Automotive Archives - Joe Barkai

May 27

Rusakovsky Tram Park (Samuil Adlivankin, 1928)

Questioning Ethical Standards for Autonomous Cars

By Joe Barkai Automotive, Autonomous, Connected, Electric, Shared Vehicles No Comments

We expect much from the autonomous cars of the future.

We want them to be better drivers than us humans. We want them to handle driving tasks effectively and safely, avoiding fatalities, injuries, and property damage. And we expect these them to be a significant factor in reducing car crashes that kill 1.35 million people every year, more than half of whom are pedestrians, motorcyclists, and cyclists.

And when faced with complex driving situations, we want the autonomous car of the future to maneuver them gracefully and in a manner accepted by society. We continue to debate the intricacies and myriad variations of the Trolley Problem and the details of the technology we expect will one day deliver the appropriate behavior.

May 05

Intel’s Mobility-as-a-Service Strategy

By Joe Barkai Automotive, Business Strategy No Comments

Intel Corporation announced it has acquired Israeli mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) company Moovit for approximately $900 million. Moovit’s product is an urban mobility app with particular focus on public transit that helps travelers planning their daily commute by combining public transportation, bicycle and scooter services, ride-hailing, and car-sharing.

According to Intel, the app is used by 800 million customers and transit services in 3,100 cities across 102 countries.

This is the second highly visible acquisition of an Israeli company by Intel. In 2017, Intel acquired Mobileye, a provider of computer vision for autonomous driving technology, for $15.3 billion — the biggest-ever acquisition of an Israeli tech company. Moovit will join the Mobileye business unit and will retain its brand and existing partnerships.

May 04

Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster) (Andy Warhol, 1963)

Auto Industry’s Short-Term Crisis and Long-Term Decline Risk

By Joe Barkai Automotive, Business Strategy No Comments

The rapid spread of the coronavirus is having a devastating impact on all business sectors and is throwing the economic outlook into uncertainty. Arguably, no other manufacturing sector has been impacted more than auto manufacturers and their suppliers.

Automakers are seeing their revenue and profitability nearly disappearing overnight as potential buyers are stuck in lockdown and shun spending large amounts of cash.

And car manufacturers are also bearing the financial burden of supporting tens of thousands of furloughed employees.

May 01

His Master’s Voice: Why Automakers are Wrong About In-Car Voice Assistants

By Joe Barkai Automotive No Comments

Bullitt, Tell Me a Joke

Automakers are flaunting future cars equipped with voice recognition systems. At the recent Mercedes-Benz Voice of the Car Summit, company and guest speakers discussed innovation in speech recognition and speech control, and described a fanciful future in which you can not only use your voice to control the car’s inside air temperature, but also have a semi-intelligent dialog with your car’s built-in assistant.

Judging by the very passionate speakers at the event, there are individuals who actually like to hold conversations with their cars. They even give them names (mostly female names, although “Bullitt” was also showcased) and use them not only while in the car, but also when talking about it.

Mar 30

Des gens dont le soleil rjouit peu la vue (Honore Daumier, 1855)

Developing the Electric Vehicle Market – Technology vs. Mindset and Attitude

By Joe Barkai Automotive, Autonomous, Connected, Electric, Shared Vehicles No Comments

Traditional Automakers and Vehicle Electrification

The danger facing traditional automakers charting their future in the nascent electric vehicle market is not electric powertrain technology, it is in their mindset and attitude.

The tallest hurdle on the way to mass-market adoption is not in charging infrastructure and battery supply chain, it is the headwind caused by the combined impact of new markets, new customers and new regulations.

I find recent conversations with Ford Motor newly appointed COO Jim Farley and Thomas Ingenlath, the CEO of Polestart (a Volvo company), a good illustration of the deeply rooted differences in mindset and attitude between the two companies.

Automotive