As we watch the sad spectacle of the auto industry flailing in the economic meltdown, there is plenty of anger directed at the industry. While many people have a position on the bailout, vehemently against it or for it, few have offered any ideas on how the industry can climb out of the hole it has dug itself into. So, what should the auto industry do?
One school is the “let it play itself out” school which maintains
that letting these companies go bankrupt and letting the inevitable
“laws” of Darwinian survival take their course. So this school would
offer no bailout, no handouts, but would simply let the companies
figure out their own survival strategies.
Another school points that some support to these companies is
warranted as they form one of the foundational pillars of the economy,
and letting them collapse would invite catastrophic consequences on the
larger economy. So this faction believes that a period of support to
the industry would help it tide over the current crisis, and that it
would be back in in good health when the economy rebounds. They point
to gas prices which could resuscitate demand as the economy pulls out
of the current recession.
But critics point out that even if these companies are supported
through the current rough patch, there is no guarantee the energy
prices will continue to remain low. In fact, as the world economy
rebounds, countries like China will start to soak up more world wide
energy production, as a result of which there is bound to be a spike in
oil prices. This spike will prolong the death pangs of the US auto
industry.
While all these views are not wrong none offers a clear way out
for the auto industry to revive itself. So here then are some ideas
that can help the industry reinvent itself rather than merely provide
temporary relief.
First recognize that cars now need to be part of the internet
based mindspace of the consumer. That is, it should be a seamless part
of the net for the consumer. So for example, a consumer equipped with a
bluetooth enabled iphone, when he gets in his car, songs would
automatically begin playing from his ipod. The consumer would have
handsfree calling and voice actuated dialing. In effect the consumers’
ipod and phone would become an integral part of the car.
Backup cameras, currently offered on only the more expensive autos, would become standard equipment.
The car would also have a high speed internet communication and
would transmit all of its operating data to a remote server and
schedule servicing and identify maintenance issues automatically. It
would also monitor tire pressure and batteries and summon help
automatically in case of either a puncture or a dead battery.
The car also would have an audio interface that retrieves and
reads email aloud and has a speech recognition system to enable users
to reply to emails by dictating responses.
Yet another innovation would be to provide consumers with an
economy mode where the car accelerates slowly and cuts power to the
engine when the consumer is going at a steady speed, in effect making
it effortless to be light footed.
All cars should have sensors to detect that it has run out of fuel
or that it has been involved in a crash and summon assistance via the
consumers’ cellphone.
Given the precipitous drop in display prices, it makes no sense to
have meters on the dash; instead cars could have a configurable screen
that shows speed, full level and in addition a hundred other
configurable pieces of info such as outside temperature, average fuel
economy etc. Display screens could also be standard in the back of the
front seats.
With all the advances in high grade biodegradable plastics the
notion of using metal to produce a car is an antiquated legacy. Like
computers, cars should be made of plastic and have reconfigurable
“skins”.
A car can also be part of a social network. So for example,
identifying others on a similar commute and helping consumers hook up
with others on the same commute pattern. This would help consumers
easily opt in to car pooling with the car doing the heavy lifting of
identifying potential car pool mates.
Yet another advanced idea would be for cars to have an
undercarriage that can automatically dock with a dolly that is part of
a high speed rail link. The dolly would lift the car a few inches off
the road and transport it at high speed on an electrified rail line
(perhaps one that is part of the highway system) and consumers could
program their destination via the screen on their dashboard. This
seamless rubber /rail network would enable ever more cars to travel at
high speeds without powerful engines, optimally transfer larger numbers
of cars over limited road/rail space, and best of all, relieve
consumers of the choice of driving large distances and increase safety
by an order of magnitude.
Currently parking remains a big chore, especially parallel
parking. The solution would be that cars are equipped with a system
that can turn the wheels 90 degrees so that a consumer would be able to
insert a car sideways into a parking slot.
When consumers pull up at tall booths, a huge amount of gas is
wasted as they provide change and then accelerate rapidly. We can have
a system that is a nationwide standard for tolls and have all cars
equipped with transponders and tolls automatically billed to consumers.
Yet another help would be a car that guides its owner to its place
in a parking lot. So in a properly equipped parking lot the car would
electronically be able to determine its exact location and transmit
this information to the consumers’ cellphone. So when the consumer
wants to return to his car, he could call a number on this cellphone
and be told exactly where he is parked.
Cars could also have adaptive lighting that raises the beam as the car goes faster so that more of the road ahead is visible.
These are just a few of the ideas that auto manufacturers need to
consider. Gone are the days when the automobile was used only to
transport us from place A to place B. Today, the automobile should be
considered an integral part of our digital lifestyle, and the US auto
industry is ideally positioned to exploit this convergence, given that
the US is at the forefront of digital innovation.
