Technology has its own form of survival of the fittest. Once-popular media formats are eventually pushed aside as the masses move on to the new, more convenient way to watch movies, listen to music or read books. DVDs are currently falling victim to this vicious cycle as on-demand streaming video has finally become widespread. CDs have been on a slow decline since the dawn of the iPod over a decade ago. (When’s the last time you brought a disc into the car?) And now the auto industry has started to ditch the disc as well.

Read about the death of the disc in the car in an article I wrote for Edmunds.com and PCWorld TechHive.

With automakers trying to display ads on our dashboards, even offering in-car discounts through location-based services, many drivers won’t appreciate the intrusions.

But according to a new survey from tech giant Cisco, a majority of drivers say they’re willing to trade personal information – including their DNA or fingerprints – if they can get a perk. Cisco’s Customer Experience Report found that 74 percent of respondents worldwide would allow companies to track their driving habits in order to save on insurance or maintenance costs.

It also found that 65 percent would freely give up their music preferences, in addition to their height and weight, for a more “customized vehicle and driving experience.” And almost 60 percent “would provide biometric information such as fingerprints and DNA samples” if the information could be used to unlock their car, start the engine – as seen on the previous-generation Audi S8, above – and set memory settings such as radio presets and seat positions for individual drivers.

Cisco polled 1,511 consumers across 10 countries to gauge “consumer preferences of technology used when buying and driving an automobile … and their trust in future automotive innovation.” Whereas drivers in the U.S., Europe and Japan were less inclined to allow their driving habits to be monitored in exchange for discounts and convenience, those in India, Brazil and China were significantly more agreeable to the trade-off.

For example, more than 90 percent of respondents in India and Brazil said they’d be either “somewhat willing” or “very willing” to share their driving habits for an insurance or maintenance discount. In Germany, that response fell to nearly 50 percent, the lowest among the 10 countries surveyed. About 75 percent of U.S. drivers, just above the average for drivers in all countries, were willing to share the same information.

The results were similar when those surveyed were asked whether they’d be willing to share biometric data such as fingerprints and DNA in order to “personalize security for a vehicle.” By this, Cisco means “personal biometrics data like fingerprints, eyes and heartbeat that allows unique identification of individuals for access and start of the vehicle.” Biometrics info could also be used to access personal data such as contacts and calendars.

More than 90 percent of Brazilian drivers and just over 80 percent of Indian drivers said they’d be “somewhat” or “very” comfortable” with sharing their biometrics with automakers. The percentage in the U.S. dropped below the 60 percent average in this case, but by only a few percentage points.

“We were quite frankly very surprised by this clarity of data,” Andreas Mai, director of product management for connected vehicles at Cisco, told MSN Autos. He said the issue of data privacy may not yet be as sensitive in emerging markets as in more developed nations. “Discussion on private data has been active for a long time in developed markets,” he said.

The study also measured whether car buyers prefer to shop online (83 percent) versus going to a dealership (17 percent), whether they trust third-party websites (47 percent) versus automaker websites (37 percent) and their desire for “more automated automobiles.” Again, Brazil (95 percent) and India (86 percent) led the pack on desiring self-driving cars, while the U.S. (60 percent) was just above the average of 57 percent.

The takeaway, according to Mai, is that technology is completely changing our relationship with cars — and particularly, our relationship with automakers and car dealers. For example, such driver monitoring will alert automakers to problems customers have with vehicles in real time and allow faster “fine tuning” of features.

“No one wants to compete on price,” he said. “Technology will play a fundamental role in a car owner’s relationship with a brand. It will become an important differentiator.”

Originally published by MSN Autos

That was the overall result when General Motors CEO Dan Akerson said his company could generate ad revenue through a new 4G connection in the car.

“What happens if, when the logo shows on your screen, it says, ‘Brought to you by Allstate?’” Akerson said last week in a conference call. “How many times is that going to pop? And how much can you get from Allstate?”

But GM isn’t the only automotive company bringing advertising to the dash.

Last year, Ford launched an application called Roximity as part of the AppLink feature for its Sync system. The “real-time, location-aware alert service” allows registered users to input individual preferences and interests to learn about special discounts and daily deals in an area, à la Groupon. As a driver cruises past businesses that have a deal or special that aligns with those preferences and interests, a notification pops up on the dash.

