Automotive Industry at the Forefront of Technology, Full Stop

In spite of the fact that the automotive industry is a profit-driven and -making machine, it still inherently brings about technological progress, as companies try to outdo one another. It’s not the best way to bring it about, but at least it sort of works.

In fact, the automotive industry is easily one of the leading sectors and is “frequently a leader,” according to a CAR (Center for Automotive Research) report, quoted by GreenCarCongress.

It acknowledges that it’s difficult to raise one’s head and keep it up given the state of the industry and the ever changing conditions, economic or otherwise, and that some $100 (€73) billion are spent on research globally every year, of which around $18 (€13) billion in the US alone – that equates to $1,200 spent per vehicle.

It also makes up 16 percent of the total worldwide research and development funding, using around 4 percent of its revenues in this way, though that percentage can be and usually is higher.

The study mentions the following:

"The electronics content in modern automobiles has climbed dramatically, enabling the expansion of features that has improved safety, performance, and efficiency. An average vehicle contains around 60 microprocessors to run electric content—four times as many as a decade ago. More than 10 million lines of software code run a typical vehicle’s computer network—more than half the lines of code that reportedly run Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner.”

By Andrei Nedelea

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KBB Reveals its Resale Value Winners for the 2014MY, Only One German Model in the List

The Kelley Blue Book (KBB) 2014 Best Resale Value Awards have named their victors in the 22 individual sections, as well as the best brand and best luxury brand distinctions.

It ranks 2014 model-year (MY) the vehicles based on their second-hand performance, after the initial five-year time span of ownership – for the 2013MY, the overall winner was the Toyota's FJ Cruiser.

This year, its twelfth one, it was Toyota and Lexus that won the brand awards, and the top was strangely lacking in German brands (only the Audi A5 Coupe made it in the list)– it was dominated by Japanese and American names.

Models from the ranges of the Lexus and Toyota brands also managed to snap up 18 of the 22 specific model sections, the rest being filled in by the likes of Honda, Jeep and Chevrolet (with the Camaro V6 and Corvette), Dodge and Subaru.

Eric Ibara, director of residual value consulting for KBB said: “While both Toyota and Lexus continue to deliver incredible resale value, we also are impressed with the strides made by Chevrolet, which tops domestic automakers with five combined awards, and Subaru with its Impreza making its way back to the top spot in its segment.”

According to KBB, an average 2014 model-year vehicle only will retain about 39.7 percent of its original value after a five-year ownership period. What this mean is that a new car priced $50,000 today will only be worth somewhere close to $19,850 after five years. However, some models retain their value better than others.

The complete list of all categories can be found by scrolling down to the gallery below.

By Andrei Nedelea

Correction: In our original post, we erroneously noted that no German car made it in the list. As pointed out by our readers, one did and that was the Audi A5 in the luxury car segment.

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Study Forecasts Continued Domination of Gasoline-Powered Vehicles Through 2040

Despite the fact that studies tend to get less accurate the further away into the future they aim to predict, this one seems realistic to me, given the current state of the car market in the US. The Detroit News quotes information put out by the Energy Information Administration that reads that “gasoline-powered vehicles will continue to dominate the market through 2040.”

The report announces a notable rise in all vehicles’ efficiency – the jump will be made from 2012’s average of 21.5 mpg to 37.2 mpg by 2040. By that time, it’s also expected that the overall energy consumption for everything that is included in the transport sector will also go down by 4 percent – this seems insignificant, given just how many billions are being poured into green tech development nowadays…

Also falling by 4 percent will be the number of gas-powered vehicles. Currently making up 82 percent of all vehicles on US roads, it’s expected to drop to 78 percent by the aforementioned year. We will apparently be more into micro-hybrids “and other advanced fuel technologies” – 42 percent of all vehicles.

However, the study doesn’t really see full hybrids making a big enough impact, and their share of the total market will rise from today’s 3 percent to 5 percent; popularity of diesels will double from today’s 2 percent share.

All of this is put into context by the expected rise in the price of gasoline too, from today’s $3.28 per gallon to around $3.90, while diesel is also expected to become more dear, at $4.73 per gallon, up from the current $3.87.

Keep in mind, again, that this is not actual information, but mere predictions based on the (downward) trend exhibited by the industry and the politicians who govern what it can and can’t do.

