By John Wysseier, President and Chief Executive Officer, The CEI Group, Inc.

Perhaps as dramatic an invention as the printing press, the internet has engendered revolutionary changes in the way people work, shop, learn, communicate, receive and share information.

For some industries – like newspapers and retailing — it’s been a disruptive force that threatens the extinction of enterprises that rely on traditional technologies.

The key to this generational trend is that the internet connects people to each other, faster, with more abundant information than ever before. But, like a new life form that evolves rapidly, the internet has morphed to connect more than people to each other, but people to devices and even devices to other devices.

It’s called the Internet of Things – IoT for short — and it’s become one of the latest new battlefronts for business. Like all battlefronts, it presents both opportunities and challenges for virtually every industry, and only those who win the battle to integrate with it successfully are likely to survive and thrive.

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Brookings

This week, the Trump administration issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) which, if finalized, would cast aside the commitment made by President Bush and President Obama to increase fuel economy and reduce pollution. In doing so, the administration is on a path that could needlessly upend a settled regulatory framework that has brought together disparate interests, delivered predictability to automakers, improved cars, and reduced pollution.

As such, the proposed new rules run counter to what Ford, General Motors, and others across the industry have consistently advocated. In fact, industry and the state of California appear largely aligned on how to proceed in resetting fuel-efficiency standards, and the only missing player is the Trump administration, despite the president’s prior direction to his team to negotiate.

Read the article at Brookings

By Andrew Boada, Editor at Large

Over the past year, battery electric vehicle (BEV) manufacturer Tesla has recorded losses of $2.7 billion, as much money in the past 12 months as the total it lost over the previous five years.

The losses, combined with massive quality control and delivery issues, have begun attracting quite a bit of media attention and have caused a number of increasingly vocal analysts to predict that the electric car manufacturer’s days may be numbered.

So, what’s behind Tesla’s troubles? Do they have broader significance for BEV technology in general? And if Tesla’s troubles ultimately prove fatal, would the company’s demise spell the end for the BEV?

In fact, a review of what’s been happening at Tesla reveals that their troubles are the result of mistakes the company has made and the timing of its strategy.

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Detroit Free Press

In order to protect consumer’s data and driver safety, General Motors will bring researchers, some of whom are professional computer hackers, to Detroit to offer them a bounty or cash payment for each “bug” they uncover in any of GM vehicles’ computer systems

“We’ll show them the products, programs and systems for which we plan to establish these bug bounties. Then we’ll put them in a comfortable environment, ply them with pizza and Red Bull or whatever they might need … and turn them loose,” GM’s President Dan Ammann said in a speech at the Billington CyberSecurity Summit at Cobo Center in Detroit on Friday.

Read the article at Detroit Free Press.

The Detroit News

Self-driving cars being tested today are being “taught” millions of potential situations of how traffic works and what can go wrong, and their systems are able to search these possibilities very quickly.

Some experts believe that people react primarily on responses to feelings, not by thinking through every move. That includes driving. Driving a car is complicated, and some are questioning when artificial intelligence might fully be up to the task of taking over completely.

Read the article at The Detroit News.

Chicago Tribune

A new national study by Boston-based Liberty Mutual Insurance found that while parents are asking their teens not to text and drive, parents are texting them and expecting a response.

The main reasons teens use their phones while behind the wheel are to respond to (47 percent) or contact their parents (44 percent), the study said.

The study also found that 37 percent of parents of teen drivers use apps while driving, which is almost at the same rate of teens at 38 percent. Additionally, the study also found that parents admit to speeding, driving while tired and even taking selfies behind the wheel at similar or higher rates than teenagers.

Read the article at Chicago Tribune.

Detroit Free Press

After resisting safety regulations for a couple of generations, automakers have learned that being perceived as a safety leader is good for business.

Advanced driver assistance systems like collision alert and autonomous emergency braking are increasingly common in affordable, high-volume cars and SUVs at the heart of the market.

Read the article at Detroit Free Press.

The Detroit Bureau

Federal safety investigators raced to the scene of a crash involving a Tesla Model S sedan last January after the vehicle slammed into the back of a firetruck stopped on a California highway, regulators wanting to know why that happened despite the vehicle using the carmaker’s advanced driver assistance system specifically designed to prevent such a crash.

“ADAS” systems are being introduced on a wide range of vehicles and, according to industry experts, could substantially reduce the number of crashes, injuries and fatalities on U.S. roads. But a new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety raises serious concerns about the technology.

Read the article at The Detroit Bureau

The Muse

Imposter syndrome occurs when we feel like a fraud—when we feel that our successes are undeserved.

Chances are that at some point in your career you have felt imposter syndrome. The bad news: It’s not likely you’ll ever be able to fully rid yourself of it. But the good news: There are ways to combat it! You can train yourself to quickly identify it, manage it, and live to rise again.

If you don’t have an accomplishments box, start now. Take a look at everything you’ve achieved, and reflect on all the hard work you’ve put in to get to where you are now. Embrace the fact that you got yourself to where you are. You’ve earned your spot—your accomplishments are proof of that.

Read the article at The Muse.

The Washington Post

Whether they’re emptying out of bars, going home from football watch parties or trying to get across the highway, drunk walkers are dying on the roads in alarming numbers nationwide.

A third of pedestrians killed in crashes in 2016 were over the legal alcohol limit for drivers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That’s nearly 2,000 people — up more than 300 since 2014.

Read the article at The Washington Post