Consumer
Consumer
OEM Signature Lighting
Luxury brands are usually wary of introducing accessories to accentuate exterior branding. High-efficiency LED lighting became one of Audi’s design signatures. The brand was hardly alone in using LEDs, but no one has adopted them as widely and successfully as Audi, which uses them to give every model a branding advantage. Naturally, when Mercedes chose to produce such an accessory for their cars, they wanted to refrain from adding something that could be seen as garish and keep it decidedly simple. Read more
ID4Motion Digital Instrument Clusters
Enter the ID4Motion MotionGraphic Design Digital Cluster into the market. More and more car brands are favouring LCD instrument clusters over analogue gauges; therefore it was only a matter of time before an aftermarket company came up with an option of its own. The instrument cluster has been virtually free of aftermarket accessories for a long time. ID4Motion has set out to change that. Read more
Airport Car Rental 2.0
Silvercar aims to streamline the car rental process by offering a new disruptive business service The brainchild of one of Zipcar’s founders Silvercar has raised a first round of funding to in its attempt to disrupt the dismal airport car rental experience. There’s been a lot of excitement in Silicon Valley lately over new disruptive automotive business ideas. We are witnessing a new generation of companies breathing new life into everything from taxi services to auto repair. In particular, startups like RelayRides, GetAround, Wheelz, Zipcar, RideJoy, SideCar, Lyft and Uber – to name a few – are leveraging collaborative consumption and peer-to-peer models to bring a new buzz to traditional automotive business models. Read more
Bike Sales Surpass Car Sales
In the midst of economic turmoil in Europe, more Italians are turning to bikes as their preferred mode of transportation. Such is the bicycle’s popularity in Italy that purchases of the pedal-powered two wheelers have eclipsed automotive sales for the first time since World War II. Read more
Car Black Boxes
It’s been working its way through Congress for years, but according to Car and Driver, an event recorder mandate could soon become law. The Senate has already voted to adopt a transportation bill that would make the so-called “black boxes” mandatory by the 2015 model year. According to the report, the House of Representatives is also expected to pass a similar statute. Read more
Domino's Pizza Safe Sound
We’ve seen plenty of discussion on the merits of pedestrian warning systems for hybrid and all-electric vehicles. From synthesized engine sounds to the noise of George Jetson’s flying car, automakers and the aftermarket industry have worked to come up with a way to keep people aware of a vehicle’s presence. Read more