Ford's Expertise in Engineering Innovation and Adoption

[JeffKeryk]

As long as they plan to take EVs seriously. All the companies running back from them are going to be behind when everything flips back to EVs if they don't.

As far as I'm concerned when it comes to efficiency or tech I can't see a single car I would buy that doesn't say Tesla on it if I had to buy right now. Call me a fan boy all you want, everyone else is more expensive with less tech.

There's lotsa good cars out there, depending on what you wanna spend. Tesla is the best EV, with Rivian close. But the others offer a lot.
The new BMW Neue Klasse started with a clean sheet of paper, vs putting a motor and battery in an existing platform. Of course you gotta pay if you want Bavarian. The new, ground up MBZ is sure to be good, but those dash boards are pretty darn over the top.

I am curious to see what Toy/Lex comes up with.
But for now, if you want the best EV, it's Tesla.

EVs sales are on fire around here right now, due to 2 things: Tesla Supercharger Network NACS and $6 gas.

 

[dogememe]

As long as they plan to take EVs seriously. All the companies running back from them are going to be behind when everything flips back to EVs if they don't.

As far as I'm concerned when it comes to efficiency or tech I can't see a single car I would buy that doesn't say Tesla on it if I had to buy right now. Call me a fan boy all you want, everyone else is more expensive with less tech.

I mean every review of the new Bolt is positive. I just think that wireless charging pad should be standard!

 

[Torrid]

I mean every review of the new Bolt is positive. I just think that wireless charging pad should be standard!

I hate wireless charging with a passion. It's such a waste on energy in heat just like an ICE engine is. I see why so many like it, but that's not something that appeals to me. I would go out of my way not to use it just like I do on my current electronics and I used to swear by it in the past.

GM's Supercruise is also a poor copy of FSD with a lot more limitations. Not to mention there's no track ready Bolt. It reminds me of when I bought my wife a Nissan Versa because she wanted a well equipped normal vehicle. She got bored and we traded it in 2 months later for an old V8 Jaguar. Ok, she has the same car sickness I do and I just encouraged it.

I just want a fast daily that is set up to have real fun in that I can have fun in that also is a great commuter. No one makes that for sale in the US outside of Tesla and a couple of Hyundais.

 

[CKN]

You mean that drop-dead gorgeous Cybertruk?
View attachment 336643

The issue is even after this hits the bottom it will need less parts than the last Ford recall.............

 

[Torrid]

Of course @Trav reacts like a usual hater with no actual experience with the cars.

Why I bothered logging back into this cesspool is beyond me.

 

[dogememe]

I hate wireless charging with a passion. It's such a waste on energy in heat just like an ICE engine is. I see why so many like it, but that's not something that appeals to me. I would go out of my way not to use it just like I do on my current electronics and I used to swear by it in the past.

GM's Supercruise is also a poor copy of FSD with a lot more limitations. Not to mention there's no track ready Bolt. It reminds me of when I bought my wife a Nissan Versa because she wanted a well equipped normal vehicle. She got bored and we traded it in 2 months later for an old V8 Jaguar. Ok, she has the same car sickness I do and I just encouraged it.

I just want a fast daily that is set up to have real fun in that I can have fun in that also is a great commuter. No one makes that for sale in the US outside of Tesla and a couple of Hyundais.

I mean sure but wasting a tenth of a watt here and there doesn't matter. Compared to other things on that waste electricity on this planet wireless charging a cell phone is not something we should worry about.

I use wireless charging almost exclusively for all my phones all the time. I have a charging stand on my desk, a charging pad by my bed, and of course the charging pad in the car.

Sometimes people complain about "wireless charging ruins the phone battery sooner because it creates heat" well I get excellent lifespan out of my devices even though I use them very heavily and part of why they last so long is that the charging pads I have at home are slow because they're plugged into low power plugs so the max wattage isn't that high. The one on my desk is plugged into the front USB port on one of my servers (yeah, I know, it's dumb, but whatever), and the one by my bed is plugged in some $20 Amazon lamp with a USB port on it. Now if I used a proper USB-C charger and cable directly from a wall outlet I won't have the heat of wireless charging but it would charge 10x faster which is worse for the battery so it's a compromise worth making.

