Comparison: 2014 Ford Focus Electric vs 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV

Before we had to return the Focus, it seemed prudent to take a moment to see just how much electric vehicles have progressed in the last three years. When we first acquired the Focus in 2014, it was a competitive, albeit with a few shortcomings, vehicle among the rather small class of available EVs. During that time, we have gotten to see the EV landscape evolve significantly as the cars have gotten a lot more capable and the availability of charging infrastructure has improved dramatically, both in terms of more available Level 2 and both the speed and availability of Level 3 DC fast charging. Comparing our outgoing Focus Electric with our newly acquired Bolt EV allows us the opportunity to really examine just how significant those changes are and what that means for the future of EVs as we see more manufacturers make commitments to joining the EV marketplace.

Editorials: Car owners not using technology they paid for indicates bigger problem

Image courtesy of GM.com

In a recent study done by JD Powers, some 20 percent of new car owners do not know how to use half of the technology that they have paid for even three months after purchase. That three month period is considered the sweet spot for adoption of new technologies when an owner purchases a new vehicle so the fact that there is a rather sizable number of people who spend the money but do not actually use the technology should give manufacturers and consumers pause. I see this being a problem from a few different perspectives.

For consumers, this means that new technologies are probably being bundled together in a way that more desirable and adoptable technologies such as navigation systems or blind spot detection are combined with systems that people are not using such as in-vehicle concierge services and WiFi hotspots. As much as I dislike the idea of having a car where every single item is a separate option and it is next to impossible to find your exact combination on a dealer's lot, I also feel that consumers are getting cheated here because the bundling of unwanted technology with more desirable technology is a way to drive up the final selling price of the car. It also means saddling a car with more things that impact fuel economy, packaging, and reliability in the long run.

For manufacturers, the fact that these new technologies represent possibly millions in resources, contracts, or research costs means that must be recouped somehow. That means raising the cost of vehicles to compensate, but also adds to the challenges of bringing a vehicle to market that meets the fuel economy, safety, and reliability expectations of buyers without giving consumers sticker shock. In a lot of ways, if funds spent on developing these less desirable technologies were funneled into improvements in other areas, such as increasing fuel economy to meet future CAFE standards or improving integration with widely available and adopted smartphone technologies, that would be a wiser investment on the part of manufacturers.

For dealers, these less desirable technologies represent a conundrum. Because of how they are bundled, salespeople are often saddled with the unenviable position of explaining to a potential customer why the technology is worth paying extra for. That means they need to work harder for every sale and makes the relationship with the consumer that much more contentious if the consumer does not want or care for the additional technology. Some of the new technologies, however, are great marketing tools and represent a whiz-bang factor that can help sell cars to less informed buyers, but for those in the know, it is just another hurdle in the process.

Image courtesy of Android.com

The real problem is that many of these less desirable features are ones that seldom get used aside from serving as a good parlor trick to show friends how cool your new car is. Rather than wasting everybody's time on these types of things, it makes the most sense for dealers to make it clear to manufacturers what people actually want, for manufacturers to stop investing money in areas that are largely unused by consumers, and for consumers to start demanding that these unused technologies start to be replaced by genuinely useful innovations.

On my own Ford Focus Electric, I would happily have traded in the Ford Sync system for Android Auto. It would have saved Ford millions in R&D and public derision and I would be a lot happier.

News: Volvo and Jaguar-Land Rover introduce car safety tech to protect cyclists

It warms my heart when I see automakers doing things to make cycling safer. As cars and bikes continue to increasingly share space on public roads, the addition of new technologies to allow the two modes of transport to coexist. Many of these technologies simply focus around awareness, making drivers more aware of the presence of bikes in their immediate vicinity or cyclists more aware of upcoming cars. Primarily, Volvo and Jaguar-Land Rover have created new tech that they hope to incorporate into future cars to help drivers and cyclists to be safer together.

Volvo's approach is a two-way communication system that requires both technology in their cars as well as technology in cyclist's helmets. By allowing the helmets to communicate with the cars, it is possible to make drivers aware of the presence of a cyclist, helping to reduce accidents that result from drivers failing to notice a cyclist in their blind spot. Additionally, since the communication happens in both directions, the helmet will also warn the cyclist of the presence of a nearby car. The technology relies on Volvo's cloud network that links their vehicles in order to feed the data to the cars or apps which the smart helmets would be linked to, so it is likely that some kind of subscription may be required. And while this technology sounds like it has great potential, the relatively small number of new Volvo cars on the road today in the US means that we will likely see limited effectiveness of this technology unless other manufacturers also begin to adopt it.

