very similar to the “glass cockpits” found in all modern airliners and many newer private aircraft.  According to Mark Dahncke of Audi this will only be available as a standard feature on the 2015 Audi TT models. At this time, it is unlikely that it will be an option on other models.

Audi / nVidia Virtual Cockpit components. Image Credit: Brandon O’Brien / Motor Driven Images

The feeling is that since this is driver oriented it may not be appropriate in a larger sedan where the passengers may want to have control over systems. In the virtual cockpit the driver will have control over all common functions via the centrally mounted MMI controller with displays being easily viewed within the instrument cluster.  Future models may incorporate both the virtual cockpit as well as a centrally mounted CRT to allow for passenger interaction.

Instrument cluster set to Sport Mode. Image Credit: Brandon O’Brien / Motor Driven Images

What this author found interesting was the Google Maps mode which places a graphic map within the cluster showing current location and route.  Turning the MMI knob zoomed the picture in or out with instantaneous resolution correction.  The system will also show active traffic alerts and is voice programmable.

Instrument cluster set to Google Maps. Image Credit: Brandon O’Brien / Motor Driven Images

Close-up of the Google map viewed from the driving position. Note the presence of the tachometer and speedometer. Image Credit: Brandon O’Brien / Motor Driven Images

 On the other end of the spectrum Volvo, for a number of years,  has been working on the autonomous self driving car.  Eric Coelingh was kind enough to speak with me about the benefits of this type of vehicle. These cars a conventional in all aspects, i.e. they have brake and accelerator pedals and a steering wheel.  Like “cruise control” there is a button on the steering wheel that activates the self driving mode. If you are on a road and you want to drive, go ahead. But when the traffic is a mess, push the button and sit back.

the 2017 Volvo V60 Drive Me/Self-Drive. Image Credit: Brandon O’Brien / Motor Driven Images

The idea is that in this day of technology where more individuals are involved in accidents due to inattention (cell phones, messaging, eating) that a self driving automobile may be the answer to these safety concerns.  Also, traffic has become an increasing issue all over the world. More cars generally necessitate larger highways.  With our current fixed lane size, the only way to increase road size is to physically expand it. One concept that Volvo has is that with a self driving car lane size can actually be decreased possibly allowing for an additional lane without expanding the highway.

Eric Coelingh and the Self Driving Volvo V60. Image Credit: Brandon O’Brien / Motor Driven Images

In Sweden and in this country there are a limited number of partially autonomous cars being tested by Volvo. In 2017 Volvo will lease 100 fully autonomous cars to lessees in Sweden for a 1-year trial. This trial will be designed to see how the general public adapts to this new concept in driving.  If the test phase is successful we may see more self driving cars entering California.  

How nice would it be to be stuck in traffic on the 101 through LA and all you had to do was to sit back, answer your emails, or read your kindle?  The technology is here today and we are getting connected.
[words and photographs by Brandon O’Brien / Motor Driven Images]

... notes from The EDJE

2012 Dean Batchelor Award Is Snagged By "Porsche - Origin of the Species"

Book category finalists for the Motor Press Guild's Dean Batchelor Award. The annual award banquet singles out individuals demonstrating outstanding achievement in the profession of automotive journalism. Each year MPG presents the Dean Batchelor Award to the journalist judged to have produced the single piece of work which best represents the professional standards and excellence demanded by Dean Batchelor during his life as an editor, writer, and chronicler of the automotive industry. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

2012 Dean Batchelor Award Is Snagged By "Porsche - Origin of the Species"

Every year since 1995, when the Motor Press Guild decided to bestow it's true highest honor by naming the prestigious process of recognition on the efforts of its community of communications professionals after Dean Batchelor, the Dean Batchelor Award has set the standard of  automotive journalistic recognition.

Dean Batchelor's career spanned many disciplines, from aircraft builder, B-17 flyer, to race car driver and automotive journalist and through it all he proved to be the consummate historian, editor, racer, designer, and hot rodder.

The award builds from a series of awards honoring three publishing categories defined as Best Article, Best Book, and Best Audio/Visual.

Dean Batchelor Awards Images Slideshow (20 images) >>

The three finalists in each category are culled from potentially tens of nominations submitted by Motor Press Guild members who have seen an outstanding published effort and thought it worthy of recognition with in the year of the honor.

Best Article Dean Batchelor Award 2012 presentation. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

This year, the following finalists for Best Article were "Tambay: The Phoenix" By Thomas Stahler (Vintage Motorsport, May/June 2012) | "The Dillinger Trail" By Peter Egan (Road & Track, March 2012) | "The World's Fastest Hot Rod" By Greg Sharp (The Rodder's Journal, Spring 2012) with the Article of the Year Award going to "The World's Fastest Hot Rod" By Greg Sharp.

