{"id":5181,"date":"2018-04-13T06:00:03","date_gmt":"2018-04-13T10:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/business.financialpost.com\/?p=1574453"},"modified":"2018-04-13T06:00:03","modified_gmt":"2018-04-13T10:00:03","slug":"top-10-people-companies-and-technologies-shaping-the-future-of-the-vehicles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lifeinsurance-orleans.ca\/index.php\/2018\/04\/13\/top-10-people-companies-and-technologies-shaping-the-future-of-the-vehicles\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 people, companies and technologies shaping the future of the vehicles"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Bond franchise has predicted no less than seven real-world innovations, according to carthrottle.com.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

By David Booth<\/strong><\/p>\n

For those wondering when the revolution \u2014 nay, the revolutions \u2014 sweeping the automobile industry was going to abate, 2018\u2019s answer is a resounding \u201cnot soon.\u201d Indeed, if half of what is projected for the next 12 to 24 months is any indication, anyone hoping for even a brief respite from the seismic shifts pummelling the industry is going to be disappointed.<\/p>\n

After all, no less than Bob Lutz \u2014 former co-chairman of General Motors Co. \u2014 last November proclaimed \u201cwe are approaching the end of the automotive era.\u201d Then Uber Technologies Inc., hiding behind the guise of social responsibility, proposed the banning of private car ownership in urban centres. And, of course, we can\u2019t forget the never-ending news machine that is Elon Musk. After unveiling an affordable electric luxury car and Tesla Inc.\u2019s electrically powered semi, it was almost easy to miss his introduction of the world\u2019s fastest roadster.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s try to make some sense of the technologies, as well as the people, places and companies that are going to rock your automotive world over the next couple of years.For those wondering when the revolution \u2014 nay, the revolutions \u2014 sweeping the automobile industry was going to abate, 2018\u2019s answer is a resounding \u201cnot soon.\u201d Indeed, if half of what is projected for the next 12 to 24 months is any indication, anyone hoping for even a brief respite from the seismic shifts pummelling the industry is going to be disappointed.<\/p>\n

After all, no less than Bob Lutz \u2014 former co-chairman of General Motors Co. \u2014 last November proclaimed \u201cwe are approaching the end of the automotive era.\u201d Then Uber Technologies Inc., hiding behind the guise of social responsibility, proposed the banning of private car ownership in urban centres. And, of course, we can\u2019t forget the never-ending news machine that is Elon Musk. After unveiling an affordable electric luxury car and Tesla Inc.\u2019s electrically powered semi, it was almost easy to miss his introduction of the world\u2019s fastest roadster.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s try to make some sense of the technologies, as well as the people, places and companies that are going to rock your automotive world over the next couple of years.<\/p>\n

GM’s Tech Centre in Markham<\/h3>\n

Far less controversial \u2014 and far more patriotic \u2014 than ex-GM exec Bob Lutz\u2019s comments that the end of the car is nigh was the company\u2019s opening of a tech centre in January in Markham, Ont.<\/p>\n

Originally an American Express call centre, GM\u2019s new 150,000-square-foot complex will be the largest automotive technology hub in Canada, and is set to develop both hardware and software for electric, connected, autonomous and shared automobiles throughout GM\u2019s global empire.<\/p>\n

Surrounded by other tech giants such as Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., Lenovo Group Ltd., GE Digital Energy, Toshiba Corp. and others, the Tech Centre can draw talent from manifold tech industries, not just automotive. Canadians still afflicted by national self-deprecation might do well to remember that the Greater Toronto Area \u2014 including nearby Kitchener-Waterloo \u2014 is gaining a reputation as Silicon Valley North, such is the talent emanating from Canadian universities and startups.<\/p>\n

The Markham centre is also part of GM\u2019s inter-module tech sharing platform that has its 700 engineers teleconferencing with other tech centres, from Communitech in Kitchener to sites in the United States and overseas. No longer simply a manufacturing hub, Ontario is quickly becoming a major force in The General\u2019s relentless pursuit of high-tech leadership.<\/p>\n

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Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, is taking electric cars where they have never gone before.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Elon Musk<\/h3>\n

The most polarizing executive in the auto industry, Elon Musk embodies every bit the revolutionary genius of Charles Kettering \u2014 the man who fairly invented the modern automobile \u2014 combined, unfortunately, with a propensity for Bernie Madoff-style exaggeration. You can\u2019t help but marvel at the sheer force of will that transformed Tesla from a purveyor of mere electrical playthings \u2014 the original Tesla was a Lotus-based runabout \u2014 to the standard by which all electric vehicles are judged. Nor can you ignore the genius that recently saw two SpaceX booster rockets return to Earth as delicately as someone might handle their mother\u2019s favourite china. Musk is nothing if not a visionary.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the endless hucksterism that uses tomorrow\u2019s deposits to fuel today\u2019s cash burn \u2014 estimated at US$8,000 a minute by Bloomberg \u2014 speaks volumes about Silicon Valley financing. After all, what is a Ponzi scheme if not the willingness to finance current returns, er, products, with the deposits from future investors\/customers? One is never quite sure whether to cheer Tesla\u2019s successes or lament the rabbit hole Musk is leading us down. The Economist, in a recent expos\u00e9, probably summed it up best with a quote from the head of one of the world\u2019s largest energy equity funds who, lauding the Tesla CEO\u2019s ability to drive clean technologies and new business models, proclaimed, \u201cThe world needs Elon Musk!\u201d Then, with the very next breath, he advised one and all to \u201cshort\u201d Tesla. The proverbial riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, that is Elon Musk.<\/p>\n

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Uber and other ride share companies are pushing for control of autonomous fleets in urban areas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Uber’s quest to monopolize inner-city transport<\/h3>\n

In an almost universally ignored policy statement, an organization called sharedmobilityprinciples.org in February released its vision of the future, Shared Mobility Principles for Livable Cities. Most of its dicta were the traditional \u201cplanning our cities and their mobility together\u201d and \u201czero-
\nemission and renewable energy\u201d positions that sum up pretty much every vision of our transportation future, but the last of its mandates was truly startling. In the future, according to signatories \u2014 which included Lyft and ZipCar as well as Uber \u2014 all \u201cautonomous vehicles in dense urban areas should be operated only in [well-regulated] shared fleets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because reducing congestion is so inherently important, only established companies will be allowed to own \u2014 and operate \u2014 self-driving vehicles. Of course, a skeptic might posit the real reason Uber et al want a monopoly is they worry that private ownership of said self-driving cars could threaten their ride-hailing services in the same way Airbnb is stealing business from traditional hotel chains.<\/p>\n