Archive for February, 2015
iPlanet of the iDrives: Does Apple Want Global Domination?
Is this the future for Apple? image Credit: viperapps.co.uk
This plan has been in the making since the beginning of time itself. Everywhere you look they have been there, slowly creeping into the collective consciousness. From the basic foodstuff that animals feast upon for survival, to the fruit that tempted Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, to the falling realisation that gave Newton his idea for gravity, to the making of computers and phones, Apple have been gathering their strength. Their latest venture is to enter the car industry with their own Apple car. This does beg the question, are Apple slowly trying to take over?
Before you get too worried, I have not forgotten that this is indeed an automotive blog. The content of this blog will therefore fall on around the concept of the Apple car. The rumours surrounding Apple moving into the car industry has been swirling for quite some time now, and to this day remains nothing more than speculation. However, it has reared its fascinating head once again with the latest news that Apple have reportedly been poaching employees from both Tesla and A123 systems (battery makers) to name but a few, which has landed Apple in a bit of a sticky wicket of a situation. And by sticky wicket I mean lawsuit against Apple by A123 accusing them of stealing workers from them. I would be stupid to try and get involved with that, so I shall stick to what I know and focus on their car.
This latest news from the front has given another slice of tantalizing information regarding the release of an Apple-mobile. The attempts to convert employees from companies like Tesla and A123 point to one thing, an electric car. Unless this is some strange double bluff and Apple are in fact going to release a petrol-guzzling planet killing super car with the capability of going 1,000,000 mph, and in which case I will quite literally eat my shorts.
Now I have had somewhat of a fluctuating relationship with Apple, and perhaps I represent exactly what Apple are aiming for. For me it began with an outright refusal to buy into the ‘Apple’ brand name, claiming that it was an over-expensive marketing ploy just to bring in the dollar. Next thing I knew, I had downloaded iTunes because it had a more user-friendly operation than the equivalent Windows Media Player. With iTunes comes an iPod, obviously. I vowed that would be it, I would never buy the iPhone. In my defense it did take a few years for me to give into that one; when my phone at the time finally died my head started telling me that the iPhone was really the only option to do what I wanted in a phone. When it came to laptops I had already accepted my fate and thought I may as well complete the set. After all, the iCloud means I can sync all of my data and documents! Their clever marketing strategy and simple user experience make their products feel impossible to live without. The sad thing is I know there are much cheaper options out there, but I just can’t stop myself anymore. Shame really!
It will take some doing for Apple to out-do Tesla, but maybe that’s why they tried poaching some of their staff! Image Credit: Autoblog.com
Apple are one of those companies that I do have a grudging respect for, mainly because their products are marketed in such a way that they seem to answer the problems you never realised you had, and fill the void you never knew existed. Furthermore, Apple are clever in their timing in releasing products in new business sectors; for example the introduction of their first iPhone into the smartphone market came at the perfect time in 2007. Although they were not the first on the market, they wait until a few models have been released, before totally eclipsing them with a superior example that places its emphasis on user experience. Based on the electric car market as it stands, this is the perfect time for Apple to do what they do best. Electric cars have reached a stage where the technology is improving by the year, but there is yet to be that ONE model that defines the brand. When it comes to a smartphone, the iPhone has become the biro or the hoover of its generation. If and when they release their car, I imagine this is what they are shooting for.
Other reports have suggested that Apple are working on a secret project named ‘Titan’ which is meant to be a minivan type vehicle, but again these exist only as heard through the gossip-vine. Do remember of course that Apple has no manufacturing abilities of its own, so even if a design was finalised a whole new infrastructure would need to be set up. Although being Apple I can’t imagine that would be too much of a struggle for them to manage. I was pondering too what they would eventually call their motorised masterpiece; the obvious suggestions would be things such as the iCar or the iDrive. The project may be called Titan, but that would be a rather different route for them to take. Unless this time it was TiTAN, or something just as ridiculous. If they did go with iDrive, I would expect the car to contain some autonomous technologies.