Best Book Dean Batchelor Award 2012 presentation. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

The following finalists for Best Book were "In The Red" By Jade Gurss (Octane Press) | "Porsche - Origin of the Species" by Karl Ludvigsen (Bentley Publishers) | "The Stainless Steel Carrot: An Auto Racing Odessey - Revisited" By Sylvia Wilkinson (Brown Fox Books) with the Book of the Year Award going to "Porsche - Origin of the Species" by Karl Ludvigsen.

Best Audio/Visual Dean Batchelor Award 2012 presentation. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

The following finalists for Best Audio/Visual were "Corvette ZR1 Review - Exotic Driver" By Todd Deeken and Paul Schmucker (EverydayDriver.com, September 27, 2012) | "A Look At London's BMW Art Drive" By Alistair Weaver (InsideLine.com, August 6, 2012) | "KBB Races A Mazda Miata" By Micah Muzio and Michael Delano - Kelley Blue Book (KBB.com, February 22, 2012) with the Audio/Visual of the Year Award going to "KBB Races A Mazda Miata" By Micah Muzio and Michael Delano - Kelley Blue Book.

The 2012 Dean Batchelor Award is bestowed upon a choice from one of these three category award honorees Article of the Year Award going to "The World's Fastest Hot Rod" By Greg Sharp | Book of the Year Award going to "Porsche - Origin of the Species" by Karl Ludvigsen | Audio/Visual of the Year Award going to "KBB Races A Mazda Miata" By Micah Muzio and Michael Delano - Kelley Blue Book with the 2012 Dean Batchelor Award going to Book of the Year Award going to "Porsche - Origin of the Species" by Karl Ludvigsen.

Book of the Month at Bentley Publishers becomes Book of the Year for Motor Press GuildImage Credit: Bentley Publishers (2012)

This edited and excerpted from Bentley Publishers (and was included in the presentation from the podium during the award presentation) -

Classic and Sports Car - December 2012 
BOOK OF THE MONTH

Porsche - Origin of the Species 
by Karl Ludvigsen

It's hard to imagine that there's a Porsche stone unturned for respected marque historian Karl Ludvigsen. But, inspired by an early 356 - comedian Jerry Seinfeld's treasured Gmünd coupe 2-040 - the American historian set out to reveal the story of the landmark 1950s sports model. And top studio photographer Michael Furman provides a superb set of the historic survivor.

Ludvigsen's journey of fastidious research took him from factory archives to owners and specialists while unravelling this fascinating tale. This hefty, 344-page title covers the evolution of pre-war streamliners through to the early operations in the wooden sawmill in Gmünd, Austria. Putting Porsche's development in context, the book also covers VW Beetle-based specials and coach built variants.

Ludvigsen's writing style is a captivating joy to read, plus the main text is accompanied by fascinating panels including Robert Cumberford on styling, Miles Collier on preservation and Alex Finigan on ownership. The final pages are devoted to a complete reproduction of Porsche's trial reports on '040', and an early 1949 356 Betriebsanleitung (operating manual).
[Reference Here]

A wonderful time spent with like-minded folks and meeting new friends. The Petersen Automotive Museum provided the backdrop for the evening's presentations and all of the finalists from all categories were equally honored to be mentioned along side of the eventual 2012 Dean Batchelor Award honoree.

Sponsors for the evening included Hyundai, Mothers, Jaguar, Land Rover, Honda, Ford, Audi, General Motors, Infiniti, Mazda, Porsche, Subaru, and Toyota - Thanks.

... notes from The EDJE


** Article first published as 2012 Dean Batchelor Award Is Snagged By "Porsche - Origin of the Species" on Technorati **

Real Automotive Journalists, Past and Present

The Motor Press Guild board of directors in a moment of recognition during the presentation of the Dean Batchelor Best of the Year Award. The award was bestowed upon a book titled "Porsche - Origin of the Species" By Karl Ludvigsen CIMechE MSAE. The 2012 Dean Batchelor Awards banquet was held on Tuesday evening Dec. 11, 2012 at the Petersen Automotive Museum. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

Real Automotive Journalists, Past and Present
Why do we read what they have to say, and trust them?

I would say that a Journalism degree is helpful, but knowledge of Automobiles, some sort of real experience in the Automotive Industry, as a Driver, Mechanic, Engineer, Designer, Crew Person, or maybe as a Race Official would surely be an important requirement. There are far too many people these days that get jobs as PR people, Writers, or Reporters doing stories about Automobiles now that have no real understanding of the automotive industry, and automobile design. We had a Ranking Officer in the largest Automotive Media Group in the USA that did not know who Brock Yates was.

Now I never met William Shakespeare or Ernest Hemingway, but I knew who they were. We have lost Chris Economaki, David E Davis, Dick Dixon, John Fitch, and Jon Knapp. Some we all knew, some a few of us knew well. But what made them readable and credible was we knew, they knew what they were talking about. Brock Yates, Csaba Csere, Rich Ceppos, Pat Bedard, Aaron Robinson, John Reite, Wes Raynal, Mark Vaughn, John Dinkel, Tom Cotter and Aaron Robinson are real Automotive Journalists that have a real Automotive knowledge most based on years of designing, building, fixing, racing, testing real automobiles. Where will the next Brock Yates or Csaba Csere come from?