Jaguar and Land Rover, however, are taking a totally different approach. Instead of relying on a two-way communication system, JLR's setup, known as Bike Sense, uses the various sensors already in the car for various existing safety tech and adds a layer of notifications on top specific to cyclists. For instance, if a cyclist is nearby, the car will notify the driver by playing the sound of a bike bell through the audio system. If a cyclist is detected in the blind spot, the car will use the air bladder in the shoulder bolsters to tap the driver on the side that the bike is approaching from. In addition to audio and physical cues, visual cues are incorporated as well using a series of LED lights hidden in the pillars and upper door panels that change color as a a cyclist approaches. And in a stroke of absolute genius, JLR has also incorporated door handles that vibrate if a cyclist is approaching, helping to reduce incidences of dooring. Best of all, the tech is calibrated to work with not only bicycles, but can apply to motorbikes as well.

While this kind of technology is still fairly rare, it is great to see that the automakers are recognizing the importance of their 2-wheeled compatriots on the larger transportation landscape. This kind of technology investment, especially as cars become increasingly aluminum intensive, and thus more costly to repair, should help cyclists be better protected, but should also help car owners to protect their investment as well. Plus, the added bonus of making our roads safer for everyone is a reality that cannot be ignored. As an avid cyclist, I am excited to see how this kind of technology continues to develop and hope that the increased awareness by drivers can lead to even bigger systemic changes in the future.

Click past the jump to read more about these exciting new safety technologies.

Editorial: Regulating smartphone apps for drivers might not be such a bad thing

This past weekend, I, along with what felt like every single person in the Boston metro area, headed down to Cape Cod to enjoy the official start of summer. Getting down there, we mapped the route and took advantage of the information that Google crowd sources through Waze to try to avoid the accidents and excessively heavy congestion. As grateful as I am for the access to the information, I cannot help but wonder if in the process of collecting the individual data points from users, smartphone apps like Waze might be inadvertently contributing to the very problem it was intended to help people avoid.

Driving down the road, it was clear that many of the drivers on the road were busy looking down at their phones and not paying attention to the road. For example, the number of people camped out in the left lane at just under the speed limit, too busy gazing deeply into their phone to bother to check their rear-view mirror periodically. The same thing appeared to happen on the return trip with a number of people seemingly totally unaware of a fast approaching ambulance, lights and sirens blaring.

This week, the NHTSA and the White House announced a new proposed transportation bill that would place limits on smartphone map apps that many users may utilize while behind the wheel. While it is too early to know exactly how they may go about actually implementing such regulations, it already has many smartphone hardware and software makers rather anxious. Automakers, on the other hand, are quickly getting behind such regulation. While at first glance, even the proposal of such regulation might seem like government overreach of the worst kind, but there might just be a silver lining to this situation.

Image courtesy of Autoblog.com

The smartphone and in-car infotainment industries have been on converging paths for sometime now. As smartphones have gotten more powerful, people have become ever more reliant upon them to replace older in-car systems such as CD players and even built-in navigation systems. For many drivers, the ability to play their music and access their phone book is now a prerequisite for purchasing a car. However, the in-car experience currently often requires actions that take the driver's attentions from the road, causing everything from minor inconvenience to major accidents. Perhaps this legislation, or even just the mere threat of it, will accelerate the pace of integration of smartphones as the primary device powering the in-car infotainment experience.

Earlier this year, Apple announced the first major step towards full smartphone integration with its CarPlay standard. Google is hard at work on an integration for Android devices in collaboration with the Open Automotive Alliance. Taking advantage of the ever increasingly powerful smartphone devices that nearly all of us carry with us wherever we go anyway allows automakers to focus less on unsuccessfully trying to create an in-car infotainment experience (I'm looking at you, Cadillac) and instead focus on giving us great cars while allowing us to use the already powerful smartphone-bound applications we already have access to.

While I have my reservations about allowing access to certain apps from behind the wheel, I can see the tremendous value in allowing drivers to make ever greater use of the always upgradeable device in our pockets instead of relying on something built into the car that will easily be outdated almost by the time it rolls off the dealer lot.

Editorial: Why Google's Self-Driving car is a good thing for everyone

Image courtesy of Adweek

Much has been made this week about the news from Google that the self-driving car is advancing along at a right steady pace. In fact, they showed footage of people giving their latest demonstrator, a rather cute little thing with a a slightly doe-eyed face on it and has no steering wheel or pedals, a spin. Many people, particularly car enthusiasts, lament it as the first nail in the coffin of the American car culture. Others whinged at the potential legal ramifications and debated the issue of legal liability in case the self-driving car was involved in an accident. Whatever the reason, people saw lots of negatives in this technology instead of seeing the potential positives this has for just about every possible road user.

