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During the rulemaking process, the Bureau of Industry and Security found that certain technologies originating from China or Russia present an undue and unacceptable risk to U.S. national security.

“Cars today aren’t just steel on wheels – they’re computers,” outgoing Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a news release Tuesday. “They have cameras, microphones, GPS tracking, and other technologies that are connected to the internet. Through this rule, the Commerce Department is taking a necessary step to safeguard U.S. national security and protect Americans’ privacy by keeping foreign adversaries from manipulating these technologies to access sensitive or personal information.”

The software bans will apply to Model 2027 cars, while the hardware bans will apply to Model 2030 vehicles.

Article:

• https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Politics/us-ban-russian-chinese-software-hardware-vehicles/story?id=117627935

Teslas seem to do some of the best at retaining their range.

Articles:

• https://insideevs.com/news/747374/ev-range-loss-cold-heat-pump-data/

Security researcher Sam Curry found a security flaw in the always connected Starlink system integrated into Subaru cars. It allows bad actors to obtain drivers’ personal information include VINs, location history, the odometer, and personal owner information, including customer names, phone numbers, and email addresses.

Using the obtained data, the hackers could proceed to the next phase of the attack and use the access to Starlink servers to create new administrator accounts to a connected vehicle. Doing this granted the attacker full access to remote control features, meaning that a bad actor would have obtained permission to start a connected Subaru car, lock and unlock it, and see where it was in real-time.

Articles:

• https://www.autoevolution.com/news/hackers-found-a-way-to-control-subaru-cars-over-the-internet-without-drivers-even-knowing-246128.html

As automotive demand falters in Europe, Bosch said 450 of it’s employees (primarily in Stuttgart and Gerlingen) would get reduced hours, and equivalently reduced pay, starting March 1, 2025. In Oct, they also announced plans to lay off 7,000 employees

Link

• https://fortune.com/europe/2024/11/22/german-giant-bosch-employees-unwanted-4-day-week/

The end of speeding as we know it?

The NTSB is calling on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to mandate the use of speed control technology in every new car. It uses a mechanism called ISA (intelligent speed-assist).

ISA technology uses the car’s GPS location and matches it to a database of posted speed limits and onboard cameras to come up with the legal speed limit. Passive ISA systems warn a driver when the vehicle exceeds the speed limit through sound, visuals or haptic alerts. Active systems might make it more difficult to increase the speed of a vehicle, or even fully limit it from going, above a posted speed limit.

Europe already mandated such systems in all new vehicles starting in 2022.

Articles:

• https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/16/ntsb-speed-reduction-tech-in-every-new-car/

CES 2024 showed off a lot of new automotive tech and was focused on AI – but largely gone were the earth-shattering predictions of fully autonomous driving. So if driverless cars aren’t ready to fully replace human drivers for some time – what’s the alternative?

Instead we saw other things like around improving driver-car control. Distractions surrounding using and correcting existing map/audio/infotainment systems can cause accidents. To help, Mercedes decided to add ChatGPT to it’s in-car voice control in the MBUX Virtual Assistant to promote more natural interaction with the car. VW and BMW also announced it was also adding ChatGPT to it’s in-car voice control.

Perhaps fully autonomous driving is a bridge too far right now, but we can greatly improve the driving experience in countless little ways like this. Like many have said, I don’t need an AI that does all the things I want to do – I want an AI that does all the little, dumb things I DON’T want to do (like laundry and dishes).

Articles:

• https://www.tomsguide.com/opinion/forget-self-driving-cars-ces-2024-showed-us-how-ai-will-truly-benefit-drivers

The $1 Trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (text) passed by President Biden in Nov 2021 included a little clause that I think might surprise everyone.

ALL cars sold from 2026 onwards must include a drunk driving detection system in order to use the vehicle. It might mean a passive system of some sort that analyzes your driving – or could include something as invasive as a breathalyzer. There’s increasing evidence this may not be possible by 2026, but it’s something to keep in mind.

SEC. 24220
            (1) Advanced drunk and impaired driving prevention 
        technology.--The term ``advanced drunk and impaired driving 
        prevention technology'' means a system that--
                    (A) can--
                          (i) passively monitor the performance of a 
                      driver of a motor vehicle to accurately identify 
                      whether that driver may be impaired; and
                          (ii) prevent or limit motor vehicle operation 
                      if an impairment is detected;
                    (B) can--

[[Page 135 STAT. 832]]

                          (i) passively and accurately detect whether 
                      the blood alcohol concentration of a driver of a 
                      motor vehicle is equal to or greater than the 
                      blood alcohol concentration described in section 
                      163(a) of title 23, United States Code; and
                          (ii) prevent or limit motor vehicle operation 
                      if a blood alcohol concentration above the legal 
                      limit is detected; or
                    (C) is a combination of systems described in 
                subparagraphs (A) and (B).