Jello wrote:

flynn23 wrote:

Jello wrote:

flynn23 wrote:

Jello wrote:

You may have already heard that Chrysler is planning to provide in-car wireless internet access to its vehicles. If not, expect to hear more about it later this year when the requisite hardware becomes a sales-floor option, or next year when it becomes factory standard for some cars. null

Wow. American automotive innovation.

Gotta love it. "We're going to have fuel efficient cars on dealer floors in 2009/2010!"

I've had EVDO/Wifi in my Defender for 2 years now. And it's a 1997 model! =)

Well, but they would be first, right? To offer it as a manufacturer's option? So, it really is innovation. Product-wise, not tech wise.

You proved my point. Product development from the Big 3 is GLACIAL! It's like the opposite of Moore's Law. Frankly, if we had left product development strictly up to Detroit with no regulation or severe economic forces pushing on it, then we'd still be driving 5000 lbs stamped steel bodies with no seat belts and drum brakes getting 10mpg on leaded fuel.

Ok but... foreign cars don't have wifi either. So this would be an example of the big 3 going first, and being more innovative. The opposite of what you're saying?

Despite what it might look like, I don't think foreign auto manufacturers do a lot of product development per se. They definitely kick our asses in quality and market research, but not product development. Most "innovations" come from Detroit. Most foreign marks copy the product development cues and out engineer us on cost to build, quality, and value. There are exceptions, but for things like the Accord and the Camry, this is true.

GM had a great success with the EV1, which is what inspired the Prius development. You can argue that GM didn't succeed with the EV1, but what I'm saying is that they proved that there was a market there and with the conditions moving more favorably, the market grew. Toyota bet on this and it worked. If market conditions didn't change or went the opposite way, then the Prius would've probably been another niche vehicle or been considered a failure.

The real point I'm trying to make is that the product development life cycle for cars is ridiculously out of touch. It's very complicated and expensive, but it still shouldn't take 4+ years to go from market research to show room floor. That's a fucking lifetime in almost any product other than homes and extreme durable goods. Hell, even refrigerators have a faster lifecycle.

Think of it this way: it takes about $100M+ to make a movie nowadays. What's the process to greenlight a movie? It takes maybe 3x-5x that to produce a new car line today. What's the process to greenlight that? They're not even in the same century.

On the one hand, I can see how you don't want to bet the farm on a technology like WiFi, since technology changes so fast (too fast?). But if you've done a good job with the product packaging, then it shouldn't be a big deal. You could engineer it so that it's upgradeable (WiFi to WiMax to whatever). This gives you an opportunity to get people into your showrooms and upsell them. I don't think this concept even gets thought of in the auto industry. They still think of cars as planned obsolescence, not as a platform or even customer relationship (a good exception is OnStar).

RE: In car WiFi - Hack a Day