Sam's Thoughts

2015 Toyota Camry XSE – It’s Not So Beige Anymore

This entry was posted in Carmakers cars reviews Toyota and tagged 2015 camry car car review car reviews review reviews toyota on February 2, 2015 by Sam Abuelsamid (updated 3157 days ago)

2015 toyota camry xse 01

Over the years certain brands of cars have become inexorably associated with colors. Regardless of what is sprayed on in the paint shop, a Ferrari is always a deep scarlet red at heart. Anything built on the north side of the English Channel should be a dark green. High performance cars wearing a three-pointed star or four rings are silver arrows. The Toyota Camry? Beige through and through.

Beige is not an offensive hue. Quite the opposite in fact, it may well be the best camouflage color in the known universe. Instead of garish swirlies that are guaranteed to attract attention, automakers should just paint all their prototypes beige and spy photographers would never even see them.

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

This entry was posted in gpblg on February 2, 2015 by Sam Abuelsamid (updated 3568 days ago)

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 entry was posted in gpblg on February 1, 2015 by Sam Abuelsamid (updated 3568 days ago)

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…

This entry was posted in gpblg and tagged TBT on January 29, 2015 by Sam Abuelsamid (updated 3568 days ago)

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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Now in its third generation the Honda Fit, remains my pick for best small car

This entry was posted in gpblg on January 28, 2015 by Sam Abuelsamid (updated 3568 days ago)

Now in its third generation the Honda Fit, remains my pick for best small car

Now better than ever, the 2015 +Honda Fit is what I recommend when people ask what small car to get with great handling, fuel efficiency and amazing interior room. ?

2015 Honda Fit EX-L – It’s Bigger On the Inside | Sam’s Thoughts

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Have you noticed that you never see self-driving cars running in anything but su…

This entry was posted in gpblg on January 28, 2015 by Sam Abuelsamid (updated 3568 days ago)

Have you noticed that you never see self-driving cars running in anything but sunshine?

Here in Michigan where cars become encrusted in road salt several months of the year, many of the sensors simply don't work.?

Do You Want a Self-Driving Car That Can’t Deal With Weather? | Sam’s Thoughts

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Do You Want a Self-Driving Car That Can’t Deal With Weather?

This entry was posted in cars technology and tagged autonomous vehicle Google+ salt self-driving car sensors weather on January 28, 2015 by Sam Abuelsamid (updated 3594 days ago)

Mockup of Google’s prototype low-speed autonomous car

Over the last several years, Google has made a lot of noise about its progress in developing self-driving cars. However, throughout that time one thing has remained absolutely consistent in all of their progress reports – the sun is always shining and the roads are clear and dry. Unlike the automakers based here in Michigan, Google exists in a seemingly magical environment that is rarely subject to the vagaries of weather. As I pumped some gas and cleaned the salt crust off my headlights the other day, I began to think about the autonomous vehicle prototypes I’ve seen recently.

Tech companies like Google are often accused of living in a bubble where they aren’t subject to the issues that we mere humans have to deal with on a daily basis. Rarely has this been more true than with autonomous vehicles, which Google thinks will be on the road in the next few years. I say fat chance.

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Engineers need to find a balance between enhanced situational awareness and overwhelming…

This entry was posted in gpblg on January 28, 2015 by Sam Abuelsamid (updated 3568 days ago)

Engineers need to find a balance between enhanced situational awareness and overwhelming drivers with too many alerts

Constantly barraging the driver with warnings can lead them to become desensitized or just turning the systems off entirely, thus defeating the purpose.?

The Beeping Hyundai: Getting a Handle on Nanny State Cars
The Beeping Hyundai: Getting a Handle on Nanny State Cars

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2015 Honda Fit EX-L – It’s Bigger On the Inside

This entry was posted in Carmakers cars Honda reviews and tagged 2015 car review car reviews fit honda review on January 28, 2015 by Sam Abuelsamid (updated 3157 days ago)

2015 honda fit ex-l 01

Given my work in the auto industry over the years, I frequently get asked for car buying advice. If I determine that the person asking the question is need of a new small car, my goto response for the past half dozen years has consistently been to get a Honda Fit. Last year, Honda introduced an all-new third-generation Fit and I just spent a week driving one and unsurprisingly, it will continue to be the small car I’m most likely to recommend.

When my daughter was in the market for her first new car seven years ago, she checked out all of the small cars available and quickly dismissed the Chevy Aveo, Toyota Echo and Scion xA and xB. At the time, the Fit was a revelation in the segment. A few years earlier MINI had demonstrated that Americans would pay a premium price for a well-built, fun-to-drive small car. As fun as the MINI was, it’s back seat was too tight to be useful and it was a bit pricey. The first-gen Fit on the other hand, could be had starting at just over $14,000 and even a loaded Fit Sport was less than $18,000.

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