Long Term Test: 2014 Acura MDX FWD Tech post #1

Long-term Introduction
Current Mileage: 1,857

Our new 2014 MDX (Left) with the old 2011 MDX (Right)

Our family has actually owned at least one version of each generation of MDX to date. The MDX has always been the luxury workhorse in the family, providing ample space to haul boxes of documents for work, or seven people and their luggage for vacation. Each successive MDX our family has owned has gotten bigger, but it has also gotten better in some way. The 2014 MDX that we picked up on the same day we picked up our 2014 RLX is better than the 2011 MDX we previously owned in virtually every way, except for the fact that this is the first MDX we have owned that does not have AWD.

Wanting to find out if the new MDX could still hustle as quickly as the old one, even without SH-AWD, we took the car out on the Palos Verdes Peninsula to thrash on it a bit. Here, there are some great twisty roads that run right along the coast, offering not only a fun place to drive, but spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean and Catalina Island. With the MDX's new Integrated Dynamics System (IDS) and transmission set to sport, we made our way up and over the hills to plunge down towards the water, me in the MDX and East Brother following in my S2000 with GoPros attached.

Innovation: Hacking cars

Image courtesy of Forbes.com

Innovation is a funny thing. Often times, it has a lot of great potential to do amazing things and drive progress, but there can be unintended side effects. With cars, as computers have become increasingly integrated into ever increasingly more aspects of the average car's functions, it was only a matter of time before someone discovered that you can tap into the car's computers and start to take over some of the functions. Much of this had been restricted in the past because there was no easy way to connect to a car driving along the road, but as manufacturers have started to add wireless and cellular connections to their vehicles to take advantage of the wealth of information on the Internet, they have also inadvertently exposed those cars to hacking from the outside.

But hacking, as a term, gets a bad reputation. Sure initially hackers were considered evil, building malicious code to gain access to protected resources or breaking through barriers to gain access to private data, but in recent years, hacking has also come to signify taking a very stock item and finding a unique way to use it or to personalize it to your own needs. With cars, we have been hacking ECUs for decades now. Many aftermarket companies have developed ways to hack the programming on the ECU of a fuel injected car to adjust everything from the fuel map to ignition timing to variable valve timing transition point and using all of those things to compensate for modifications that have been applied to the car to optimize the performance. This kind of hacking has been a boon to performance cars and has allowed the addition of massive power to virtually any car through the application of forced induction.

Long Term Test: 2014 Acura RLX P-AWS Tech post #1

Long-Term Introduction

Current mileage: 534

With the 2011 Acura RL Tech now officially back in the hands of Acura Financial, we welcome the newest vehicle to our garage: the 2014 Acura RLX Tech P-AWS. Fitted with the latest drivetrain and interior technology that Acura has to offer, the RLX represents a nice upgrade from the now defunct RL. Sporting a 3.5L direct injection V6 motor making 310-hp, a 6-speed automatic transmission driving the front wheels and joined by Acura's new precision all-wheel steering system, the car sheds the signature AWD system in an effort to improve the fuel economy while still maintaining some of the sporty character that the torque vectoring SH-AWD system used to provide.

We tested this car when it first came out last year, and, to be honest, our initial impressions were good, but not great. The interior was nice, with the new two screen arrangement of the center console and huge rear seat, but the outside was a little bland and the steering too soft. Of course, first impressions can be overridden by spending more time with a car and in the case of the RLX, it makes a big difference. I drove it around Southern California for a few hundred miles over the course of a two week period and any initial skepticism for the car was replaced with reserved admiration. Depending on how you use it and what your expectations are, the RLX will either be a big disappointment or a real gem.

Allow me to explain.

Innovation: Audi Traffic Light Assist

Image courtesy of Yahoo! Autos

It is rare that new driver assist technology catches my attention these days as I find much of it extraneous and believe that it has a tendency to promote laziness and poor driving habits. However, at CES this year, Audi introduced a new piece of technology that not only has my interest, but just might be something that I would actually use myself. Called Audi Traffic Light Assist, the technology showcases the ability for Audi's cars to receive information about the upcoming traffic lights along the current path and have a countdown display in the center gauge cluster, helping the driver determine how long before the current light will change. Ostensibly, this means that with just a little forethought, this could help a driver make every green light along their route, allowing them to optimize their travel time.

As a side benefit, this technology could help alleviate some traffic jams as well as help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the amount of time that cars spend idling at stoplights. Display the information on a head-up display in cars or via a helmet, like the upcoming Skully AR-1, for motorcyclists and it could become one of the most useful pieces of automotive technology to have been introduced since in-car GPS.