Is this the future of Apple? Image Credit: TechnoBuffalo.com
In order to create THE electric car for the market, Apple would probably have no choice but give the car some autonomous qualities, whether it was self-driving or advanced computer systems (all controlled by Siri of course), otherwise it wouldn’t have that ‘easy user experience’ card to play that it usually does. Imagine though this did come to fruition, as amazing as the car would be, would it suffer from the same problems as a lot of Apple products? The electric motor would probably run out in all of about 30 minutes to start with, while every now and again the whole car would freeze for an inordinate amount of time even if you were in the middle of driving. And most importantly, it would be significantly more expensive than anything else on the market, but would be advertised in such a way as a ‘luxury, trendy, must-have, easiest to use’ car that they would sell in the millions.
As the plans of Apples automotive desires come to light, one question has crossed my mind; is Apple trying to take over the world? The current projections place production to begin in 2020 for the new car, if of course Apple can set up a whole new infrastructure for production sale and distribution. The business reasoning behind this move would without doubt be ‘looking for new sectors to expand into’, but this for all we know could mean that slowly but surely we are transformed into citizens of the iPlanet, with only the small band of Microsoft rebels to liberate us. This does remind me of the film I, Robot (2004) in which the robotics company US Robotics has slowly expanded into every part of our social foundations, becoming the most powerful and influential business in the world.
Image taken from I, Robot (2004)
Perhaps this is the plan Apple has in store for us all. Just maybe Apple have now become the same fruit that poisoned the minds of Adam and Eve through temptation. But then again, as a result of that (if any of that was even true) look at some of the amazing things that have been created. So we should be thanking them for tasting the forbidden fruit, and maybe one day we will thank Apple too.
Either way, I look forward to reading more about the updates on this fascinating new business venture for Apple.
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Peace and Love!
BTCC Announces New Look BMR for 2015
The new look BMR team for 2015. Image Credit: BTCC.net
A few days ago, the Touring Car world was treated to a much anticipated announcement regarding the fate of two former champions. In a video that echoed the shock factor of last year where Alain Menu returned to the grid, Team BMR announced that both Colin Turkington and Jason Plato would join the team alongside owner Warren Scott and Aron Smith. The reactions across the BTCC community have been massive, due in no small part to Turkington and Plato being two of the most popular names on the grid. Having immersed myself within these discussions now is the time for me to set forth my opinions on this unto you all.
Team BMR may have only been in the BTCC since 2014, but to say they have made a name for themselves in somewhat of an understatement. Almost a year ago, I found myself writing a very similar article regarding the BMR announcement which named a certain Alain Menu as one of the drivers for the 2014 season. As my all-time favourite touring car driver, to hear that Menu was returning to the championship where he made his name was huge; the rest of the BTCC paddock and fans all appeared to be in certain agreement. So when it came to 2015, BMR was going to have to pull something rather special out the bag to top their previous effort. And I think it is safe to say that they have more than risen to the challenge.
The majesty of the announcement was such that it was broadcast through the official BTCC channels. As the video played, the darkness was soon brought to light; Team BMR would be providing drives for both two time champion Jason Plato and 2014 champ Colin Turkington. This ended the months of speculation surrounding the two drivers; many feared Turkington would repeat his 2010 bad luck and be left without a drive despite winning the title the year before. And of course there were the rumours of Plato’s drive for this year, which were not helped after Plato’s on-going silence and recent tweet:
“Might have a year off”
The initial reactions to the news have taken the form of ‘Plato vs Turkington: who will come out on top’. There are those groups that are devote worshippers at the altar of Plato, but on the other hand there are those that see him as the human form of Satan himself. And as the reigning champion, Turkington is definitely not short of followers. Without diving headlong into the debate, both have proved themselves worthy of two championships to their name which therefore means that both have a considerable chance of excelling with Team BMR. However, what I would like to talk about is not their abilities to score good finishes, but their ability to work well together within Team BMR itself.
The final race weekend of the 2014 season saw a direct (albeit one sided mind you) battle between Colin Turkington in the eBay BMW and Jason Plato in the KX Momentum Tesco Clubcard Fuelsave How Many More Sponsors Does A Car Need MG. Throughout the season Plato had been complaining about the performance disparity between the RWD cars (read: the conquering BMW of Turkington) and the FWD cars. Turkington took the championship in the first race, with Plato not able to finish as high up the order as he needed. Race two ended for Turkington in typical Plato-maturity where he quite obviously took Turkington out at Paddock; it was almost comical at the time but such amusement quickly turned to sourness directed at Mr ‘It Wasn’t Me’ himself. I would also like to point out that in 2012 at Knockhill Aron Smith and Jason Plato had a coming together that ended both their races. Let’s hope all is forgotten now ey?
