Three years ago, Ford announced its transition into a mobility company. Through its Smart Mobility Plan, Ford envisioned a future need for infrastructure and autonomous tech that would outpace traditional vehicle manufacturing. At the time (and even now), this massive swing of the pendulum was a tough pill to swallow.
So far, Ford has stuck to its message, doubling down on smart infrastructure, testing semi- and fully autonomous vehicles, and appointing a technology leader to steer the entire company. Alas, much of Ford’s work has seemed heady – too futuristic or impractical for most of us to imagine integrating within our daily lives.
This latest announcement at CES 2018, however, is decidedly more applicable in the here and now. In an article on Medium, Sherif Marakby, Ford vice president of Autonomous Vehicles and Electrification, sums up the company’s latest partnership with Postmates.
“As the first on-demand partner for our self-driving vehicle program, we’re setting out together to explore new ways in which this technology can serve people living and working in our communities by offering more efficient deliveries, and by connecting more consumers to smaller and local businesses,” Marakby said.
Marakby goes on to explain that Ford’s vision is one where small businesses can reach customers they never could before with the help of its autonomous vehicle fleet. Postmates, for any of you who aren’t familiar, is an on-demand delivery service that will bring you anything from groceries to hardware store items via an Uber-like fleet of drivers. Ford’s goal is to even the geographical playing field between small and large businesses.
Ford and Postmates will initiate pilot programs this year to determine what, if any, on-demand delivery improvements are made thanks to autonomous vehicles. Ford will evaluate the experience for both merchant and consumer. Down the road (pun intended), all Postmates orders could be delivered by driverless cars.
Ford cites Postmates’ ability to quadruple sales for some retailers and its distinct impact on businesses in low-income communities (where perhaps families can’t afford a car) as a key reason for its partnership.
If this collaboration proves effective, we fully anticipate Ford will find new ways to employ its self-driving vehicles to the benefit of businesses and their customers.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.