Roger Lanctot, associate director of Automotive Multimedia and Communications Services for Strategy Analytics, told MSN Autos that Harman has also shown a heads-up display that can show ads when a car is stopped at a traffic light.

Mark Boyadjis, senior analyst and infotainment manager for IHS Global, told us that “automated ads and/or suggestions are absolutely coming” but shouldn’t be a distraction or an annoyance.

“In this day and age, with the connected technologies we have in our vehicles and pockets, the cloud is able to determine specific metadata and tailor itself around you in real time,” he said. “Ads will be there, but only when you are looking for something.”

As with online ads on a computer or a mobile device such as a smartphone, marketers would know your location and preferences in a connected car to provide “contextual” advertising. Let’s say you’re a fan of Subway. As you drive near one of the sandwich chain’s stores, you could get an advertisement — and a discount on a sub — popping up on your dashboard display.

But Lanctot said that in-dash advertising of this type is not quite ready for drive time.

“Carmakers have a need to start exploring this kind of capability built around contextual awareness,” he said. “I think there’s an opportunity for in-car display ads, but clearly [radio] advertising is still the preferred means in this environment.”

While there are obvious advantages for those who opt in — and it’s essentially not much different from a website tracking your preferences and delivering targeted ads — Lanctot said they are outweighed by the disadvantages.

“Even if consumers are willing to share their personal info and contextual information with an off-board or onboard server or systems spitting out highly relevant and personalized ads, the value proposition is not sufficient to justify the potential distraction,” he said. “There are way more important safety and customer-relationshi​p objectives to pursue.”

Still, in a tech-driven world where any new advertising opportunity has even a hint of success, such in-dash ads are likely inevitable.

“It’s a concept that has a future,” he said, “but it is also a concept that does not have a present. This is neither the time nor the place for display advertising in cars. It’s a mistake, and a craven one at that, if it is being seriously considered.”

While potentially distracting, is targeted in-dash advertising of this type more relevant — and any less annoying — than radio ads? Would you opt in for discounts on services or even for a free ad-supported Internet connection in the car?

Originally published by MSN Autos

The best way to control infotainment features, particularly while driving, is through voice recognition. Press the button, say a command, and your wish — whether to call someone from your connected Bluetooth phone or navigate to an address — is granted.

At least that’s how it’s supposed to work. Although voice recognition is getting better, I’ve found the technology often doesn’t recognize simple commands such as changing a radio station. My standard voice-recognition test is to pick a difficult name from the contacts on my phone, say it and see whether the system can understand it and dial the number.

If that works, I progress to an even tougher test: inputting an address into the navigation system using only voice. I’ve noticed over the years that Chrysler vehicles with the company’s Uconnect system consistently have one of the best voice-command systems available.

It was the same on a 2013 Ram 1500 Laramie that I tested recently. And in this truck as well as other Chrysler vehicles, voice command has gotten even better.

That’s because Uconnect Access has what’s known as “one-shot” destination entry for the navigation system. This means you don’t have to speak an address in bits and pieces — state, then city, street and house number — like in most cars. Instead, you say it all at once, just like you’d read it to a real human being. You can see how it worked in the Ram in the video above.

Originally published by MSN Autos

But in the past few weeks, there’s been a flurry of news over Apple’s automotive ambitions, despite the company’s obvious snags in its new role as an industry supplier. One tech industry insider also suggested last week that Apple buy an existing cutting-edge automaker.

Through the dominance of its portable devices, Apple has, by default, ruled in-car connectivity for almost a decade. Now it seems the company is poised to make an even bigger play in the auto industry.

But while these thoughts probably thrill many Apple aficionados, as a tech journalist, I wouldn’t buy an iCar.

We reported last week that Apple recently filed two car-related patents. One is for a technology that works with Internet-connected parking garages to allow drivers to keep tabs on their cars and be guided back to them. Another allows an iPhone to take the place of a car’s ignition and locking systems, with the option of tailoring settings such as seat position and tuning to favorite radio stations for individual drivers.

