Mercedes Teases Concept Robo-Car

Automotive blogs have been chattering for months and yesterday Wired published it's first take:

Before letting any press within a few miles of the F 015, Mercedes stressed that it’s only a prototype, without the fit, finish and finesse you might expect from a Mercedes. Smart move, because this thing runs like a 70’s-era Jaguar with dodgy electrics. The touch screens are unresponsive. The buttons that open the door don’t always work. It can’t handle the heat of a pleasant Bay Area day, in part because much of the car is made of plastic that changes shape in hot weather. The trunk is stuffed with computers that don’t like the heat either, so when the car wasn’t running, Mercedes pumped in cool air with a hose. After the car stopped with our photographer onboard, the autonomous system wouldn’t turn back on.

None of this matters, because Mercedes has 15 years to get that sorted. What’s important here is not the tech, but the car wrapped around it. The exterior design emerged from informal competitions among Mercedes designers, and the F 015 as it is today was born from a concept its designer called the LED Zeppelin, because it would use light emitting diodes and is shaped a bit like a blimp (proving some Germans have a sense of humor, or at least appreciate a good pun). It’s not supposed to look like a bar of soap wrapped in aluminum foil, even if it does. It is stunning, if only because it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen.

Viral Video Of The Day

600K views for this BMW ad in just a few hours.

Paging One Million Moms...

One Million Moms is likely to blow a fuse over a new hip-hop heavy Toyota commercial that features a young girl who begins her rap, "Listen up, motherfathers." But OMM will have lots of company as the ad is getting blasted from all sides. According to the car blog Jalopnik, the ad for the Sienna is "proof that the ad industry has run out of ideas."

I saw the video Friday night after a few car blogs posted it. Everyone generally agreed it was ridiculous. But then Twitter caught a hold of it and all the accusations of cultural appropriation started flying. Here's my beef: I couldn't give a shit about cultural appropriation. I'm not here to talk about how pissed I am that Macklemore won a Grammy over Kendrick Lamar or why Iggy Azalea has the most popular rap song right now. White people doing rap is a debate that should have fizzled out a decade ago and really, I don't care either way. What I don't get is why Toyota and other companies keep doing this, this whole "let's put a bunch of clearly awkward white people in a hip-hop setting and laugh at them because it's a whole inside joke we shouldn't be taking seriously"-type advertising. Isn't the inside joke played out? Like using blue liquid in tampon ads? There's no other way to get the point across?

Stereogum has posted a recap of music, car, and pop culture sites that are denouncing the clip.

Google Demos Self-Driving Car

This Is An Ad For Something

I especially dig the ponytail move.

(Tipped by JMG reader Blair)

New Chevy Ad Shows Gay Families, Will Be Aired Tonight During Sochi Opening

GLAAD cheers via press release:

Earlier this week we saw the first gay families included in a Super Bowl ad, and tonight we see the first gay families included in an Olympics Opening Ceremony. "Chevrolet has nailed it with ads that truly reflect the fabric of our nation, which today includes gay and lesbian families," said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. "Recent LGBT-inclusive ads like these not only raise the bar for the advertising industry, but also reflect the growing support and acceptance of LGBT people. It's about time my children were able to turn on the television and see families like their own represented in mainstream advertising." This first spot focuses on genuine moments between real families to show, per the ad's own narration that "while what it means to be a family hasn't changed, what a family looks like has." The second sixty-second spot takes a wider look at society through the lens of social media and includes both a gay couple and a nod to gay teen science prodigy, Jack Andraka.

Just fantastic. The sadz will be deafening!

The 2014 Ford Canyonero

Source. (Tipped by JMG reader Jeff)

CALIFORNIA: Court Tosses Ticket For Driving With Google Glass

A California court yesterday threw out the first-ever ticket for driving while wearing Google Glass, saying that there was no proof that the device had been in actual use. Advocates for the device had launched a social media campaign in support of the driver.

Southern California resident Cecilia Abadie appeared in San Diego traffic court on Thursday for speeding and for wearing Google Glass while driving. It is considered the first time someone has been cited for wearing the face-mounted technology while driving. Commissioner John Blair threw out both charges, stating there wasn't enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the Google Glass was turned on at the time. It is only illegal to wear the device while driving if it is operational. Abadie was pulled over in October for speeding by the California Highway Patrol. The officer then cited her for wearing Google Glass under California vehicle code 27602, which prohibits operating a video-display in front of the driver's head rest where it can distract the driver. The law was originally drafted to keep people from watching TV while driving.

Three states specifically outlaw using the device while driving: Delaware, West Virginia and New Jersey. A similar bill was introduced in New York earlier this week. 

