Nissan to test “intelligent transportation” system
Japanese carmaker Nissan has said it will mobilize 10,000 drivers in a 30-month experiment to develop an “intelligent transportation system” that sends wireless messages to passing cars.
“Car approaching from left” and “School ahead. Watch your speed,” are two voice messages which drivers will receive through the system which uses information obtained from nearby vehicles and roadside optical beacons.
The information is received by an onboard antenna on the vehicle to alert drivers to potential danger from approaching vehicles or inform them of traffic congestion ahead, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. said in a statement.
And here’s an article from a year and a half ago about their lane change warning system.
Let’s see… Ford is laying off vast quantities of workers and closing plants. Japanese car manufacturers are working at full speed to develop and introduce innovative technology. Do I see a trend?
American car makers don’t get it, they never did. The Japanese are far ahead of the curve and are building cars people want. They also are always inovating while American Co are happy just to sit on their aging designs.
Duplication is also part of it. Ford has a Ford, LIncoln and Mercury. GM has Chevy, Pontiac, Cadilac and GMC. Most of these cars are the same only with different names and different trim. Cut the fat, just have a standard line and a luxury line, that is all you need. Why compete against yourself.
Short-term goals and a quick dollar for the management is what is wrong with the American automobile industry. They couldn’t plan five years ahead with any vision or determination if their children were being held ramsom.
It is all part of the steady decline of the US as a world leader and world power. Pretty soon nothing but low tech items will be manufactured in the USA. And with the manufacturing loss comes the expertise loss… if we do not know how to manufacture an LCD TV, how long do you think we will be able to design it? If all the car plants are outside of the USA, how long do you think we will be able to design and innovate in transportation?
There was an interesting comment made by the manager of the port of Long Beach a few months ago. When asked about import/export, she said that ships arrive in the USA loaded with high tech goods to be purchased by Americans, and that the main export through her port is now recycled paper and recycled iron, which then can be processed again outside the country and shipped back to us as finished goods.
Look around you… it is a challenge to find ANYTHING of significance that is manufactured in the USA. And with tha manufacturing brain drain goes the innovation brain drain.
#3 There are several reasons for this:
1. Corp greed – CEOs and other execs want to make millions. They can’t do that if they have to pay high wages and health care to their workers.
2. Out of control healthcare costs
3. Out of control lawsuits which have driven up healthcare cost.
4. Lazy Americans – workers in 3rd world countries are willing to work harder and for less money.
5. Tougher environmental laws – too much bullshit to go through to build a factory or maintain one.
gquaglia:
1 – Corp Greed – I couldn’t agree more. Retiring chairman of Exxon received a 400 million package just this year. But where is the outrage?
2 and 3 – Healthcare – Blame big pharma and lawyers. Most hospitals are running break-even at best, doctors spend most of their salaries on insurance, pharma makes HUGE profits and medicine costs are outrageous. But where is the outrage?
4 – The future will speak. When there are no more jobs, then AMericans will become just like the 3rd world workers, hoping for a living wage that is enough to pay for a small apartment, a car every ten years, and meat twice a week.
5 – Tougher environmental laws. This may be painful, but it is a good thing. Instead of reducing our standards, we should be mandating countries to raise theirs in order to meet our standards. But instead our government is dropping our standards, while encouraging companies to move to countries with less or no standards. Yes, good swould be more expensive, but for a morally justifyable reason, not just to pay high CEO salaries. Environmentalism is morally correct, we just need moral people in charge that will uphold high standards everywhere. Just because we don’t have child labor in the USA does it mean that we should tolerate it elsewhere?
America has become corrupt and weak, socially, morally and politically. Our political leaders, specially the current administration, are utterly responsible for our decline. When the biggest debate is about imposing laws legalizing torture, it doesn’t leave us much room for us to drop much lower.
#5 right-on. Is it because we are so morally corrupt as you say? People are so busy working them self into debt trying to keep up with the Jones, they don’t have time for anything else. Maybe your right, if we weren’t so morally misplaced, we would know better and care about all the injustice around us.
People living outside of urban areas are going to have even more to laugh about, as “city folks” get outside the coverage-areas of these technologies – and drive like they expect the car to warn them of any impending calamity.
“But officer, the car didn’t warn me I was approaching a school zone!”