Connected And Autonomous Car Security Subject Of Congressional Concern

Everybody and their brother is salivating at the thought of connected and autonomous car technology. The cars of tomorrow will communicate with each other and with transportation infrastructure to speed drivers quickly and safely from place to place. They will create new business opportunities as people give up owning private cars and participate in ride sharing and ride hailing services instead.

Reduced Congestion

In theory, congestion in cities could be slashed by up to 90% because one fully utilized autonomous car does the work of ten traditional cars. People will be able to turn commuting time into productive time once they no longer need to keep eyes on the road. (Even though we know 98% of them will use that extra time to take selfies or play solitaire on their digital devices.) Injuries and fatalities from motor vehicle collisions will be significantly reduced because self driving cars simply won’t get into road accidents in the first place (we hope).

Car makers like Tesla paint a portrait of an autonomous car future transportation that positively glows with promise. It reminds one of the Steely Dan song about the wonders that would flow from the first International Geophysical Year. “What a beautiful world this will be. What a glorious time to be free.”

Cyber Security Is An Illusion

Are there any holes in this scenario of wonderment? Yes, in fact there are. Cyber security, as we learned during the last election, is fraught with danger. Even apart from international intrigue, hackers are routinely able to break into the data systems of large banks and retailers and cart off millions of customer records. Identity theft is big business. And computers, despite their many virtues, sometimes fail.

“Once a vehicle connects to the Internet, it is hackable,” says Yoni Heilbronn, chief marketing officer for Argus Cyber Security in Israel. “A vehicle has multiple penetration vectors, with 100 million lines of software code and an average of 10,000 known software bugs in it when it rolls out of Detroit or Stuttgart.” Hardly comforting words, are they.

In Search Of The Goldilocks Solution

The Senate Commerce Committee is holding hearings about this issue as it considers legislation that would establish connected and autonomous car standards. The auto industry is urging Congress to act so there is one uniform set of rules that apply nationwide. Having to deal with 50 sets of rules in 50 different states would delay the process dramatically. But they don’t want Congress to make the rules too burdensome, either.

“We think the best way to realize your objective is to have a dynamic approach,” Mitch Bainwol, president of the Alliance of Automotive Manufacturers, told the Commerce Committee. “Our fear is that standards would become obsolete very quickly.” There is some truth to that. Regulations tend to lock down the process to a particular date and time. Once rules are in place, they are hard to change as new innovations emerge. Older readers may remember it took the federal government about 40 years to overturn the mandate that all cars sold in America have sealed beam headlights.

Self Regulation = No Regulation

But there is another side of the coin, according to Senator Ed Markey. “History shows that with airbags and with seat belts, unless there’s a mandate it’s just not [happening]. Unfortunately, the industry moves slowly. The best players move voluntarily, the worst players don’t. And the worst players are the ones that cause all the damage out on the highways. You can’t just leave it up to any one manufacturer to do it,” Markey added. “You need to have every one of the players accepting that as a responsibility. Otherwise the streets won’t be safer. These vehicles will be hacked.”

It’s not all about automotive safety. Connected cars will store a lot of personal information onboard about their owners — credit card information, e-mail and contact list data, and social media passwords no name just a few. “We should not have to choose between being connected and being protected,” said Senator Markey. He added that federal standards should be dynamic and constantly upgraded.

Greed Is Not So Good After All

Legislation is expected to be filed later this year that will establish the ground rules going forward. Some will moan about government regulations always gumming up the works, increasing the cost of doing business and limiting job growth. But leaving it to corporations to self regulate hasn’t worked out too well in the past. From Enron to Lehmann Brothers, the age old curse of greed has overcome good intentions every time.

Source: Automotive News

US Senate And House Working On 2 Versions of EV Bill

Although often billed as matching measures, the House and Senate versions of the Electric Drive Vehicle Deployment Act introduced today have several key differences.

One biggie: The Senate version of the measure establishes a $10 million prize for the developer of a commercially viable EV battery capable of delivering 500 miles of range on a single charge.

Another: The House version sets aside funds to incentivize hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles; the Senate version ignores fuel cell vehicles. Neither measure provides aid for development of hydrogen fuel infrastructure.

And except for a provision the House version that calls for $100 million in bonds to be sold by regional governments to help fund infrastructure development, we haven't seen anything in either bill that says discusses where the money will come from. Apparently that's something to be worked out as the measures are debated.

