auto parts: May 2013

Kudos to 2014 Impala

I took a look at a new Impala this morning, and I have to give GM props for the nice job they did on the body assembly. All of the panel gaps were small, the trim alignment was good, the doors shut tightly. The car looked expensive, even though it is a Chevrolet and not an Audi.

This car is a huge improvement over the car it replaces, the ancient w-body based 2006-2013 Impala. That car was so out of date, it was difficult for me to understand why anyone but fleets purchased it. And even the fleets had better choices.

The styling of the 2014 is clean, with a little sculpture and a little chrome, but a tasteful amount.

(Photo courtesy of Edmunds.com)

HTML5 blooper reel

I find bloopers infinitely amusing — mind you I’m talking about those that come on a reel, not those that happen for real. Missed deadlines, cost over-runs, IP disputes — these are the bloopers we all could do without.

Helping customers avoid bloopers is what we do — so to speak. Except it seems, when we put them in front of the camera. <grin>

Seriously though, no customers were hurt in the making of this video.

This compilation of bloopers from the HTML5 series highlights the professionalism of QNX customers, partners, and employees as well as their good nature.

Tesla Market Craziness

Tesla's stock drive through $100/share this morning, giving the company a market value of around $11 billion. That is more than Fiat/Chrysler ($8b) and almost as much as Porsche ($12b)!

That's nuts. This is speculation, I think.

#QNXLive Twitter Sessions Return!

Ask us your questions about self-driving cars and the secrets of the QNX Garage

Paul Leroux

We’re back for more of your questions. Back in December, we held our first #QNXLive Twitter sessions leading up to CES 2013; next week, we’re revving up for Telematics Detroit (June 5-6) with not one, but two #QNXLive sessions with experts from the QNX auto team.

Autonomous cars continue to captivate the popular imagination and are quickly becoming a reality. On Tuesday, May 28 at 4pm ET, Justin Moon, global technical evangelist,will give a preview of his Telematics Detroit panel, “The Autonomous Car: The Road to Driverless Driving” in his first #QNXLive session. Justin will share his thoughts on the latest developments in autonomous and assisted driving, how the industry defines “autonomous”, how your car is already autonomous in certain respects, and how self-driving cars will change your driving experience.

On Thursday, May 30 at 1pm ET, Alex James, concept development team software engineer, will take you Behind the scenes at the QNX Garage in his #QNXLive session. Have you ever wondered what a day looks like in the QNX garage for the concept design team? What does the team enjoy most about working in the garage? Alex will give you a behind-the-scenes look at the birthplace of the QNX technology concept car based on a Bentley Continental GT and the reference vehicle based on a Jeep Wrangler Sahara — both will be at Telematics Detroit.

You can submit your questions now or on the day of the Twitter sessions by tweeting @QNX_Auto with the hashtag #QNXLive. As usual, we’ll be sure to call you out if you asked a question that we selected.

Be sure to follow @QNX_Auto for next week’s live Twitter sessions – and the latest from Telematics Detroit. I’m looking forward to being your host for #QNXLive.

In the meantime, check out our recent posts on autonomous cars and the following videos:

Meet Justin Moon, product manager turned concept designer (Justin is nothing if not versatile: he's since taken on the role of global technical evangelist.)

Meet the QNX concept team: Alex James, software engineer

QNX technology concept car - Bentley Continental

Sad News Down Under

Ford has announced that they will cease manufacturing operations in Australia in 2016. Product engineering will continue. However, this may be the end for the indigenous Falcon vehicles, which include RWD V8 sedans and Utes (cars with open pickup beds).

GM has followed a different strategy, using Australia as an export base for the Holden based Pontiac G8 (defunct) and later the Caprice PPV, based on the same platform.

Tesla Pays Back ATVM Loans... But Why?

The big announcement yesterday in the auto business was that Tesla was paying off its ATVM loan off early.

I am puzzled by this, it seems from the outside like a bad business decision.

The ATVM loan was cheap money, carrying an interest rate equal to Treasury notes. Current 10 year notes are below 2%.

By paying off the ATVM loan early, Tesla traded the cheap government money for stock and a public bond offering of their own notes, also running at about 2% interest.

But Tesla could have done both--kept the ATVM loan and issued their own bonds--and had extra cash with which to develop the Model X and future less expensive vehicles.

Was this as simple as Elon Musk not wanting to be under some government oversight, and not wanting to be seen as a government supported enterprise?

Cisco study: people want a safer, more personalized driving experience

And they're willing to give up some of their privacy to get it.

Paul Leroux

Call me old-fashioned, but my hackles go up every time a web site or business asks me for personal information. My reaction is at once emotional and rational. Emotional because I'm a private person by nature; sharing details about myself simply goes against the grain. Rational because I know that people want this information more for their own benefit than for mine.

Does that mean I never share personal information? Of course not. Even if someone wants it primarily for their benefit, I may still enjoy some benefit in return. That said, I weigh the pro's and con's carefully. And I ask questions. For instance, who will have access to the information? And what will they do with it?