Will BMR face a fierce rivalry like that of Plato and Muller in 2001? Image Credit: BTCC.net
This leads me perfectly to my theory about the inter-team politics that may dominate the BMR garage this year. First of all, I would like to postulate that what may escalate is a situation similar to that of 2001, the infamous rivalry of Plato and Yvan Muller. In 2000, Plato had to play second fiddle to Muller in the Vauxhall team, which was often shown when Plato had to wave Muller through on numerous occasions. Therefore, for the 2001 season Plato got shared number one status with Muller so they were finally able to race themselves. One race of particular note was Silverstone where Muller was slowing down on the last lap and in Plato’s attempt to pass he hit Muller which damaged his car (apparently). On the podium Muller refused to acknowledge Plato in what was a truly immature display. The best part was, it turned out Muller was already suffering with a problem, yet he used the Plato overtake as an excuse as to what caused it. Plato did eventually take the title after Muller’s car gave up on him in the final race at Brands Hatch. Of course rumours flew that Plato’s engineers had done something to Muller’s car. Since then, Plato has always had the number one status in all the teams he has competed for.
If we now fast forward back to 2015, we are in a situation where there are two double champions in the same team, both of whom will be fighting for the top. Unless Plato’s sponsorship has given him weight in the team, I cannot imagine either of them settling for being number two to the other. Even in the announcement video, although it was all big news and playfulness, I definitely got a whiff of tension already between the two. Plato knows his status in the paddock, and one may get the impression that this gifts him the opportunity to be top man in any team. I believe that the 2015 BTCC season may play out in a similar fashion to the 2014 F1 season; Plato and Turkington will replace the Hamilton and Rosberg dynamic. Will there be any underhand play? Will the different sides of the pit garage be divided? Will there be more immature behaviour? If I am honest, I can see this coming more from Plato than Turkington. Turkington is a fast, consistent driver, but he has not been playing the game for as long as Plato. It should be fascinating to watch it play out.
Aron Smith impressed at BMR in 2014. Image Credit: BTCC.net
While all of this is going on, I believe that BMR may have a secret weapon for this year. With the media attention falling heavily on Plato and Turkington, BMR can play their underdog joker and have the potential to kill it all stone dead. Aron Smith has always been a quick driver, but when you manage to gain more race wins than Alain Menu in a season you know there is something special there. I am going to put my money where my mouth and say that I am actually willing to bet that Aron Smith will out-drive the former champions this year and will be the one to beat. There will be no need for him to get caught up in any politics going on in the team; he can just go out and score consistent results and challenge for the title.
The only factor that will determine the course of 2015 for BMR is the performance of the car. In 2014, the Volkswagen cars were fast but I do not think they had the consistency that cars such as the MG, BMW and Honda had. However, building on their 2014 success the only way can be up. Since writing this the cars have been out testing at Thruxton and have been looking stunning. There is something about an all-black livery on the VW Passats that makes them look pure evil ferocity in a car.
What are your predictions for BMR for the 2015 season?
Follow me on Twitter for more of my motorsport ramblings @lewisglynn69
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Peace and Love!
F1: Is Retro The Way Forward?
F1 in 2014 was not the most attractive the sport has ever been, for many reasons. Image Credit: Autosport.com
Formula One has and will probably always be the premier motorsport on the planet. However, followers of my writing will notice that it is an area I would usually avoid due to the overriding political nature of the sport, coupled with my general dissatisfaction with the its quality over the last few years. Nevertheless, sometimes something will catch my ever gazing eye, drawing me in like a middle aged man to a Porsche dealership. On this particular occasion, I have read headlines using phrases like ‘making F1 more exciting and dramatic’ and I just couldn’t resist. On top of this is the crushing inevitability of disagreement amongst the teams regarding the implementation of these changes. I think it is time to examine this in more detail.
Before I get into the nitty-gritty of this latest news story, I feel like an explanation is needed as to why I have chosen to relight my journalistic fire in the glamorous world of Formula One. For the last few years, I have held the belief that the sport was getting too repetitive, with too much of a focus on the technical aspects (tyre use, fuel consumption, general pit lane politics). While all of these make for fascinating elements of motorsport, when they begin to detract from the actual racing itself, then they start to become an issue. When the only real overtakes happen in the pits, something is clearly wrong.