It was also reported last week by 9to5 Mac that Apple “plans to move aggressively into the in-car integration space later this year.” According to the website, Apple is working closely with automakers to integrate Apple Maps and Siri voice recognition into cars.

But Siri isn’t news anymore. Apple announced at its World Wide Developer Conference in June 2012 that it was partnering with nine automakers to integrate a feature called Siri EyesFree that would use the “voice assistant” on a connected iPhone.

So far, only Chevrolet has introduced the feature, for the Spark and the Sonic as part of the MyLink system, and it’s also now available on Mercedes-Benz vehicles with the addition of an optional dealer-installed package called Drive Kit Plus. Honda also has said it will integrate the feature later this year, but none of the other automakers Apple named has immediate plans to implement it, according to Wired.com.

In a Bloomberg editorial last week, entrepreneur and early Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya suggested that Apple go way beyond being an automotive supplier and buy Tesla. Palihapitiya said he “would buy an iCar.” But I wouldn’t, even though I own plenty of Apple products.

Like Apple, the auto industry certainly has its own share of proprietary systems, particularly with infotainment. But there’s at least a certain level of cooperation, even among competitors. Examples range from the onboard diagnostic port to the HomeLink standard that allows owners to operate their garage door openers from almost any car.

Apple has always gone its own way by developing its own proprietary interfaces such as FireWire — and relenting to the more popular USB standard only once it became clear that the company couldn’t turn the tide. A more recent example was the introduction of the Lightning connector for the iPhone 5, which caused people who owned the phone to buy a $30 adapter if they wanted to charge the device and access its contents while plugged into a car’s USB port.

Of course, some would argue that an Apple-like design approach is just what automakers need for more seamless infotainment interfaces and portable device integration. And this explains why BMW’s ConnectedDrive applications integration system has been compatible with Apple devices for only two years now.

But with car technology moving toward a more open-source approach, cooperation and standards among car companies as well as technology suppliers will help solve some of the current compatibility issues. But Apple, as always, will likely continue to exist within its own walled garden.

For these reasons — and as someone who recently switched from a Mac back to a PC — I wouldn’t buy an iCar.

Originally posted by MSN Autos

Active safety systems are already migrating to  entry-level cars like the Ford Fiesta (at least in Europe). And when the all-new 2014 GMC Sierra pickup arrives in showrooms this summer, it will be the first full-size truck with active safety features, specifically Lane Departure Warning and Forward Collision Alert.

The Sierra will also be the first truck — and GMC will be the third General Motors brand behind Buick and Cadillac — to get the optional Safety Alert Seat that gives drivers a warning where they sit.

The Lane Departure Warning system uses a camera to detect when the truck leaves its lane and a turn signal isn’t activated in that direction. Forward Collision Alert also uses a camera to monitor vehicles ahead and determine the risk of a collision.

An icon of a vehicle crossing a dotted lane marker glows amber and flashes when the Lane Departure Warning system detects that a Sierra driver is inadvertently drifting out of his lane. Forward Collision Alert uses a vehicle-shaped icon in the instrument cluster that glows green when it detects a vehicle within range. The icon turns orange if the Sierra gets too close to a vehicle ahead, and red lights flash on the windshield and the driver receives an audible alert if the truck is bearing down on a vehicle too rapidly.

These are all industry-standard designs. The real novelty is what comes next if the driver doesn’t heed these warnings.

According to GM, with the Lane Departure Warning system, “a vibration in the left or right seat bolster directs the driver’s attention to the side of the lane encroachment.” If the Forward Collision Alert system senses a potential impending collision, both sides of the seat vibrate.

“It’s akin to someone tapping on your shoulder in a crowd to get your attention,” said GM safety expert Raymond Kiefer in a statement. With “alarm” fatigue” becoming an issue, Kiefer feels that transmitting an alarm to the body — and in this case, a more sensitive part of the body than the shoulder — makes a big difference in alerting a driver to danger.

“Using the tactile sense to communicate crash threat direction provides an effective and intuitive way to cut through the clutter of visual and auditory sensory information that drivers routinely experience,” he said.

