Part 30 - All good things come to he who waits.

Hi all,
I did promise that I was going to have my first ride on the Navya/RAC Intellibus and do a story on it but alas, it was not to be.

There are some issues with the bus. These appear to be mechanical, not related to the actual tech of the machine but probably more to the harsh conditions to be found here.

In recent days we have had a number of hot days (37 C or higher (100 F + in old tech)) which have had an effect on the air conditioning and the doors of the bus designed in the much cooler European climate. I believe our lack of infrastructure with Mobile (cell) signal inadequacy has an impact as well.

My understanding is that support is on the way and local training will also occur to enable these issues to be resolved locally in the future.

As with any new technology there are always teething troubles and we learn from them and passenger safety is the primary concern, hence the delays.

Hopefully I will get to to see it soon.

The Detroit Motor show 2017 is underway and all the new shiny metal is on display.
Of course tech is highlighted any time you are talking cars these days.

The top ten tech cars of the show are here.

Most of these, and we are talking cars you and I can afford, not top of the line machines, have incorporated a lot of driver assist features including adaptive cruise control, lane departure assist, pedestrian detection and pre-collision detection. That last one boggles the imagination, does it take action or just give time for you to say "oh S..."?

Being a Toyota enthusiast, I know not the most glamorous machines, I find the new Camry looks great.
In Australia the six cylinder version comes out as a separate model called the Aurion (which I drive) and love and it will be interesting to see what the new Aurion looks like when it arrives here.

So the new features will soon be standard on all models and people will start to see the benefits of the car assuming some control and warning capability, which will go a long way in driving acceptance of the tech.

It seems the higher end machines are not at the Detroit show and we will have to wait for the New York and other shows before we see the latest tech.

Concept cars appeared, as they do at these shows and except for the first one are generally electric and autonomous.

Not a lot happening at the moment so ... stay tuned.