You may be able to connect with your car in a lot of ways such as making hands-free calls, and many cars out there are able to connect with their manufacturers wirelessly when there is a need, but AT&T and GM want to take connectivity to a new level. The two companies have announced a partnership that will bring the AT&T LTE network to the Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac car models meant to go on sale in 2014 in the US and Canada.

As you might know, GM already provides customers with the service of OnStar for security alerts, directions and much more. The future LTE cars will have all those abilities along with more high tech features.

AT&T’s connectivity will be used for a variety of services including diagnostics, infotainment, and their main focus will be safety. We can think about a thousand things such as advanced voice recognition tech for better hands free abilities, or content streaming from services like Netflix, or maybe better communications between cars to avoid accidents, and so on.

All these new features will certainly help sell more cars which is good for GM. Just in case you are thinking about what’s in it for the wireless carrier, AT&T needs to spread their services beyond handsets for growing on the market where most people already own smartphones.

So, are you looking forward to an AT&T connected car? Or do you think that GM should have made a deal with Verizon or another carrier instead?

[Source]

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Although Detroit’s NAIAS is thought of as the first big auto event of the year, the presence of automobile giants at CES suggests that the Las Vegas event is fast becoming the kick-off of the year’s major auto events in regards to in-vehicle computing. We saw some interesting stuff at the automotive area of CES 2012 this year, one among which is the RoadRover Android-powered dashboard.

As you might know, the company already provides its service via a number of vehicle models such as Audi A3, Nissan Altima, Peugeot 407/408, Toyota Tundra, Chevrolet Captiva and others.

With the RoadRover Android system, you will be able to synchronize data among Android-powered devices such as smartphones and tablets.  You will have access to Android Market for playing with a lot apps from the comfort of your car and get access to Facebook updates and tweets via your connected smartphone.

They are also providing external USB camera support which lets you take pictures while traveling and you will be able to upload everything right away onto your Facebook profile. But for that also, you just need your handset. Let’s not forget about its navigation capabilities too.

[ source ]

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The Electric Networked Vehicle (EN-V) concept was revealed by GM last year in three “flavors” which were conceived by design teams all over the world. The company has started working on the next-generation EN-V concept vehicle as a part of their effort to make the two-seat, electric urban mobility concept materialize in the real world. GM is gearing up for pilot test demonstration programs in chosen megacities around the world. The EN-V vehicle will become part of the Chevrolet brand.

The next-gen EN-V concept will bear the Chevrolet badge and will possess a personal storage space, a climate control and all-weather and road operation features, but it will retain the pod-form of its predecessors. Lithium-ion batteries will power the most recent model and these can be recharged from a standard household outlet. The vehicle can run up to 25 miles on a single charge!

Together with the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Investment and Development Co. Ltd. (SSTEC), GM has signed a memorandum of understanding in order to integrate the EN-V into the Tianjin Eco-City for testing. Tianjin Eco-City is an eco-friendly city that will serve as the home of around 350,000 residents. It is being constructed at around 150km of Beijing and it is collaboration between the Singaporean and Chinese governments to create a place that will promote and practice environmentally-friendly habits.

The EN-V’s ability to communicate with other vehicles will help to minimize crashes and traffic congestion. Also searching for a vacant parking space will be easier, as well as finding the fastest route by using real-time traffic information.

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Finding fuel-efficient cars in Europe is nothing out of the ordinary. Many of them are very efficient diesels, for instance, but the diesel market in North America for smaller vehicles isn’t as established. However, the Jetta TDI will soon have some competition in the form of a diesel-powered Chevy Cruze.

This has been officially confirmed by GM CEO Dan Akerson. The car itself isn’t huge news, but the diesel Cruze will be the first diesel car out of Detroit since the 1980s. That’s a very long time. If you’re willing to accept something a little bigger, the last passenger vehicle diesel was a 2006 Jeep Liberty CRD.

Part of the concern for passenger diesels in the past was noise, but Akerson is saying that these new diesels are quiet and that they are able to make it in the low to mid-40s for fuel economy. By comparison, the diesel Jetta with an automatic transmission gets about 30mpg in the city and 42 on the highway. The gas-powered Cruze Eco gets 39mpg on the highway. It’s an issue of the chicken and the egg, but finding diesel pumps can cause some trouble for folks. Though as Detroit puts out more of these types of cars, that’ll likely change. Expect the diesel Cruze to hit American streets in 2013.