While some automotive purists complain about such “nanny” technology, research has shown (.pdf) that systems like Lane Departure Warning and Forward Collision Alert help save lives. And anyone who has ever been next to a truck pulling a trailer knows that the pilot of a pickup — or any driver — can always use an extra set of eyes.

And if drivers grow tired of the audible, visual and tactile warnings of the Sierra’s safety systems, which are available as options on select trim levels, they can always turn them off.

Originally published by MSN Autos

Automakers are putting smartphone-like applications into their cars and conjuring up fuel-saving indicators such as Ford’s “efficiency leaves.” But how interested are car buyers in these bells and whistles, and how much are they willing to pay for them?

These are questions that a study from J.D. Power and Associates — fielded in March and based on responses from more than 16,500 vehicle owners about their interest in approximately 22 “primary technologies” — tries to answer.

Among respondents who replied that they “definitely would” or “probably would” purchase specific technologies for their next car, the highest percentage preferred what J.D. Power called “device application link” (aka smartphone app integration), fuel economy indicators and active shutter grille vents.

The study also gauges interest and purchase intent for emerging automotive technologies both before and after the “market price” is revealed. Of course, the level of interest among those surveyed usually drops when they see the final price.

Fuel-economy indicators and active grille vents had the lowest decreases in interest before and after the price was revealed. Among those surveyed, 76 percent said they “definitely would” or “probably would” add an active grille vent before knowing the price. (We were surprised that most respondents even knew about active grille vents, which open and close air intakes on the front of a vehicle to optimize aerodynamics and fuel economy.) Interest in that feature dropped to 61 percent when the average price of $150 was revealed.

For fuel-economy indicators, 79 percent of respondents were interested before the price was revealed, while 72 percent were still interested after learning its average price of $50.

“Vehicle owners are continually aware of rising fuel costs and the need for better fuel economy,” Mike VanNieuwkuyk, executive director of global automotive at J.D. Power and Associates, said in a statement. “As they have come to understand the benefits of new automotive technology, they are increasingly interested in those that allow them to manage their fuel consumption with greater efficiency and help better manage their cost at the pump.”

J.D. Power said that rapid adoption of smartphones has helped fuel the desire for in-dash apps. More than 67 percent of those surveyed had a smartphone, and ownership of traditional mobile phones has fallen to 28 percent in 2013 from 82 percent in 2007, when J.D. Power first started measuring mobile phone ownership.

In the 2013 study, 82 percent of respondents who owned smartphones said they were interested in cars with smartphone connectivity, particularly with apps (in 2012 it was 78 percent).  After the average price of app integration was revealed as $250, interest fell to 67 percent.

But as early car-tech adopters have learned, the first-generation app integration systems leave a lot to be desired — and can make frustrated drivers reach for their portable devices instead. J.D. Power’s Consumer Insight and Strategy Group tracked social media activity regarding emerging technologies and found that consumers think vehicle infotainment systems are “inferior to their smartphones and tablets and want more mobile apps and control of software updates to integrate with their vehicle.”

The study noted that owners keep their vehicles for five or more years, but that car technology “doesn’t keep pace with the introduction of new smartphones” and that there are still few ways to upgrade in-vehicle technology. It also suggested that car companies work more closely with technology providers, which as we’ve seen, is starting to happen.

With autonomous driving technology, the study found that car owners were “wary” and that the general interest of active safety features such as auto-braking “remain fairly low.” But it did reveal that interest in these features has risen compared with the 2012 study.

Here’s an easy, short list to remember the next time you’re out car shopping, courtesy of the study’s recommendations:

• Avoid paying for technology you don’t need.
• Look at how much fuel you use and compare it with what you’d really save with an optional fuel-saving feature.
• On a test drive, be sure to test all the technology so you’re not too surprised after a big purchase.

Originally published by MSN Autos

The iPod wasn’t the first MP3 player, and the iPhone wasn’t the first smartphone. But these products were more appealing than those that were already on the market. And you have to give the company credit for being a trailblazer in applications and tablets.

In a pair of recent filings with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Apple seems intent on applying both of these strategies to new features for the car. In one filing, Apple wants to patent “car-finder” features that are already offered on automaker smartphone apps and from independent third-party developers. In the other, the company wants to turn the iPhone into a car’s ignition.