By Andrei Nedelea

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Study Ranks US States by their Worst Drivers

If you’ve had contradictory discussions or thoughts as to which of the US’ fifty stars spangling its flag shone least when it came to the quality of its drivers, well there’s a study that tries to end the debate…by stirring it with a hefty wooden spoon.

USA Today quotes Car Insurance Comparison’s (CIC) data in regards to the matter, as it compiles fatality rates per 100 million miles traveled, failure to obey traffic signals and/or seat belt regulations, drunk driving, ticketing frequency and careless driving offenses.

We wont’ keep you waiting and just come out and say it: Louisiana was found the have the poorest average quality of drivers this year, a distinction they apparently gained in 2012 too, so this makes it two in a row for them.

Next up, coming a very close second in overall score, surpassing the hurricane-ridden state is South Carolina, though it and third placed Mississippi boast more average fatalities than the number one state in the rankings.

The safest overall driving environments, in this context, and within the specified constraints and in reverse order from the bottom of the list, which could very well be the bottom are: Vermont, Utah and New Hampshire.

If your state of residence (or choice) was somewhere in the middle, then you can see exactly where it landed by scrolling down to after the virtual jump for the full, detailed list.

By Andrei Nedelea

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Autotrader Lists Its 20 Most Popular New Vehicles of 2013

With 2013 rapidly approaching to an end, we're curious to see which new vehicles attracted the most attention from buyers (see 2012 results here), but we'll have to wait a week or so for automakers to crunch out the official sales numbers. Until then, we can take a look at a list with AutoTrader's 20 most popular new vehicles of 2013.

For those of you who are not familiar with AutoTrader, it's one of the major online marketplaces for both new and used cars in the U.S.

The list was determined by examining the number of car shoppers who click on a posting for a new car up for sale on the website, which receives around 16 million monthly visitors, and does not take into consideration actual sales.

Unsurprisingly, the best-selling vehicle in the States, the Ford F-150 truck, took up the number one spot.

While we anticipated many of the other cars and trucks listed in the Top 20, there were plenty of surprise participants, such as the Jeep Wrangler in second place, the Ford Mustang that came in fourth and the Chevrolet Corvette in ninth spot.

"Corvette's place on the list is a bit deceiving, because interest declined through most of the year as shoppers waited for the 2014 model, but once listings for the all-new vehicle were posted on the site interest skyrocketed, and it was among the top three most popular vehicles on the site for the last three months of the year," explained Isabelle Helms, vice president of Research and Market Intelligence, AutoTrader.

Ford was the most represented brand in the Top 20 list with six vehicles, including the year's biggest mover, the Ford Fusion that climbed 16 spots compared to 2012, while Chevrolet was next with four. Half of the entrants were pickup trucks.

"The full-size truck segment is historically the most popular vehicle segment on our site, but it grew this year to garner more than 20 percent share of shopper interest," said Helms. "We believe this is due to a combination of growth in the housing and construction sectors and the number of models that were all-new for the 2013 and 2014 model years."

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Survey Finds Half of US Drivers Condone Speeding

The topic of speeding is a little more delicate than it may seem at first, but it should not always be thought of as a bad thing. I mean, aside from the displeasure some people feel when breaking the law, oftentimes speed limits are just plain too low, they impede your own movement and the flow of traffic.

If you like to regularly exceed the limit, then in the US, you’re one in five as a recent survey carried out for the National Survey of Speeding Attitudes and Behavior by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or NHTSA.

They quote the 10,000 deaths recorded per year in the US and attribute them to speeding; in the decade spanning from 2002 through 2011, it was also said to be the main cause for one third of the recorded accident fatalities (123,804 lives in total).

“We all have places we need to go, but it’s never the right decision to put ourselves, our families and others in harm’s way to get there faster,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. He added, “this is another reminder, as the busy holiday season approaches, to obey speed limits, reduce speed in inclement weather conditions and allow plenty of time to arrive safely.”

It’s funny, how the survey reveals that 91 percent of those questioned said the speed limit should be obeyed because “it’s the law,” not because it enhances their safety and the safety of others.

Furthermore, 48 percent of surveyors shared their wish that something should be done about all the speeding that goes on in the country; males were found to be more prone to speeding than females, as were young and inexperienced drivers aged 16 to 20.

Finally, 16 percent of those asked said that “driving over the speed limit is not dangerous for skilled drivers;” while a quarter said, “I enjoy the feeling of driving fast.”

By Andrei Nedelea

Story References: NHTSA via Forbes

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