Furthermore, with this new “Eco-F1” era we have entered, the cars have become too quiet. And as much as the racing itself has improved the repetitive nature of “Oh look another pole” and “Shock horror they have won” still persists, except these days ‘they’ are Mercedes instead of Red Bull. Considering all of this it comes as no surprise that when I read the plans to reinvigorate F1, my attention was instantaneously obtained.
So what are these proposed changes:
– Wider Cars (2000mm instead of the 1800mm as it is now)
– Lower Rear Wing
– Wider Rear Tyres
– An increase from 850BHP to 1000BHP
The new changes would give the cars the classic look of the 1990s. Image Credit: Autosport.com
My first reaction to these proposed changes was to question the reasoning behind them. For any fan of motorsport, the increase in BHP requires no justification; as Jeremy Clarkson says so poetically, “POWER!” There are probably very few racing enthusiasts that would be against the idea of 1000BHP. It may only be 150 more than before, but there is something so dramatic and gargantuan about 1000. Even for a casual fan of cars, if I was told that there was a sport where cars were racing with 1000 BHP, I would be an instant convert.
It is with the thought of drama and excitement that the other changes have too been proposed. Having cars that are both lower and wider would return them to the aesthetics of the 90s. When Villeneuve won the world title in 1997, he was the last driver to do so when the cars had a maximum width of 2000mm. The general thinking is that returning to a look synonymous with such an iconic era of the sport will pull in new fans, new audiences and of course more money.
Can we learn from the simplicity of the 90s? If the cars will look like it anyway.. Image Credit: F1Fanatic.co.uk
The modern world wishes to progress headlong into the future, yet the current trends appear to be everything ‘retro’. Whether it is your East London retro clothes stores, the recent Queen comeback and world tour or even the remake of old film franchises, it is currently considered ‘the thing’ to look to the past to be fashionable and modern. Ironic right? Essentially, the thinking behind all these new changes to F1 is to simultaneously address the current issues with the sport while also attracting new audiences. And you know what; I think this ‘historic rejuvenation’ as it were may just be what Formula One has needed. With the new engines and regulations of 2014, the sport became greener on the one hand, but also quieter, more boring (thanks to Mercedes) and magnificently less attractive.
Despite what these changes may or may not mean for Formula One, the biggest talking point is the disagreement between the teams regarding the implementation of these new regulations. Christian Horner and Red Bull believe that the changes should come into effect as of 2016, whereas Mercedes say that it should be 2017 at the earliest, coupled with the need for research to find out what the public really want. In between both of these, it is fair to say that Ferrari occupy the middle ground.
Mercedes are worried that a 2016 introduction will have a detrimental effect on the 2015 season. Image Credit: Sauber
The position of these three teams is so obviously shrouded yet again in F1 politics, and can all be explained as such. Mercedes in 2014 had the far superior car and want to retain that advantage for years to come; if they can delay the introduction of these new rules they can do once again what they did for 2014 and come in with a dominant near-unbeatable machine. Mercedes have claimed that if these new rules came into effect in 2016, it would make the teams stop developing their cars and focus on the new model, but this to me smells of male bovine excrement. I very much doubt that Mercedes genuinely care too much about the public enjoyment over the substantial business and ego advantages of being the top team in the top race series in the world. And on the other hand Red Bull used to be the dominant team and is now jealous that they must play second fiddle to Mercedes, so want the changes to happen as fast as possible to equal out the playing field. Finally there is of course Ferrari who has not really been in much of a competitive position the last few years, hence their occupation of the middle ground. All quite simple really!
At the end of the day, disregarding the politics surrounding the news I have to say that I am excited by these changes. I am not usually a fan of anything ‘retro’ but I do think these changes are the missing link to this new era of Formula One. By making the cars look more like they did in the 1990s, it will remind the audiences of a time when it was all about the racing without all the political ramblings that have since taken over. In 2014, the cars were made quieter and given suggestive noses yes, but they were made more eco-friendly and faster in some respects. Upping the power and redesigning the aesthetics of the car may just be the final piece in the jigsaw to make the sport as great as it once was.
Follow me on Twitter for all my latest motorsport ramblings @lewisglynn69
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Peace and Love!