The first patent application, “Method for locating a vehicle,” involves an Apple device pairing with a car’s Bluetooth system to determine whether the car is in a “parked state.” The iPhone would also confirm the car’s location by tapping into a parking structure’s location system (think “checking in” on Foursquare or Facebook). This stored info would later be used to guide the iPhone user back to the car. Coincidentally, Apple recently acquired “indoor GPS” company WiFiSlam, which develops technology that accesses location data within structures where GPS signals are often blocked.

Beyond just guiding you back to your car via a map on the phone, which several smartphone apps already do, Apple’s patent promises more. It involves using a parking structure’s connectivity — as well as its cameras — and a connection to the car to allow an owner to confirm whether the doors are locked, the windows are closed and the lights are turned off. Some of this can also be accomplished by automakers’ smartphone apps if the car has a built-in modem.

The second patent filing,  “Accessing a vehicle using portable devices,” is where Apple really gets creative — and may fulfill a dream of tech-savvy drivers to use their phone as a car’s keys. The patent details a method to not only unlock the doors with a mobile device using proprietary security methods, but also start the car and turn on the headlights. Your iPhone could even tailor vehicle settings such as adjusting the seats and mirror positions, turning on the radio and opening the sunroof based on stored credentials.

Swiss design firm Rinspeed, with an iPhone app built by Harman International, created such a system four years ago on its iChange concept car.

Apple’s system can support a primary and a secondary mobile device if more than one driver is using a car. Once passwords are established, the system can unlock and interact with the car depending on the driver profile. If the second driver is a teen, restrictions can be set for vehicle speed, number of uses and starting the engine only within a given time period.

Turning your iPhone into your key fob sounds great — as long as you never allow your iPhone’s battery to die.  And we know that never happens, right?

Originally published by MSN Autos

Driver distraction is nothing new. When the car radio was introduced in the 1930s, politicians and certain members of the public were concerned that distraction caused by the technology would wreak havoc on the highways. Before that, some even wanted to ban the rearview mirror for the same reason. combating

Of course, everything from eating behind the wheel to talking to passengers can cause drivers to not pay attention. But smartphones are now public enemy No. 1 since they’ve ushered in a Pandora’s box of new distractions: text messages, email, social media and Web browsing — not to mention Pandora itself.

While navigation apps may not come to mind as belonging to this category, a California judge recently ruled that fiddling with a smartphone for navigation purposes behind the wheel is illegal, equivalent to talking on the phone while driving. The case involved Steven Spriggs, who was cited for “driving a motor vehicle while using a wireless telephone.” Spriggs argued that he should not have received a ticket for using his phone while driving because he was using a map app.

While I agree that a driver shouldn’t be looking down at a tiny device while piloting a potentially lethal 2-ton slab of moving metal — or even holding a phone while making a call — court rulings and government regulations are not the most effective means of solving the issue. And automakers are already working on solutions.

Navigation apps have become popular with drivers because they can perform better than an automaker’s in-dash navigation system, and provide better value. While an in-dash system uses maps that quickly become outdated and can also be difficult and expensive to upgrade, many nav apps receive constantly refreshed maps.

And because of a smartphone’s cloud connectivity, nav apps can provide Internet-powered local search, compared with most in-dash systems’ static point-of-interest databases. In addition, many nav apps are inexpensive or even free, whereas in-dash nav systems can cost $1,000 or more.

As a result, automakers have been slowly adding features to their navigation offerings and also combining smartphone connectivity with in-dash systems. Toyota’s Entune infotainment system, for example, uses an app by the same name to bring local search into the car. The feature works with the car’s in-dash nav system to find services in a local area and leverages the connectivity of a smartphone.

Taking the concept a step further, with its MyLink system available for the Spark and Sonic, Chevy became the first car brand to allow using a smartphone navigation app as an alternative to an expensive in-dash system. That’s because MyLink is specifically designed to work with a smartphone. It doesn’t include a CD drive. Instead, MyLink relies either on music stored on a connected device or content streamed from a smartphone’s Internet connection, such as from Pandora Internet radio.

