2020 has been a year of major changes in automotive and our lives. I reviewed all the events I covered …
This summer has been hard for everybody. In fact the spring was pretty hard too. In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic I discovered a guilty pleasure on YouTube that will calm me down in a few seconds and makes me feel better. This phenomenon doesn’t seem to make sense until I figured it out what’s going on the YouTube channel– Shu and Tree there is hardly any plot but let me just say that it will get to you too. A video of a toy poodle’s first grooming has already reached 14 million views.
As the Coronavirus pandemic hits Los Angeles we need to wear face mask or cloth on our faces. But we’re not allowed to use the ready-made face masks for the medical professional which is fair. How can you make a face mask without a sewing machine?
I’m pleased to announce that I will be covering some exciting upcoming events in the coming months for Auto Futures where I have been promoted to contributing editor.
I like attending events because I get to learn new technology and meet interesting people. I also like being able to touch, feel, smell and drive new vehicles. If you will be at these events, you can contact me via youcanbookme or phone.
I have been writing for Auto Futures since the fall and I am pleased with our win/win relationship. It has been a pleasure working with content head Adrian Smith who has a wry sense of humor and understands what makes a great feature story. Trade shows can be exhausting but they are much more fun when you guided to scout out genius.
For example, after sharing that I had Vegas throat and sounded like by former landlady Mrs. Furlong—-Adrian Smith suggested a spin on my coverage of CES and that’s how I came up with the “That’s Entertainment” theme feature. I personally didn’t think that spending time at the “dog kissing booth” at the LA Auto Show was strange—but it did make my LA Auto Show round-up howl.
When I attend CES in Las Vegas, where the latest technology is on display, I talk a different language, I call it E2E (Engineer-to-Engineer). At every industry event there are technical words and abbreviations that are required to speak and write about the business.
Yesterday, I decided to take the day off and go to Santa Monica beach. I was expecting a nice quiet walk breathing in the ozone from the ocean. Instead, I came face-to-e-scooter with one of the hottest topics in the transportation industry, the rise of shared, app-based, dock-free e-scooters that are swarming fair weather cities.
Four years ago, I bought new lithium-ion batteries for my cordless phone system and remote control for my sound system. Starting in February, the batteries in the cordless phone system would only allow me to talk on the phone for ten to twenty minutes depending upon the handset. The battery for remote for the sound system expanded causing the remote to no longer fit into the dock and cracked the case. I was able to buy three new batteries for the phone system for $5.99. The new battery for the sound system remote was $14.99. My 2013 Nissan LEAF will be five-years old in June, new batteries for my Nissan LEAF are $5,000!
Recently, a self-driving driving Cruise Chevy Bolt was stopped and ticketed for getting way too close a pedestrian. Maybe there ought to be traffic schools for self-driving cars.
CES is over but the reverberations of events at the one of the largest trade shows in the world is a lesson for all of us in the automotive industry.
We will be profiling more news about the events in future articles the most important thing to notice, however, is that the biggest news and best stories are from when something goes really wrong—such as a power outage in the main hall where are the TVs, big screens and technology companies are showing their wares.