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Okay, the honeymoon period for the Chevy Volt is wearing on thin, so we’re left asking General Motors what they have done for us lately. As they prepare to enter the Korean market, GM has come forth with the Chevy Mi-Ray concept at the Seoul Motor Show.

Yes, it’s just a concept for now, but the hybrid roadster could add some edge and sportiness to the company’s “green” line of vehicles. Personally, I’m not a big fan of having those chunky lines all over the place, but apparently this design is inspired by a modern jet plane.

Korean for “future”, the Mi-Ray is an open top roadster too, so I don’t really anticipate that it’ll make it to showrooms in quite this form. There aren’t too many mass produced cars without roofs. The rear wheels are driven by the 1.5L four-banger behind the driver, while the front wheels get their grunt from two front-mounted 15kW (20hp) electric motors.

Yes, you get carbon fiber, carbon fiber-reinforced plastic, scissor doors, LED headlights, retractable cameras in place of sideview mirrors, and other niceties, but I’m not sold on the Mi-Ray. I do appreciate how companies are trying to move away from “boring” with their hybrids and EVs though.

[Read]

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A report released by Zpryme Research and Consulting to shed some light on brand loyalty going into the age of electric vehicles shows that, despite a year of recalls and bad press, Toyota fans remain the most loyal customers of any brand.

In the web-based survey of 1,046 U.S. drivers age 18-65, 57 per cent of Toyota owners indicated they would prefer to buy an electric vehicle of the same brand as their current car than that of any other brand, followed by Honda at 54 per cent and Ford at 48. By comparison, only 43 per cent of Chevy and Nissan drivers would buy an EV from the manufacturer of their current car, followed by 28 per cent of Hyundai drivers and only 18 per cent with a GMC.

“I think there’s two compelling cases we’ve found here,” said Zpryme managing director Mark Ishac in an interview with Mobile Magazine. “Regardless of Toyota’s subpar year last year and recalls, they still have a substantial consumer base that believes that they still want to purchase those products. They still believe in the Toyota brand.

“That’s huge,” says Ishac.

According to the report, Hyundai, Chrysler, Dodge and GMC’s lower numbers suggest the brands are “less inclined to be associated with new technology and will struggle should they decide to enter the EV market without a branding effort to redefine themselves as manufacturers of compelling EVs.”

But that doesn’t mean the drivers of those brands aren’t looking to make the switch. Despite the fact that they aren’t likely to buy an EV sporting the same mark as the car they’re currently driving, 45 per cent of Hyundai drivers expressed they’re likely to buy an electric vehicle in the next two years – more than the drivers of any other brand. Nissan and Toyota both stand at 43 per cent, followed by GMC and Honda at 36 and Chevy and Ford at 35 per cent.

“Hyundai owners have been known to be very cost-conscious,” says Ishac. “You could say that the same thing about the GMCs: Traditionally, a very cost-conscious group. Those are SUV and truck drivers, so with the gas prices, they see the electric vehicles are a cost-saving alternative.

“It’s not necessarily a natural transition for an SUV or a truck owner to move into the electric vehicle segment, but it’s very appealing that they could save money in the long run with the electric vehicle,” he says.

At the bottom end of the results, Dodge and Chrysler drivers seem to be some of the least apt to adopt the new technology, and if they did, they’re even less apt to buy electric cars from the same mark as what they’re currently driving.

But brand loyalty won’t have a lot of sway in the beginning, Ishac says.

“The one interesting aspect of the electric vehicle market is that it’s really going to be spearheaded by the advocates and the evangelists. They’re more excited that there’s an electric vehicle market available rather than a brand.”

Zpryme also believes that disenchantment with a certain make or model of EV is unlikely to be tied to any companies in the beginning, he says. “For example, the Chevy Volt – at least, based on a new consumer report survey – didn’t get very rave reviews. But that won’t necessarily hurt the Chevy brand.

“I think those early adopters are just happy to reserve the car, to have their car and that it’s electric…It’s more about selecting an electric vehicle that best fits your needs rather than the best brand” for the first round of purchasers, he says.

[Zpryme via PDF report]

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