This is one piece of driver assist technology that I not only hope makes it from concept into production, but I hope spreads itself throughout all manufacturers as it would have some genuine benefits and could be something that makes driving a little more enjoyable and a little more predictable.

Bluetooth: A Public Service Announcement

Image courtesy of linphone.org

By now, everyone should know what Bluetooth is, or at least knows what it is used for. For those that do not know what Bluetooth is used for, it is the wireless protocol that allows our cellular phones and portable media devices to wireless communicate with each other. Bluetooth is also used to allow our devices to wirelessly stream audio and information to other devices, such as earpieces, Bluetooth ready speakers, and our cars. In our wireless and digital life, Bluetooth is nearly everywhere.

Bluetooth has also made it possible to communicate via telephone with other people in our cars without having our hands actually on the phone. Studies have shown that driving while holding your phone in one hand greatly increases the chance of getting into an accident due to the distraction of holding your phone and attempting to maintain control of your car with the other. Because of this study, many states have made it illegal to be on the phone while driving, unless it is through a Bluetooth hands free device. Auto manufacturers have taken this opportunity to include built in Bluetooth hands free as an option or, in many cases, as standard equipment. The built in variant works by pipping the audio from your phone conversation through your car's sound system, while a microphone built in somewhere near the front of the cabin picks up audio and transfers is back to your phone.

Image courtesy of Gruel for Dinner

And thus comes the point of this Public Service Announcement. While built in Bluetooth hands free is a great piece of technology, it seems many drivers forget that their entire phone conversation is being streamed live through their car's audio system. For a good majority of people, at least the ones that I know, phone conversations tend to be private matters that you do not necessarily want to share with a stranger you have never met. Some drivers, on the other hand, simply do not care. I do not care to listen to your phone conversations, especially if they are about private topics one should not be discussing openly in public, much less while behind the nonexistent veil of privacy of a phone conversation over what amounts to a PA system in your car.

Drawing Board: 2015 Acura TLX

Image courtesy of Motor Authority

With Acura TSX production ending in December 2013, the ILX taking up position as Acura's entry level sedan, and the current generation of the TL ending its run, Acura needs a sedan to slot into the position left empty by the TSX and TL. Enter the all new Acura TLX. This is the car that Acura is setting up to compete against rivals such as the Lexus IS, Mercedes C-class, BMW 3-series, and Audi A4. The TL and TSX have, in their own ways, been excellent cars and we here at East-West Brothers Garage certainly hope the TLX will combine the best ingredients of both for a truly amazing sport sedan.

With the announcement that Acura will be debuting the TLX prototype at next month's North American International Auto Show in Detroit, that got us wondering what the TLX will include.  In their press release, Acura has stated that the TLX will introduce two all new powertrains to the Acura lineup. This does not necessarily mean the TLX will only have two powertrains to choose from. We are expecting Acura to introduce multiple trims for the TLX, with a healthy number of powertrain options. Here is what we would like to see as those trim and powertrain options.

Long Term Test: 2011 Acura RL Tech Wrap-up

Current Miles: 16,640

December 14, 2013 marks the final day our Forged Silver Metallic, 2011 Acura RL Tech spent with our family. This RL, the second one we have owned, has served us well for the last three years. Besides a very minor paint quality issue I noticed when we picked up the car (which was fixed under warranty), the car has been trouble free. What surprised me most was the fact that the transmission did not suffer any issues and was not recalled for any problems. It is an odd thing to be surprised about, but considering Honda's history on rolling out new transmissions, the fact that there were no problems left me a touch amazed. 

Test Drive: 2014 Infiniti Q50 AWD

The Infiniti line-up has always been sporty and is oft considered the Japanese equivalent of BMW, offering performance oriented cars with a touch of luxury. It's volume seller of the last decade, the G sedans and coupes, were among some of the best driving cars among the Japanese luxury brands. In fact, I nearly bought a G35 and a G37 when each car came out, the only thing holding me back being the slightly sub-standard interior materials and the poorly executed manual transmission shifter and clutch. However, if you were looking at the cars with automatic transmissions, they really were fantastic cars to drive. However, to replace the G37, Infiniti has developed not only a whole new car, but has also adopted a whole new naming scheme. What was once the G37 is now the much more non-sensical Q50. However, a lot more than the name was lost in this transition. The new Q50 may be a step up from the G37 in terms interior quality, but seems to have sacrificed some of its sporting character at the altar of luxury.