Honda has a TV commercial that states, anyone can have a Blog. Sadly this is true. Time magazine will stop being a printed publication at the end of this year. The Media World is changing daily. New Media (as my colleague Edmund Jenks calls it) is the future. Internet based publications, newsletters, updates are all used by AutoWeek, Car and Driver, Road & Track, Motor Trend, etc. And all use the Internet to get the latest news out to it's subscribers.

Time Magazine becomes an Internet Publication next year. Soon other Paper and Ink Publications will transition to the Internet. One day new publications will start online and have their entire presence Internet based. Some of the best Karting Publications once paper and  ink, mailed to subscribers and members of Race Series have been converted to e-publications only. Automotive Publications change often, and in some cases it for the better. But if all good Automotive Publications go from paper and print to online publications, what will we read at the Doctors offices, Discount Tire stores, and on Southwest Airline flights?

So while the world of Automotive Media has changed, will continue to change over the years, the changes will come more often and sooner than in the past. But the one thing that should not change, is where we get our Automotive Journalists. They should come from MIT, Chrysler, NASCAR, USAC, Service Departments, Race Teams, and years of love for the cool cars. Hot Rods, Muscle Cars, Sports Cars, Exotics, 4X4 Trucks and all the rest.

Larry Reynolds, Brian Till, Chris Neville, Tommy Kendall are the guys who know what's real, they know all the players, drivers, crews, series, sponsors and the fans. These are the guys we want to tell us the stories, take the pictures, keep the history alive. I'm not sure if the all have Degrees in Journalism, but these are the guys we need to tell us what's real and good.

Maybe a good automotive journalist is a person that can talk to the newsmakers, watch the crews and drivers, take the pictures, listen to their stories and write it all down. But then again if you don't know what it takes to drive, what it takes to build them, fix them and race them, how will you ever know if what they tell you is the truth?
(The above re-posted from a question seen on FB)

Dicken Wear 12/12/2012

24 Hours of Le Mans 2010: Saleen notches first ever win at last ever event

Jack Leconte’s Larbre Competition - Saleen S7R driven by Gabriele Gardel, Roland Berville, & Julien Canal for the 78th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Image Credit: antsphoto

24 Hours of Le Mans 2010: Saleen notches first ever win at last ever event

A Saleen S7R wins the last LMGT1 classification race to be held at the 24 hours of Le Mans. In its 78 year history, a Saleen car has never won at Le Mans ... until today, when the Jack Leconte’s Larbre Competition - Saleen S7R driven by Gabriele Gardel (Roland Berville, & Julien Canal co-drivers) crossed the finish line in P1 at the end of the 24th hour. The Saleen is the only car racing at Le Mans that is not racing in the FIA GT1 World Championship.

In winning the LMGT1 Class, the #50 Larbre Competition Saleen S7R completed 331 LAPS, 2ND was the #72 Luc Alphand Adventures Corvette C6,R with 327 LAPS, and 3RD was the #52 Young Driver AMR Aston Martin with 311 LAPS. This will be the last year the LMGT1 Class will be run at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in order to align the 24 Hours of Le Mans format with the ALMS and the classification formats they have adopted. This is a good move for Le Mans because this will allow more competitive teams from across the "pond" to be able to enter into this hallmark motorsports race event.

The 78th running of the 24 hours of Le Mans was a race that saw many firsts but chief among them was that a new overall distance record had been set when the #9 Audi Sport North America - Audi R15 TDI diesel-powered car crossed the finish line, with Timo Bernhard driving, completing 392 laps. Timo led a event podium sweep of Audi R15 TDI's in a surprise ending when the faster paced group of Team Peugeot Total - Peugeot 908 HDi - FAP diesel-powered cars that had qualified in the first three positions (also at Le Mans setting record speeds) to start the race (with a fourth one from Team Oreca Matmut in P4) ... and pulled away with one of the cars having over a lap lead on the Audi cars, at one point, had to retire and never completed the race.

It is Audi's 9th overall 24 Hours of Le Mans win, equaling the total notched by Ferrari ... both manufacturers are in second place in wins behind Porsche who have 16 overall wins.

What this 78th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans shows is that in the end it is endurance and perseverance that carries the day. Hats off to all the winners in class beginning with LMP1: #9 Audi Sport North America - Audi R15 TDI LMP2: #42 Straka Racing - HPD ARX.01 LMGT1: #50 Larbre Competition - Saleen S7R LMGT2: #77 Team Felbemayr Proton - Porsche 997 GT3 RSR Michelin Green X (completing the most laps on the least amount of fuel): #42 Straka Racing - HPD ARX.01.

... notes from The EDJE

PS. The Saleen which was named after Steve Saleen, is not raced by the Saleen Automotive Group in the US (formerly of Irvine, CA), nor does Steve Saleen of SMS (Corona, CA) have anything to do with it anymore. (DW)