automotive technology

Bilingual

When your vehicle outlives its cloud: What happens next?
2 months ago
- Connected car services, like remote cooling and emergency calls, are cloud-based and may become obsolete in a few years.
- These services have existed since the 1990s with GM's OnStar, evolving from voice-centric to fully data-driven cloud systems.
- Today, most automakers offer branded connected services (e.g., HondaLink, FordPass) with similar features including remote lock/start, vehicle status, and emergency assistance.
- Consumers widely adopt these services, with 40% of OnStar customers renewing subscriptions after free trials.
Car touchscreens are cheap, not good
3 months ago
- Touchscreens are increasingly replacing physical buttons and knobs in cars, primarily because they are cheaper to manufacture and install, rather than being superior in safety or usability.
- While touchscreens can offer benefits such as simplicity, flexibility, and a modern appeal, they often lead to higher driver distraction and worse usability compared to physical controls, as shown in various studies.
- Automakers prioritize cost-cutting through part reduction, which touchscreens and capacitive buttons facilitate, saving significant money per vehicle, even if it compromises user experience and safety.
- Examples from companies like VW, Tesla, and Mazda illustrate a trend where physical controls are removed in favor of touchscreens or capacitive buttons, often justified by design or user preference but largely driven by cost savings.
- Despite some advantages, the shift to touchscreens is criticized for making cars harder to use safely, with manufacturers sometimes reversing decisions (like VW reintroducing buttons) after negative feedback, highlighting the tension between cost and usability.
Internal Combustion Engine (2021)
3 months ago
- Internal combustion engines revolutionized 19th century transportation, converting linear force into rotational motion via a crankshaft.
- A basic four-stroke engine cycle includes intake, compression, power, and exhaust strokes, with two crankshaft revolutions per cycle.
- Key engine components include the engine block, crankshaft with main and rod journals, pistons with rings, and a cylinder head with valves and camshafts.
- Modern engines use fuel injection, electronic control units (ECUs), and direct injection for precise air-fuel mixture and combustion timing.
- Engine cooling, lubrication via oil passages, and timing belts ensure synchronization and longevity, while flywheels smooth torque fluctuations.

automotive technology

When your vehicle outlives its cloud: What happens next?

Car touchscreens are cheap, not good

Internal Combustion Engine (2021)