In effect, personal information becomes a form of tender — something I barter in exchange for a perceived benefit. And it seems I'm not alone.

Recently, Cisco published the results of a study on what car drivers would be willing to give up in exchange for a variety of benefits. For instance, 60% would provide DNA samples or other biometric information in return for personalized security or car security. And a whopping 74% would let their driving habits be monitored in return for lower insurance or service maintenance costs. Cisco sums it up in this infographic:

In autonomous we trust
The study also found that people are willing to embrace autonomous cars — but the enthusiasm varies significantly by geography. For instance, Canada trails the U.S. by 8 percentage points, but both countries are miles behind India or Brazil.

The study surveyed more than 1,500 consumers across 10 countries. That's only about 150 people per country, so I wouldn't put too much credence into this geographic breakdown. That said, the differences are dramatic enough to suggest that self-driving cars will see faster adoption in some countries than others.

For more on these and other findings, visit the Cisco website.

SOLD - AE 101 - Ceres - Half Cut

SOLD To Local Customer
This Half Cut Model Is CERES AE 101 - Engine 4A-GE - Black Top - 5 Speeds , Selling Together With All The Parts Shown In The Photos

Selling As Is Where Is Basis

To View Engine Revving, Click Video Below :-

General View Of The Half Cut

General View Of The Speedometer

Mileage Reading :- 091941 Kilometers Or 57,129 Miles

Engine Tag Information

Chassis Number

General View Of The Engine Bay

Inner Part Of The Engine

General View Of The Undercarriage

Five Speeds Gear Box

General View Of The Undercarriage

Bonnet - Dented

Driver Side - Headlamp And Signal Lamp - Damaged

Driver Side - Fender - Dented

Driver Side - Original Absorber With Brake Caliper And Rotor

Driver Side - Fender - Dented

Bumper With Signal Lamps - Good Condition

Passenger Side - Headlamp / Signal Lamp And Fender - Damaged

Passenger Side - Original Absorber With Brake Caliper And Rotor

Passenger Side - Fender - Dented

Rear Knuckle

General View Of The Half Cut

Will BEVs put auto service shops out of business?

Inside EVs asks, "Will Electric Vehicles Drive Mechanics Out Of Business?", after an article in The Street.

The answer is yes, mass electrification will eventually put some mechanics out of business.

The low-skill places like quick-lube joints will be really hurt. Independent ASE certified shops, and ASE certified chains like Midas will see a slow down, as brake changes will be much less often and exhaust systems will never need work. However, BEVs will still require cooling system repairs, air conditioning work, and suspension fixes.

Tire shops that specialize in tires and suspensions will do fine.

I expect that some independents and many large chains will invest in specialized tools and training, to be able to do BEV specific jobs like battery pack diagnosis/replacements, battery cooling system repairs.

I also expect that in time, a healthy market will develop in after-market high voltage batteries, where you will be able to buy a rebuilt battery pack for a competitive price from a 3rd party supplier, much like you can buy replacement 12v batteries today.

It may be very different, actually, than you expect, because we don't know which alternative fuel technology will win out. If consumers balk at the high cost of BEVs, and we don't have the elusive super-battery breakthrough, then we may see a long term shift to other energy storage forms. For example, we may have a large number of engines running on CNG in the future, as fracking accelerates and the prices continue to drop.

Since CNG engines are still combustion based, that path would have a busy future for today's mechanics.

Telsa's Profit

Tesla's profit this first quarter, $11 million, was due in part to income from selling EV credits in California to other automakers. Tesla made $85 million not from selling product, but from cashing in on environmental regulations.

This means that when you look at profit and loss from selling cars, Tesla is still losing money, at a rate of about $74 million last quarter. And this is after slowing down R&D work, delaying the Model X, likely to save cash.

The great autonomous car debate

Paul Leroux

When it comes to cars that drive themselves, are you for or against? Either way, you're bound to find fodder for your arguments in Six reasons to love, or loathe, autonomous cars, a recent CNET article co-authored by Wayne Cunningham and Antuan Goodwin.

Wayne is for, Antuan is against, and they both score good points. For instance, Wayne argues that autonomous cars will reduce accidents and help the elderly remain mobile. Antuan, meanwhile, warns of the potential for reduced privacy and the likelihood that driving will become less random — that last point may not sound like a drawback, but I found myself nodding in agreement.

Actually, I found myself agreeing with both writers on several points. Does that make me a fence-sitter or just someone with a balanced perspective? Read the article and tell me what you think.

Specs for Cars?

Tina Jeffrey

As Google Glass, the latest in experimental computer wearables, starts to make its way into the hands of select users, a multitude of use cases is popping up. For instance, a WIRED article recently explored the notion of your car being a ‘killer app’ for Google Glass. Now, you may not want to think of your car as a killer app, but let’s contemplate this use case for a moment.

