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So this is what a $2500 car looks like...
08 September 08 04:37 PM | john.mullinax | 1 Comments   

The Tata Nano was unveiled recently... a new car from Tata Motors that is expected to sell for about $2500.  Comes with a 624cc gasoline engine... no word yet on fuel efficiency.  Or crash protection.  Is this the next Yugo ?  Or India's Read More...

Filed under: Automotive, tata

Amazing Day 1 Keynote at MIX!
05 March 08 08:28 PM | john.mullinax | 0 Comments   

Wow -- so much at MIX I can't possibly do it justice right now, but check out the summary here .   Really, really amazing stuff and some super announcements.  Just a teaser: Silverlight for Mobile devices -- and not just windows mobile Read More...

Filed under: Automotive, silverlight, mobile, MIX

S+S Example #1: Ford Work Solutions
08 February 08 08:01 AM | john.mullinax | 1 Comments   

Computers and software can do lots of interesting things, and more every day. While I love websites -- I don't want to be completely constrained to them. For example, i like having things like Zune , my smartphone , Windows Live Writer , etc. as part Read More...

Filed under: Cars, Microsoft, Automotive, in-vehicle software, ford, rfid, S+S, Software + Services, SYNC

Coskata Ethanol breakthrough announced at Detroit International Autos Show, Partnership with GM
14 January 08 04:40 AM | john.mullinax | 1 Comments   

Rick Wagoner, Chairman of General Motors , announced at the Detroit North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) that GM has taken an equity stake in an ethanol manufacturer called Coskata, and that Coskata has developed a breakthrough process for producing Read More...

Filed under: Automotive, alternative fuel, ethanol

Filling the Boomer Gap in Automotive, post-SYNC what comes next?
11 January 08 05:11 PM | john.mullinax | 3 Comments   

Ed Wallace has a great article in Business Week about the impact of mass demographics on the auto industry -- fun to read, and insightful. Years ago, I remember walking through Ford WHQ and seeing a distinct focus on Gen Y . Gen X isn't big enough to Read More...

Filed under: Microsoft, Automotive, innovation, in-vehicle software, ford, Design, SYNC

Ford SYNC - Beyond cool, it sells cars, too!
02 January 08 08:19 PM | john.mullinax | 4 Comments   

Regular readers of this blog know that I've been excited about Ford's SYNC for quite a while now. For those that don't know, SYNC is Ford's implementation of Windows Automotive inside their vehicles to provide hands free access to media and phone. For Read More...

Filed under: Automotive, in-vehicle software, ford, Windows Automotive, SYNC

Share the Robot Love! Toyota's violin playing bot and the GM FIRST Robot Challenge
11 December 07 02:46 AM | john.mullinax | 3 Comments   

I'm a fan of robots. As such, two things caught my attention recently -- one far from home and one very near. First, on Thursday Toyota unveiled a white, 5 foot tall, violin playing robot that bowed with its right arm and pressed strings with its left. Read More...

Filed under: Automotive, Toyota, education, robots, GM

I'm so excited about Ford SYNC (aka Windows Automotive)!
27 October 07 12:39 AM | john.mullinax | 0 Comments   

I can't wait to get my new Ford with SYNC! See a review here . Pricing is just $395. Learn more about SYNC here here . In one way or another, I've been involved in this domain for the last 7 years. In fact, I moved from Seattle to join Ford back in 2000 Read More...

Filed under: Cars, Automotive, in-vehicle software, Car OS, SYNC

Siemens and Microsoft team up on in-vehicle computing
07 September 07 05:58 PM | john.mullinax | 1 Comments   

Technorati Tags: Cars , Automotive , In-vehicle software , manufacturing , Car OS Interesting story came out today here . It's interesting for a few reasons: Siemens VDO (the automotive unit) will build solutions for Auto OEMs on Microsoft's consumer Read More...

Filed under: Cars, Automotive, in-vehicle software, manufacturing, Car OS

Identity -- It's not just for people! (Part 2)
11 May 07 01:04 AM | john.mullinax | 1 Comments   

Thanks to both Kevin Hammond, Cardspace guru of Casa de Hambone fame, as well as Delbert Murphey, former Architect Evangelist, former managing/chief architect at General Motors, and now Biztalk wunderkind, for their critical insights on this topic! This Read More...

Filed under: Cars, Automotive, manufacturing, identity, counterfeit

Identity -- It's not just for people! (Part 1)
19 April 07 12:29 AM | john.mullinax | 0 Comments   

Yesterday I sent an email along these lines to a few friends: Automotive part counterfeiting costs about $12B/year – just for Tier 1 suppliers . Part counterfeiting costs Ford alone $1B. Beyond automotive, according to the National Association of Manufacturing, Read More...

Filed under: Cars, Automotive, manufacturing, ford, identity, counterfeit

Toyota's Car OS vs. Ford's Sync (Microsoft Windows Automotive), Part 2
04 April 07 10:19 PM | john.mullinax | 0 Comments   

Welcome back for Part 2! I didn't expect this to be a series when I wrote the original post , but two things happened recently that might (I hope :-) ) make a second post interesting. First, Reuters picked up a story from the Nikkei business daily headlined Read More...

Filed under: embedded, Automotive, in-vehicle software, Toyota, Toyota OS, ford, Car OS, SYNC

Toyota's Car OS vs. Ford's Sync (Microsoft Windows Automotive)
06 February 07 10:29 PM | john.mullinax | 2 Comments   

Ok -- let me come clean right up front: the headline here is slightly misleading because Toyota's Car OS and Ford's Sync are not really directly comparable. For one thing, Toyota's Car OS does not appear to exist yet -- though it reportedly is under development. Read More...

Filed under: Convergence, Automotive, innovation, in-vehicle software, manufacturing, Toyota, Toyota OS, Car OS, SYNC

Computers and cars... what's not to like?
18 October 06 10:06 PM | john.mullinax | 0 Comments   

Just wrapped up 3 days of a great SAE Convergence 2006 conference at COBO Hall in downtown Detroit. This is the world's premier conference about the convergence of computing and automotive engineering. Believe it or not, the conference has been going Read More...

Filed under: Convergence, embedded, Cars, Microsoft, Automotive, innovation, in-vehicle software