Of course @Trav reacts like a usual hater with no actual experience with the cars.

Why I bothered logging back into this cesspool is beyond me.

It's funny because I don't really care about motor oil anymore yet I still feel like this forum has lots of interesting content. But if there is a section I don't like I just don't respond to stuff in that section. Not sure why other people, even otherwise very intelligent people, can't just do the same. People that hate EVs should just stay out of the EV section and let us enjoy quiet, fast cars that cost less to maintain and don't need $6+ conventional.

 

[Trav]

Of course @Trav reacts like a usual hater with no actual experience with the cars.

Why I bothered logging back into this cesspool is beyond me.

Not a hater but show me a decent fairly priced EV made in this country. Hint, it isn't Tesla. I have driven a model S and a model 3 and found nothing impressive about them.

 

[JHZR2]

Agreed, we were talking about "digital transformation" back in the 90s, except then it was from paper to electronic. This buzzword is over used and pretty much worthless to anyone who's actually doing real technical work.

We're already way past the point to where most organizations due stuff with computers. So what are we talking about here? Cloud? AI? Touch interfaces? Biometrics? Something else?

Boeing designed the 777 in the early 90s on CAD. "Digital transformation" is nothing new. Make this technobabble mean something.

Exactly right, agree 100%. Gets used as a buzzword.

He mentions ERP. Integrated approaches, product development, etc. no meat. No basis of MBSE or physics based models for work, though it may be too in the weeds.

AI is helpful but AI doesn’t define experimentation and validation of real physics, at least yet. And can be a liability besides rudimentary functions as it can be way wrong.

You hear the speaker refer to "Digital Twin". From IBM:

"A digital twin is a dynamic virtual representation of a physical object, process, or system, updated in real time using IoT sensor data, AI, and software analytics. It enables simulation, monitoring, and predictive maintenance to optimize performance, reduce downtime, and accelerate innovation. Key types include component, asset, system, and process twins."

Beyond the engineering and manufacturing cycles, there is AI enhanced sales (direct vs dealership), service and repair.
Forecast analytics, including AI simulation data, across the board to get ahead of the game.

Of course you are right, DT started in the early 1990's; this is the next level; far more advanced (AI) and comprehensive. Beyond automating the Accounting Finance and CAD functions. PLM and QA are the low hanging fruit, but the DT this guy is about is end-to-end transformation. Levels of management will go away. Physical AI will take jobs. Much is undefined. Heck, a short time ago many were laughing at the foolish Gigacasting process. They are not laughing anymore; it's all about catch up. It is a new world.

But don't take my word for it; listen to the CEOs of the world.

If you want to see what a good embodiment of a digital twin is, see some of the talks by Dr. Colin Paris from GE Global Research. He had some great ones working through lifecycle data, real physics, and other parameters to inform decisions on operations of a plant. One I’ve particularly enjoyed is this:



There is much good to the tech. But like anything else, it’s only as good as the implementation, and more with AI and digital tools, the rigor behind it. Which is far more expensive than the work itself. All models are wrong, some are useful. With 12 parameters you can model an elephant, and with 13 you can wiggle its tail. All of this has and can be done. The next innovation is managing the tools and interfaces together to get more data, and then use other tools (like AI) to think on it and dive deeper. And computing does indeed help because you can iterate far faster than before. Complex models can take days to simulate fractions of a second of linked phenomena. Being able to do more faster, has huge benefit. Especially if the twin can get higher fidelity physics and inform more decisions better and faster.

CEOs are saying it because the buzzwords prevent them from being left behind or being slow adopters. There is competition that creates seams between entities working together, and there still isn’t a fully fleshed out basis of how to do a lot of this. A lot of money being spent is still chasing the good idea fairy and then hoping it can be monetized.