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It's been seven years since I first rode in an autonomous vehicle

#TBT  +General Motors brought the DARPA Urban Challenge winning Boss to the 2008 CES and they have made some progress in the years since. However, there is still a long way to go. ?

Autonomous vehicles could debut with automatic valets
The Tartan Racing

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Apparently, I'm not alone in my increasing skepticism of the self-driving ca…

Apparently, I'm not alone in my increasing skepticism of the self-driving car

I do think we'll get there eventually, but more and more I think it's going to be like fuel cell vehicles, they will be five years away for the next 20 years.?

Snowstorms Have You Wishing for a Self-Driving Vehicle? Think Again | TheDetroitBureau.com
If the heavy storms that snarled roads across the country have you wishing you could turn driving duties over to an autonomous vehicle, think again. While self-driving cars may soon be ready to handle roads in sunny California, they’ll have a tougher time dealing with snow and ice, reports TheDetroitBureau.com.

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*why were all the new hybrids at the Detroit auto show performance oriented? *??…

*why were all the new hybrids at the Detroit auto show performance oriented? *?

Performance Dominates Detroit Auto Show, Even for Hybrids
With gasoline prices hitting near inflation-adjusted all-time lows, performance and design once again came to the forefront at the January 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit – e…

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The current Toyota Prius isn't the bright shiny object grabbing our attention…

The current Toyota Prius isn't the bright shiny object grabbing our attention right now, but I think it still matters

What do you think??

Does the Toyota Prius still matter? It does if you care about hydrogen cars
Toyota says the iconic gas-electric Prius hybrid remains important because it shows how the Mirai fuel cell vehicle will grab the future.

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Coming in early 2016, it's the new Ford Focus RS

In album 2017 Ford Focus RS

The newest high-performance +Ford Motor Company Focus RS builds on the success of its predecessors and should be one one awesome machine to drive. As usual for an initial reveal a year ahead of availability, Ford was sparse on details, after all they have to make this story last. Here's what we do know, the RS is powered by the highest-output version of the 2.3-liter EcoBoost yet. With the usual "more than 315 hp" we don't know how far past the 310-hp Mustang this one will go. Chief engineer Jamal Hameedi did acknowledge that it has a different turbo and cylinder head than the Mustang engine.

Every Focus RS will route power through a six-speed manual gearbox only, no automatics or DCTs. From there an all-new Ford Performance all-wheel-drive system will send torque to where it can do the most good. A center clutch pack can route as much as 70 percent of torque to the rear axle while another electronically controlled clutch can direct up to 100 percent of the rear torque to either the left or right wheel.

With the Taurus SHO getting long in the tooth, how about a Fusion SHO with this powerplant or perhaps an upgraded version of the 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 and this all-wheel-drive system? Just sayin'?

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This is why you never see self-driving car prototypes playing in the snow 1

In album 2015-02-02

This is why you never see self-driving car prototypes playing in the snow

We're a lot farther from general use self-driving driving cars than those in Silicon Valley would like you to believe.  The radar sensor in the front and the rear camera are completely covered. While the snow was falling, I had to turn off the parking assist because the falling snow was triggering the ultrasonic sensors causing the system to beep continuously while there was nothing around the vehicle.?

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Holy Shit! The line between mad man and genius is indeed a very slim one

This is why I love Le Mans sports car racing and the rules package created by the ACO. Sure it's insanely expensive, but where else in racing today (or the past couple of decades really) have you seen any truly original thinking. Thankfully +Nissan have stepped up and given the incredible Ben Bowlby an opportunity to stretch his creative muscles. I have no idea if this car will run away with it at Le Mans or be a complete disaster, but either way it's going to be great fun to watch it take on the Audis, Porsches and Toyotas. ?

Developing the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO
From a computer screen in Dan Gurney’s shop to the commercial shoot at America’s grand prix circuit., how Nissan’s crazy new race car came to be.

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Yesterday I shared my impressions of the new 2015 Honda Fit so today I look back…

Yesterday I shared my impressions of the new 2015 Honda Fit so today I look back to 2010

#TBT   In my 2010 +Honda Fit review I focused on all the stuff you could pack into a it when we were hauling video webcasting gear around LA including three cameras, two +NewTek TriCasters and all kinds of ancillary stuff.
https://sam.abuelsamid.com/2015/01/28/2015-honda-fit-ex-l-its-bigger-on-the-inside/?

Utility Review: 2010 Honda Fit Sport actually does
2010 Honda Fit filled with gear – Click above for high-res image gallery

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