NEW YORK: Assembly Gets Bill To Ban Google Glass Use While Driving

New York state Assemblyman Felix Ortiz (D-Brooklyn) has introduced a bill banning the use of Google Glass while driving.

"I will continue the fight to keep our highways safe as I have done for many years,” said Ortiz, who referred to Google Glass as "extremely dangerous technology." Ortiz was also responsible for spearheading a bill in 2001 to outlaw the use of handheld cellphones while driving. He hopes the new legislation will expand the existing law to include Google's high-tech specs, he said. Ortiz cited the case of a California woman who was ticketed for speeding while wearing the $1,500 glasses in October as an example of why this legislation is needed. The woman, Cecilia Abadie, posted her ticket online, asking for legal advice.

Google opposes the bill.

Google Glass has the potential to make driving safer, not more dangerous, the Google spokesman said. An app called DriveSafe, created by developer Jake Steinerman, keeps drivers awake, alert, and informed while behind the wheel, the spokesman said. By simply saying, "OK Glass, keep me awake," the Glass wearer gets audible alerts if Google Glass senses that the driver is dozing off behind the wheel. "I think those trying to ban Glass while driving stems from a fear of the unknown," said Steinerman, who said he regularly drives while wearing his Google Glass.

Google Glass is still not available to the general public.

Top Ten States With Worst Drivers

An insurance company provides the above ranking based on per capita tickets for speeding, careless driving, and failure to obey traffic signals.  Other rankings have yielded different results by calculating the per capita rates of DUIs and fatal crashes. (Tipped by JMG reader Jack)

Meet NYC's New Taxi

Promo clip by Nissan. I will always miss the Crown Vics.

Quote Of The Day - Tom Comstock

"I told God, if he's going to save me from death from this and he doesn't send me a boyfriend, I'm going to call a party foul." - Portland resident Tom Comstock, after pieces of lumber speared the cabin of his SUV when he was rear-ended during rush hour traffic. Emergency room doctors gave him a tetanus shot and told him to go buy a lottery ticket. KATU-TV has video and more photos at the link. (Tipped by JMG reader Bobby)

Hummin 4 Jesus

Source.

Black Boxes In Every Car By 2014

Associated Press: "Over 90 percent of new cars are being made with a black box. Similar to a flight cockpit recorder, it is called an Event Data Recorder -EDS. It records everything that is happening in your car. At issue is your right to privacy."

Luxury Cars Fail New Crash Test

Many of the most expensive luxury cars have failed a new crash test sponsored by the Insurance Institute. The new test examines the results of front-corner crashes, one of the most common angles of crashes in two-way traffic.

Most midsize luxury cars — including the Mercedes-Benz C-Class — performed poorly in a new frontal crash test developed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. [snip] Good scores are also frequently touted in car ads. Of the 11 cars tested, only the Acura TL, Volvo S60 and Infiniti G earned good or acceptable ratings from the institute, which is funded by insurers. Four cars — the Acura TSX, BMW 3 Series, Lincoln MKZ and Volkswagen CC — earned marginal ratings. Four others — the Mercedes C-Class, Lexus IS 250, Audi A4 and Lexus ES 350 — earned poor ratings. Marginal or poor ratings indicate the cars wouldn’t protect occupants very well in a real-world crash.

The results indicate that airbags are largely ineffective in angled crashes and that seat belts unspooled enough to allow dummies to slam forward into the dashboard and windshield. Mercedes has denounced the study, but Toyota says it will incorporate the new data into future designs.

In Loving Memory

Source.

Chevy Volt Goes Gay-Friendly

Source. (Tipped by JMG reader Danny)

Dogs In Cars

Source.

How To Sell Cars In Texas

Copyranter sez: "He is a neighborhood-watching hero. I wouldn't wear your hoodie to John Keating Chevrolet"

NYC's New Taxi Debuts

As I blogged about several times last year, New York City held a contest to replace its fleet of Crown Victoria taxis, which are no longer being built. My personal favorite, the futuristic entry from Turkey, was not selected. The winning Nissan entry debuted this week at the New York Auto Show.

The city’s first purpose-built cab will host myriad bespoke features calibrated to the distinctive needs of New York’s taxi users. These include a standard driver’s navigation system that will preclude ever again having to explain which numbered streets precede and follow West 17th, a panoramic glass roof for staring up at the young men on those Hollister billboards, a low-annoyance horn tuned to a frequency that’s only audible to other cabbies (or so we hope), one 12-volt and two USB charging ports so all your batteries will be as fresh as the scent inside the cabin, fuel-economy numbers that double those of the neolithic Ford, and antibacterial pleather seats that provide lower rates of Ebola transmission than most other fabrics.

Meh. I guess the USB port is a nice touch, but I can't see the average taxi ride providing useful charging time. And that glass roof is gonna be a bitch in the summertime.