Author Archives: Lynn Walford

Automotive blast from the past, articles from 2010 by Lynn Walford

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Itoyotapickun November, a great person, friend and world renown Caltech mathematician Rick Wilson was hit by a pickup truck.  He has spent the last six months recovering. When I went to visit him in the hospital with turkey soup, after Thanksgiving, he looked terrible. Dr. Wilson was crossing the street with the “walk sign” on. It was obvious to all involved that the driver who hit him was distracted.

I’ve written about distracted driving as early as January 2010 when U.S Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood  announced a regulatory ban of  texting by drivers of commercial vehicles such as large trucks and buses, along with stiff fines. Apparently the drivers are too distracted to be paying attention. Continue reading →

Why I live in the ideal place to write about connected cars and new car tech

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losangelesfreewaysAt the gym, I was got into a heated discussion with a man who was furious with automakers.

When I told him I write about connected cars he said, “You can’t have an electric car, unless you own a home, are rich or have another car!”

He had a limited view of the connected car space.  He was talking about electric cars.  Yes, it is nearly impossible even in large cities to drive an electric car without access to an electric outlet either in your own garage or nearby. His statements also made me realize that I live in the ideal place with the best of accoutrements for writing about connected cars and new car technology. Continue reading →

How my writing and bicycle put me into the middle of a local political scandal

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signandpollingplaceI guess I’m a born journalist, I have a photographic memory for facts that just don’t go away. This ability along with my alternative form of transportation put me smack in the middle of a local political scandal. Continue reading →

Why I still check facts and ask questions when writing about new technology

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sixtyminuteshackIt is very important for a journalist to not only understand the basics of a subject but to ask questions and understand all aspects of a topic. It is even more important, especially dealing with technology because one misunderstanding changes everything. Continue reading →

How People are Hard-wired for Wireless Connections, Like Bluetooth

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bluetooth_logoAs technology advances does the trend change the people or do the people create the trends? How important is wireless connectivity for human beings? It seems that we are programmed to do less physical connections and more wireless connections and we are hard-wired to do so.

The case in point is the recent Bluetooth bungle and Apple’s iOS 8-8.2 (iPhone 4S/5/5C/5S/6/6+) that is causing problems with connections with in-car systems, since September. Continue reading →

Call for Votes for Tech CARS Awards

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TechCARSAwardssFreelance writers can write more than just articles. I was able to take an entire year of car technology and turn it into awards with live online voting. The writing embodied trends in the industry while the voting application required a few HTML CSS tweaks. So far, the news of the awards and the voting have increased web traffic by 20%. I’ll let you how it helps with web traffic and notoriety on Freelancewriternow.com  Electric Car Insider co-sponsored the awards and embed links for the voting are offered to the media. Continue reading →

Thank You

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thanksgiving1This has been a great year for my writing career. Not only have I passed the 10,000 mark for the number of articles either written or edited, I have met many wonderful people who provided me with opportunities for learning more about AUTO Connected Car News.

I thank:

  • Megan Bozman at Automotive IT News for giving me the opportunity to write some amazing articles and interview pundits in the field of connected cars.
  • Philip Michaels, who has a deep understanding of what makes a great feature article and makes edits that makes a good article great.
  • Christopher Alan at Electrical Car Insider who is carrying on the green crusade to get more clean cars on the road for a better planet.
  • Annie Reddaway at Telematics West Coast who put together a stellar two-day program of connected car executives.
  • Andy Gryc the Conference Director of The Connected Car Expo at the LA Auto show for giving great interviews and creating an expo with panels of great technology and topics.
  • AAA for promoting safety and better quality vehicles.
  • Suart Fowle at OnStar for giving an exclusive interview for the OnStar RemoteApp on a Samsung Galaxy Gear. I congratulate him on his new baby girl.
  • Dr. Andy Burke who since the 70’s has guided green vehicle development in the state of California.
  • Beck Loving, a long time friend and mentor who offers the best meditation and spiritual lessons in the world.
  • Southern California Haiku Study Group, who have taught me how to put the most information into the fewest words possible.
  • The heroic support staff at Liquid Web, more than a webhost, a network of caring supportive techs who really know what they are doing.

Of course, I thank the millions of readers of my writing. I dedicate all my articles about breaking technology in the easiest to understand way possible to you.

How a denied interview lead to a more interesting breaking story

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chargingroadA few months ago, I read about DSRC being used to warn bicyclists and cars of the potential danger of them crashing into each other. I watched an interesting video on YouTube from Honda. I pitched an article on DSRC to a publication which accepted the idea.

It took a week of emails and phone calls to Honda PR and finally they informed me that they would not give an interview.  I don’t know if the PR department put a stop on the interview or if the publication was not big enough for them.  Continue reading →

Interview Reveals Secret Behind AT&T 4 LTE in Vehicles

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verizonracecarMy favorite part of being a freelance writer is interviewing experts. I can find out the deepest technical details from an expert that researching online would take days or even months.  A case in point, is that I  read in a news story that reason why Verizon Wireless was not providing 4G LTE connections in cars was that you can’t talk and use data at the same time.

From  my years writing about wireless, I knew that statement was incorrect but I did not why until I talked to an expert at Qualcomm for Automotive IT News. Continue reading →

Why I will never tire about learning about tires

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When I first starting researching car tires, I knew tires were important to the safety and quality of the ride. I never expected so much technology to go into the Michelin Premier A/S tires with EverGrip.

The desingers used 3D modeling and information from physicists, engineers and chemists. To test the tires, special GPS and tire shaver are used. Then to sell the tires, an illustrator/animator is hired to explain it all.

From now on, I’m spending a little more time researching before I buy new tires.