Drivers wearing Glass could pair their new specs to their phone and instantly have a personal heads-up display (HUD) that overlays virtual road signs and GPS information over the scene in front of them. For instance:

Source: Google

Glass also understands voice commands and could dictate an email, display turn by turn directions, or set up and display point-of-interest destination data based on a simple voice command such as “Find the nearest Starbucks”.

This is all very cool — but does it bring anything new to the driving experience that isn’t already available? Not really. Car makers have already deployed voice-enabled systems to interface with navigation and location-based services; these services either run locally or are accessed through a brought-in mobile device and displayed on the head unit in a safe manner. ADAS algorithms, meanwhile, perform real-time traffic sign detection and recognition to display speed limits on the vehicle’s HUD. All this technology exists today and works quite well.

Catch me if you can
Another aspect to consider is the regulatory uncertainty created by drivers wearing these types of devices. Police can spot a driver with their head down texting on a cellphone or watching a movie on a DVD player. But detecting a driver performing these same activities while wearing a head-mounted display — not so easy. There’s no way of knowing whether the activities a driver is engaged in are driving related or an outright distraction. Unlike an HUD specified by the automaker, which is designed to coordinate and synchronize displayed data based on vehicle conditions and an assessment of cognitive load, a head-mounted display like Glass could give a driver free reign to engage in any activity at any time. This flies in the face of driver distraction guidelines being promulgated by government agencies.

Don’t get me wrong. Glass is cool technology, and I see viable applications for it. For instance, as an alternative to helmet cams when filming a first-person perspective of a ski run down a mountain, or in taking augmented reality gaming to the next level. (You can see many other applications on the Glass site.) But Glass is a personal display that operates as an extension of your cellphone, not as a replacement for a car’s HUD. Cars need well-integrated, useable systems that can safely enhance the driving experience. Because of this, I don’t believe that devices like Glass, as they are currently conceived, will garner a spot in our cars.

Another ATVM Borrower Fails

VPG, which designed (and actually built) a purpose-built vehicle for handicapped transportation, has shut down.

The company ran out of money before it could become self-sustaining, after burning through about $400 million in private capital and a $50 million AVTM loan.

VPG's MV1 mobility vehicle was basically a homely body on top of a Ford truck frame, and uses many parts from existing vehicles. It was well designed for transporting wheelchair bound passengers, with not much consideration for style. Besides being ugly, the MV1 is heavy and thirsty, with EPA mileage of 11/14 for the gasoline version.

Inline image 1

If you want to buy one, there are still a few for sale, priced around $40,000. Since they use a common Ford 4.6L V8 powertrain, service should not be an issue.

VPG at least made it to production, unlike Carbon Motors, the other famous failure in the purpose-built service vehicle sector.

Source: Detroit Free Press.

Elio, stalled?

It sounds like Elio Motors is having a hard time raising capital to fund development. According to KTBS, Elio has not raised enough money from private investors yet to build the next level of prototype, and is asking for seed money from the Louisiana parish where their plant would be located.

Caddo Parish should be very cautious. While jobs are great to have, it takes many millions of dollars to bring as complex a product to market as an automobile.

Chances are unfortunately high that Elio could wind up as another Fisker or VPG (who built cars and the flamed out) or Aptera (who never managed to actually deliver a finished vehicle.)

In the meantime, Elio is taking non-refundable reservations for the vehicle, and selling t-shirts.

I wish Elio luck, this would be a neat vehicle to see on the road, and it might be fun vehicle to drive if done right. But in the current climate, after numerous failures, raising money for a new car company is probably very, very hard.

Terrafugia's "Flying Cars"

Terrafugia, a company made up of MIT grads, has developed a "flying car", which is really an airplane that can be driven on roads to get from the garage to the airport.

It can only legally exist as an airplane and as a car due to a pile of regulatory exceptions, everything from weight (to still be classed as a LIght Sport Aircraft by FAA) to airbag and ESC exceptions by DOT.

So it is basically a small 2 seat airplane with steerable, non retracing landing gear and folding wings.

Don't get me wrong, this is an amazing engineering feat. But this thing is like a flying Aptera--a neat design study, but not a commercial proposition.

To "drive" one of these, you have to have a pilots license.

To drive one on public roads, you also have to be very carefree. Even a small fender bender could prove to have very dangerous side effects. And insurance--I can't even imagine what insurance would cost.

The dream of flying cars--soaring above the gridlock--has been with us for many decades. However, the practical reality is so complex, I just don't see them being affordable or practical for the average person even in the distant future.

I think the very wealthy would be better served buying personal helicopters, and the rest of us, we'll just telecommute.

SOLD - Aristo JZS 147 - Half Cut

SOLD To Customer From Miami, Florida, USA
This Half Cut Model Is Aristo JZS 147 - Engine - 2JZ - GTE - Auto , Selling Together With All The Parts Shown In The Photos

Selling As Is Where Is Basis

To View Engine Revving, Click Video Below :-

General View Of The Half Cut