Driving With The Common Cold
Heaps of parents heave large sighs of relief when the summer break is over and the kids go back to school. There are, however, downsides. Downside number one is that Mum’s Taxi duty kicks back in, especially if school is too far for the kids to walk to but is not so far away that you get a school bus service (as happens in rural areas). Downside number two is that the coughs and colds start coming back home, especially when the weather seems to read the school calendar and decides to turn cooler the moment term starts.
Driving with a cold is not like normal driving. You’re not sick enough to avoid driving – it’s just a sniffle, for goodness sake, so you can’t really get out of it. Take a good bit of paracetamol or aspirin and you’re OK. Sort of.
It’s a wonder that they haven’t tried to ban or warn you about the dangers of driving with a cold yet. We all know about not drinking and driving, and the hazards of taking wacky baccy or worse before getting behind the wheel. For those who wouldn’t dream of overindulging in alcohol prior to driving or getting remotely near any illegal substances, they still warn us about not driving tired, as fatigue slows reaction times and increases the risk of falling asleep behind the wheel. Driving with a cold has its own hazards and risks.
For a start off, you get that general feeling of lethargy and malaise that creeps in when you are fighting off a virus. Pain in the sinuses and/or throat (if the aspirin hasn’t quite done its duty) imposes on your consciousness, sucking your concentration. Sipping one of the traditional remedies for this particular type of misery – a decent slug of whisky or brandy in orange juice – is, of course, out of the question when there’s driving to be done.
You’ve also got the more physical visible effects of a cold. You’ve got the runny nose, the sneezing, the snot and the coughing to cope with. These are difficult to deal with when you’re driving, especially in town when the traffic’s a bit heavy. You feel that drip pouring down your nasal passages and threatening to trickle out of your schnozz. The traffic is heavy and you need to make that crucial lane change, or you’re part way around a multi-lane roundabout or you’re just coming up to the lights and expect them to turn orange. Do you go reaching for your tissues or hanky and try to deal with the offending drip? Or will this take your attention off the business of driving at a critical moment? Or is it safer to just let the drip cascade down your face (eeeeeewww!).
Sneezing is worse. As we all learned from those trivial snippets that circulate around the place, it is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open. You feel that inevitable prickle in the back of your nose, your chest expands as you draw a deep breath for the Ah, then you explode in the Choo, eyes closed and goodness knows what racing out of you at a fair clip (popular wisdom has it that a sneeze does about 160 km/h; Mythbusters puts it at 54 km/h – faster than you ought to be going in heavy traffic, anyway!). During that split second, your whole body is concentrated on the sneeze, not on the road. There’s no way you could react if someone raced across the intersection or slammed on the brakes in front of you. If you’ve covered your sneeze with the crook of your arm the way that the health boffins tell us to, you’ve only got one hand on the wheel at the time. If you haven’t, then you spray virus-laden moisture all over the steering wheel and possibly the inside of the windscreen. (Rub a bit of hand sanitizer over the wheel – something we probably all ought to do regularly anyway, when you consider how often we touch it). And let’s not even think about the thick yellow snot stage of a cold…
Coughing is probably an even worse hazard, especially if you get that dry tickly cough that just won’t go away and leaves you in uncontrollable paroxysms of hacking away again and again. Medications that control this sort of cough usually come with warnings not to drive or operate heavy machinery afterwards. However, uncontrollable coughing fits lasting a good ten seconds or more don’t exactly make you the most alert and responsive driver. Pulling over to the side of the road until your lungs have settled down might have to be the safest option.
So what’s a responsible road user to do? The obvious answer is not to drive at all when you’ve got a cold and to use this as an excuse if possible. However, we all know that there are times when you can’t plead the common cold as a way of getting out of your obligations. You have to pick up the kids from school or your friend from the airport. You have to drop off that important package. You have to get that big job finished. So you have to drive.
The best options are to take it slowly just in case, take routes that avoid high traffic if possible and keep your eyes open for handy places to pull over. Practice controlling coughs and sneezes before you have to do it in a critical situation. And keep the box of tissues on your lap for easy access.
Don’t forget to clean up the used tissues, and to disinfect the steering wheel and gear change knob when you’ve finished driving.
Safe, healthy and happy driving,
Megan
Level 2, 9 Help Street