It also uses a navigation app called BringGo that can be operated via MyLink’s 7-inch touch screen. This way, drivers get the best of both worlds: up-to-date maps, connectivity and the low price of a nav app with the convenience of accessing features using the car’s larger display.

While it’s doubtful whether the same California judge would rule that using BringGo in a Spark or Sonic is illegal — or a policeman would pull someone over for it — since it would be the same as using an in-dash system, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration started down the same slippery slope. In announcing proposed guidelines for automakers last year to reduce driver distraction, NHTSA said it was considering banning moving maps in the dash.

Not only would this make most current in-dash navigation systems illegal — including MyLink and others that are sure to follow and make it safer to use smartphone nav apps – but it also would compel people to use their smartphones even more than they do now.

Originally published by MSN Autos

As automakers introduce cutting-edge infotainment systems that bring everything from connected navigation to social media into the dash, federal regulators want to reduce the driver distractions the technology can cause.

To that end, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued its first set of voluntary guidelines “that encourage automobile manufacturers to limit the distraction risk connected to electronic devices.”

Unlike most statements from NHTSA, the guidelines are not formal proposals intended to become law, such as the proposed requirement for all cars to have backup cameras and event data recorders.

The guidelines are designed to “establish specific recommended criteria” for automakers’ in-dash electronics that require drivers to take their hands off the wheel or eyes off the road to operate. The guidelines recommend that automakers develop infotainment system that limit the time drivers have to take their eyes off the road to two seconds for each input (for, say, finding an address using a navigation system) and 12 seconds to perform an overall task (such as inputting a destination and routing to it).

Moreover, as infotainment systems start to incorporate features that more drivers are asking for, such as hands-free text messaging and Internet access, NHTSA guidelines are also expanding to keep these features from becoming dangerous distractions.

The new guidelines recommend disabling specific operations unless the vehicle is stationary and shifted into park. These include manual entry of data for text messaging and Internet browsing and the display of text for Web pages and social media content. They also discourage playing video “and communications like video phoning or video conferencing.” Of course, many automakers already limit these — and more, such as certain navigation functions — while a car is in motion.

According to NHTSA, the recommended guidelines are based on the findings of a new agency-sponsored study involving drivers and mobile phones. It found that tasks such as text messaging, Web browsing and dialing a phone number took a driver’s eyes off the road for the longest amount of time. Unsurprisingly, the study found that text messaging  raised the risk of a crash or near-crash by two times over drivers who did not — and it took the driver’s eyes off the road for an average of 23.3 seconds.

In February 2012, two months after NHTSA called for a ban on all cellphone use while driving, including for hands-free devices, the agency issued preliminary technology guidelines that called for similar time limits for the driver to perform specific tasks. One early proposal suggested banning navigation maps from displaying moving images.

In August, NHTSA said it would dole out $17.5 million in funding to states with laws against distracted driving. While at least 39 states ban text messaging while driving, the idea of regulating the very functions of in-car infotainment is still up in the air.

However, no one is disputing there’s a problem with distraction. In November, a State Farm study found that Internet surfing on portable devices was increasing among younger drivers. For drivers 18 to 29 years old, the study found that those who checked e-mail while driving increased to 43 percent in 2012 from 32 percent in 2009, while those who checked social media networks while driving rose to 36 percent from 21 percent in the same period.

While some have argued that even talking on a phone hands-free while driving can cause distraction, NHTSA noted that the study didn’t uncover “a direct increased crash risk from the specific act of talking on a cellphone.” But it added that the use of a hand-held phone was “1.73 times more risky” since this involves 100 percent of a driver’s attention, and that hands-free cellphone use involves “visual-manual tasks at least 50 percent of the time” and is therefore associated with higher risk.

Some have also argued that by limiting the tasks that can be performed by automakers’ infotainment systems, connectivity-addicte​d drivers may be inadvertently directed to using their portable devices — and their small screens and controls — instead. That could make the problem of distracted driving worse.

According to Wired, NHTSA also plans to consider portable devices in the next phase of its three-part guidelines rollout.

“Until such time as the Phase 2 Guidelines are issued, the agency recommends that developers and manufacturers of portable and aftermarket devices consider these principles as they design and update their products,” the agency said.

Originally published by MSN Autos