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Ford's Badly Needed Plan To Catch Up On Hybrid, Electric Cars (arstechnica.com)
Ford supposedly has a plan to adapt to the changing world of transportation. The company recently announced that it's "going all-in on hybrids," readying six new battery electric vehicles by 2022, with the first due in 2020, and adding more performance versions of its SUV line up. "Additionally, by the end of 2019, every new Ford will have 4G LTE connectivity, and the company is developing a new cloud platform that will deliver over-the-air updates," reports Ars Technica. From the report: New hybrids: "Hybrids for years have been mostly niche products but are now on the cusp of a mainstream breakout," said Jim Farley, Ford president of global markets. "The valuable capability they offer -- plus fuel efficiency -- is why we're going to offer hybrid variants of our most popular and high-volume vehicles, allowing our loyal, passionate customers to become advocates for the technology." So America's best-selling truck (the F-150) will get the ability to act as a mobile generator, something that should come in handy on job sites. Meanwhile, the Mustang will have performance to match the 5.0L V8 version but with more low-down torque, according to Ford. The company says that these new hybrids will be cheaper and more efficient than its current hybrids, via "common cell and component design and by manufacturing motors, transmissions, and battery packs."
New BEVs: We have to wait for those new BEVs, too. The first of these -- an electric performance SUV -- also shows up in 2020, but with five more planned between then and 2022. Ford says that it's "rethinking the ownership experience" as part of this and that over-the-air software updates to add new features will be part of the $11 billion investment plan.
More SUVs, more commercial vehicles, a super Mustang: Other new vehicles on the way include a reborn Ford Bronco SUV and an as-yet unnamed small SUV, but before then we'll get redesigned Explorers and Escapes, due in 2019. Next year, Ford will also bring a new Transit van to the US, and it says advanced driver-assistance systems, like automatic emergency braking and others, will be added to future commercial vehicles like the future E-Series, F-650, F-750, and F59-based vehicles.
New BEVs: We have to wait for those new BEVs, too. The first of these -- an electric performance SUV -- also shows up in 2020, but with five more planned between then and 2022. Ford says that it's "rethinking the ownership experience" as part of this and that over-the-air software updates to add new features will be part of the $11 billion investment plan.
More SUVs, more commercial vehicles, a super Mustang: Other new vehicles on the way include a reborn Ford Bronco SUV and an as-yet unnamed small SUV, but before then we'll get redesigned Explorers and Escapes, due in 2019. Next year, Ford will also bring a new Transit van to the US, and it says advanced driver-assistance systems, like automatic emergency braking and others, will be added to future commercial vehicles like the future E-Series, F-650, F-750, and F59-based vehicles.
Trucks are ideal to be made electric. Plenty of space for batteries, loads of torque at low speeds, and priced right to absorb the battery cost.
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SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
I'm all for hybrid and electric vehicles, but I'm really not happy that every industry is going to over-the-air update models.
There are of course the security issues, but there is also the more insidious side effect that it promotes a "ship it now" mentality instead of "ship it when it's ready" mentality.
I'm hoping the "right to repair" movement maintains its momentum and also includes "right to not require connectivity."
"There are a dozen opinions on a matter until you know the truth. Then there is only one." - CS Lewis (paraprhase)
The thing is, OTA updates can give you material improvements.
No: *updates* can give you material improvements. There is no reason for them to be OTA. OTA, while maybe more convenient for some, opens the gate to a whole slew of abuses and risks. When you car has OTA access you can be tracked by everybody and their dog, you can be hacked, and you have no control over the updates (and if some update proves to be buggy, tough noogies. Just wait for the next one,which will,fix the problem, we promise).
Instead of OTA, updates should be done via a DVD or USB. To me, the mild inconvenience of having to download an update to an USB and stick it in the entertainment system is trivial compared to having the choice to apply the update on my own schedule and being safe from bored teenagers who buy an exploit off the dark Web and think it would be cool to disable your brakes or from criminals who lock your car and ask for a Bitcoin payment to get it unlocked. Add to this the fact that Google, the insurance companies and any number of other nosy outsiders don't get to know every breath I take and every move I make, and the decision is clear.