Editorial: Holding innovation to higher standards

A little more than a week ago, a car fire occurred outside Seattle, WA. Seems like rather insignificant news, right? Car fires are a daily occurrence around the country and most people drive by them without so much as a second look, although most likely accompanied by some colorful language at the traffic congestion that is caused by the rubber-necking that occurs anytime flashing lights are seen. However, the fact that this car fire was the first involving a Tesla Model S someone warranted national news coverage. The Model S in question was damaged by a large piece of debris that fell off a semi-truck. The debris in question hit at such an angle and with such force that it punctured the extra thick metal casing that houses the battery, resulting in the cooling system for one battery compartment to fail, which ultimately caused the fire.

With all the coverage, one would expect there to have been a fatality, or at the least severe injury, involved. Someone must have gotten hurt or something dramatic must have happened, right? Otherwise, why would we be holding this innovative new technology to a higher standard than the technology we currently have?

Test Drive: Luxury Hybrid wrap-up

After spending some time with two luxury hybrids - the Lexus ES300h and the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid - albeit slightly more affordable hybrids based on technology that is derived from a less expensive platform mate, I am not totally convinced that these cars are ready for mainstream consumption. In many ways, the very idea of a hybrid is counter to the concept of luxury, which is often seen as being able to do without compromise. However, hybrid vehicles are inherently a demonstration in compromise because in the vast majority of instances, performance is sacrificed at the altar of  fuel efficiency. While there are other hybrids on the market that supposedly do not give up performance, they also fail to significantly improve fuel economy. In many ways, there are simply better alternatives if you want a luxury car that still gets reasonable fuel economy.

Editorial: The Slow Demise of the Portable Navigation Device

Image courtesy of trustedreviews.com

For all intents and purposes, the portable navigation device (PND) is on its way out, soon to be replaced entirely by in-car integrated navigation systems, or more likely, our smart phones. A lot of factors are leading to this change, key among them the sheer proliferation of smart phones in our lives and the availability of smart phone apps that, in the last few years, have sprouted all of the functionality that used to be exclusive to PNDs and many features that go far beyond. A portable device that we have on our person nearly every waking moment that is capable of providing near limitless detail, endless point of interest data, and maps that are always up to date.

In fact, just this weekend, my wife and I took a trip out to the Berkshires in western Massachusetts. Almost out of habit, I grabbed our 4 year old Garmin navigation device and threw it in the car with us as we hit the road. I bought the Garmin 765T years ago because it was an easy to use interface, included Bluetooth connectivity, and had traffic data with no subscription fee. At the time, Garmin did not offer a lifetime maps subscription so map updates were going to be a potentially costly maintenance fee over the years. Still, for the price paid, the device definitely worked well enough, especially in our last car, a Miata, with its small amount of windshield space.

News: Cell phone carriers unite against texting while driving

Image courtesy of USAToday.com

Distracted driving is becoming ever increasingly problematic as cars get more complex and filled with technology and as our real lives become ever more intertwined with our digital ones. Most people now have some form of touchscreen mobile device that they use on a regular basis, mainly in the form of a smartphone that is with them at all times, including in the car. Many individual cities and counties have taken measures to combat distracted driving by instituting handsfree cellphone laws prohibiting handling of the phones while operating a vehicle. Automakers are also doing their part by offering technologies that allow users to access the most frequently used functions of their phones through voice commands and integration with the car's infotainment system. And now, the big 4 cellphone carriers, have united behind an anti-texting ad campaign to discourage people from texting behind the wheel.

Having been the victim just earlier this week of a distracted driver's inattention, I am encouraged that the cellphone service providers are taking part in this kind of campaign and taking a stand against a habit that is growing into a major problem out on America's highways, especially around urban centers where people's busy lives often force them to need to be connected as often as possible. Distracted driving is a serious matter and is often a contributor to accidents and road rage incidents, so any steps to combat it are steps in the right direction.

Tell us your thoughts on distracted driving or share with us the story of how distracted driving has impacted you in the comments section.

Editorial: Can New Safety Technologies Make Lousy Drivers?

(Image courtesy of Audi and NY Daily News)

Walk into any car dealership today, and you will find at least one vehicle with a plethora of new "safety" technologies, aimed at making the car "safer" and "easier" to drive. New technologies such as lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, radar guided cruise control, and automated parking assist are implemented into new vehicles to take many of the stresses of driving off the driver. Many of these new technologies have become so advanced that auto makers are applying these technologies to cars that will drive themselves. The intention is that the technological marvels would make driving safer, less stressful, and even more "enjoyable." For me though, all these new technologies are a recipe for creating terrible drivers.