Both bills are being cheered by EV and environmental activists, who see the effort as the first time Congress has taken a bipartisan look at methods of promoting rapid introduction and use of electric-drive vehicles, a category that covers plug-in hybrids, battery-electric vehicles and, in at least the House version of the measure, hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles.

We brought you a broad outline of the two bills early this morning, now here's some additional detail and a look, as we understand things based on preliminary info (the full text of the measures hasn't been posted yet) at the major differences.

• The House bill would cost about $11 billion over 5 years; the price tag on the Senate measure is about $10 billion.
• The House measure would establish at least five early deployment regions - communities wouldhttp://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2010/05/congress-gets-2-versions-of-ev-bill-all-together-now-we-can-work-it-out.html compete for the designation - and would provide funding of $800 million each to be used for EV purchase and fueling system deployment incentives.
  
• The Senate version would create five to 15 of the deployment regions but would fund each with only $250 million.
• The Senate would provide immediate rebates of up to $10,000 to purchasers of electric drive vehicles; the House would require deployment regions to provide rebates or other incentives of at least $2,000 per vehicle, but would aphttp://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2010/05/congress-gets-2-versions-of-ev-bill-all-together-now-we-can-work-it-out.htmlply that to 100,000 vehicles in each region.
• The House version provides for tax credits of up to $2,000 for consumer purchases of EV chargers and up to $50,000 for purchases of multiple chargers by businesses.
• The Senate version earmarks $1.5 billion for battery research aimed at lowering the cost of the advanced technology batteries demanded by electric drive vehicles.
• The Senate measure would expand federal tax credits for rechargeable battery electric-drive vehicles to include medium- and heavy-duty hybrids - a category that can cover big pickups and SUVS as well as commercial trucks.

We're sure there's more, and we'll endeavor bring it to you as soohttp://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2010/05/congress-gets-2-versions-of-ev-bill-all-together-now-we-can-work-it-out.htmln as we can successfully parse the two measures.

Meantime, we find ourselves in agreement with David Friedman, research director of the Union of Concerned Scientists' Clean Vehicles Program, who said the bills would "move electric drive technologies into the fast lane" but need to be reconciled to ensure "that they provide a level playing field for all electric-drive vehicles and the necessary infrastructure to recharge and refuel them; including hydrogen and fuel cell electric vehicle technology."

Source: Edmunds.com

Congresses Passes Legislation Allowing Three-Wheeled Vehicles to Share in Energy Department Funds

The Gull Winged Aptera









Finally, the little guys will get some of the action. Instead of the giant, bloated and wasteful companies like GM getting all the handouts, companies like Aptera and Elio will get a slice of the pie. All we can say is, "It's about time".

From Automotive News:

A bill to make fuel-efficient three-wheeled vehicles eligible for federal funding now available to automakers and their suppliers has passed Congress and is headed to the White House for President Barack Obama's signature.

Obama is expected to sign the legislation, a White House spokeswoman said.

The bill, which would open Energy Department funds to companies such as Aptera Motors and Elio Motors, was passed by the Senate yesterday as part of the energy appropriations bill after being approved by the House.

“This is a huge win for scientific innovation and the environment,” said Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Calif., a co-sponsor of the original bill. “We need more innovation and less regulation when it comes to promoting new ways to save energy while saving money at the pump.”

The legislation has been criticized by General Motors Co. The company has said the Energy Department's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Incentive Program is intended for large automakers that make many cars and whose technology will help save large amounts of gasoline.

GM spokesman Greg Martin declined comment today. GM has applied for three Energy Department loans totaling $10 billion.

Possible borrowers

Aptera plans to begin mass production of its plug-in electric vehicle, called 2e, in the middle of next year. CEO Paul Wilbur has said the company wants to borrow $75 million from the Energy Department.

The Vista, Calif., company's electric vehicle will be able to go at least 100 miles on an electric charge, Wilbur has said.

Elio plans to start marketing a narrow, gasoline-powered three-wheeler by the spring of 2011. The Tempe, Ariz., company expects to start marketing an 83-mpg vehicle for under $7,500 by the spring of 2011, owner Paul Elio has said.

The legislation would overturn Energy Department rules that limit funding to any four-wheeled vehicle that meets certain emissions and fuel-economy requirements.

It would expand eligibility for the loan program to fully enclosed vehicles that are designed to carry at least two adults and that average at least 75 mpg.

The Energy Department also would have to reconsider applications filed last year that were rejected because the vehicles didn't qualify. The agency has awarded more than $8 billion of the advanced technology loans this year.

White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage did not immediately respond to a request for comment