Lt.George Patton Jr. and the First Mechanical US Cavalry

Did you know that Lt. George Patton Jr. led the first mechanical cavalry charge in US history? The charge was against Poncho Villa, Lt. George Patton Jr led the charge in a 1916 Dodge touring car, he had 3 Dodge touring cars and 15 soldiers.
Ultimately Poncho Villa was shot by a pumkinseed salesman in his 1919 Dodge Roadster.

During WWII Dodge produced vehicles for the military in a specially purposed plant in Chicago.

BMW's New Dashboard Technology 

In the next few months BMW will be introducing a new feature to its line of vehicles, a digital helper that will assist drivers in finding near-by restaurants with open tables, assist drivers in making reservations and show the best route to get there. 

With companies like Google and Apple Inc. entering the automotive industry car manufactures are feeling the pressure to develop their own digital features to keep their customers. In a joint venture last year BMW AG, Daimler AG and Audi AG purchased Noki Oyj's HERE navigation and mapping business. BMW's that have Connected Drive dashboard electronics Connected can be installed. 

Former Finnish technology producer for Nokia Dieter May joined BMW 2014 as head of BMW's digital services and business models unit. In a statement May said, "We Have the right to survive in this game". " We don't know how it'll end, I think no one knew five years ago how the smartphone game would end."

May's unit has to come up with new digital products within weeks unlike car development cycles that can typically take several years to achieve. Created in 2015 May's unit has approximately 150 employees with offices in Munich, Shanghai and Chicago.

 BMW is currently talking with third party providers to provide them with more content.

Akron Ohio had the First all Electric Police vehicle

With the price gas these days electric cars are a fast and up coming rage, but did you know that the first police vehicle was 100% electric? In 1899 Akron Ohio had an all electric wagon that was powered by electricity fielded on the streets and could get up to 18mph on level ground. The wagon was powered by a pair of 4hp motors and could travel about 30 miles before the wagon's battery had to be recharged.

The wagon was built by the Collins Buggy Company at a cost of $2,400, it featured lights, a stretcher and gongs (this must have been their version of a siren). It was first used to pick up the drunk and disorderly, the wagons first call was to pick up a drunk man on the corner of Main and Exchange Street.

The Little Deuce Coupe a Police Car?

Did you know that in 1930's the police car of choice for most precincts was the Little Deuce Coupe? The Ford Model B was chosen because it was inexpensive, reliable and it had a V-8 engine.

An American Muscle Car of a bygone Era

The Chevrolet Impala (most notable model was the 1961 SS409)

 Marketed as a full-sized sedan with an unassuming profile, considered a "sleeper" car. The 1961 Impala Ss409 packed a whopping 409 ci. V-8 engine that did 13.58 seconds in a quarter mile traveling 105.88 miles per hour. It went from 0 to 60 miles per hour in under 6 seconds. The 409 ci. engine came with a single Carter four barrel carburetor that stock could generate up to 360 hp. and with a little hot rod tinkering it could be made to easily generate more than 400hp. Wow! 

The Chevrolet 409 ci. engine was the inspiration for the Beach Boys hit 409. 

California rejects Volkswagen's Plan to Fix its Diesel Vehicles

Volkswagen's proposed fix was not fast enough or adequate the State said today and will continue with its investigation into Volkswagen's software that allowed their vehicles to emit up to 40 times the legal level of allowable pollution. However, CARB (California Air Resources Board) has not assess any penalties, but did issue a new notice that the California air quality regulations had been violated by Volkswagen.
This Wednesday the CEO of Volkswagen Matthias Muller will be meeting with the EPA's (Environmental Protection Agency) chief Gina McCarthy regarding the emissions scandal that affects nearly 600,000 Volkswagen vehicles in the United States and up to 11 million additional vehicles worldwide.
In an emailed response Volkswagen stated "Today's announcement addresses the initial recall plans Volkswagen submitted to CARB in December." "We are committed to working cooperatively with CARB and other regulators, and we plan to continue our discussions tomorrow when we meet with the EPA,"

Recall for 2015 Jeep Compass and Patriot

The recall is for possible incorrect installation of the power steering hose clamp during assembly. The clamp may have been installed in the wrong location which could cause the low pressure return hose to become detached allowing fluid to leak out increasing the risk of a fire. The affected vehicles were manufactured between January 1, 2015 and May 11. 2015.

Interesting bit of information 

Did you know that Gian Paolo Dallara did most of Lamborghini Miura's engineering and chassis work?  He then moved on to Formula one before starting his own racing engineering firm Dallara Motorsports. Today Dallara Motorsports makes every Indy Car chassis.

And you thought you were having a frustrating day :-)

C5 Corvette and the Oldsmobile Aurora

Did you know that automobile manufactures like to use the same parts on different models of vehicles they manufacture? Here's one example you might find interesting the C5 Corvette and the Oldsmobile Aurora have the same door handles.

Qualcomm chosen by Volkswagen to provide chips for its 2017 Audi's

Volkswagen's is set to incorporate Qualcomm's 602 chip into its 2017 Audi's AG unit, the chips power communication and infotainment in vehicles. Qualcomm also announced a new 820A processor for vehicles, the companies current product will be installed in the 2017 Audi's.
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Qualcomm Inc. CEO Steve Mollekopf said "The car is being reinvented based on being connected".  "It's changing the way cars are used, sold, serviced and it's just the beginning".
Qualcomm is trying to broaden its reach beyond mobile phones where the company has made the majority of its income, sadly the company has lost its market share over this past year. Unfortunately for the company this past year Qualcomm's stock dropped 33% it was the companies worst performance since the 2001 technology bubble burst.