JPost -- Japanese motor company, Honda, made its formal entrance in Israel's tech market, seeking local technology for connected cars at the OurCrowd annual summit.

“Our presence at this conference is actually Honda’s first formal entrance to Israel’s technology community. Having come here from silicon valley, I can tell you that I’m very impressed with the innovative and entrepreneurial culture and spirit of the start-up nation,” said Nick Sugimoto, the Senior Program Director of Honda's Silicon Valley Lab.

Honda, he said, was searching for Israeli technology to develop smart car apps through its Honda Developer Studio, and others to participate in its accelerator program called Honda XCelerator. The eventual goal, he added, was to eventually make Honda vehicles completely collision free.

OurCrowd, an equity crowd-funding platform, presented several companies working in the connected car space. VocalZoom, for example, offers a voice recognition system that uses lasers to detect vocal vibration and separate words out from background noise. The company expects the technology to be available in cars by 2018, which will help drivers keep their eyes on the road while dealing with their car's various functions.

Read the rest here: http://www.jpost.com/Business-and-Innovation/Tech/Honda-comes-to-Israel-for-connected-car-tech-442694

Rydeen Mobile Electronics has announced that it is now shipping five Custom Tailgate Latch Camera systems for the most popular trucks from Toyota, General Motors, Dodge and Ford. Additionally, Rydeen has also announced four new 3^rd Brake Light Camera systems for the most popular commercial vans such as Mercedes, Ford, Nissan and GM. After a successful debut at CES 2016, the new lineup of Tailgate Latch Cameras is now shipping to dealers and distributors in The US and Canada, while four new 3^rd Brake Light Cameras will follow shortly.

"We now have reached our goal of being The "1 stop shopping" solution in Driver Awareness,” stated Bob Goodman, Rydeen Mobile's Director of Sales & Marketing. Our dealers, expeditors and distributors can now offer Rydeen's renowned reliability and performance in applications requiring an OE fit and finish. Because of their typical working environment, trucks and commercial vans present a particularly difficult challenge when installing aftermarket cameras. With that in mind we can now offer a solution that looks good, is out of harms way and will last the service life of the vehicle. Vehicles that can be outfitted with our 3rd Brake Light cameras include the Mercedes Sprinter, Nissan NV, Ford Transit and General Motors Connect & Express. Tailgate Latch cameras are now available for Toyota Tundra & Tacoma, Ford F150 Series, GM Silverado & Sierra and Dodge Ram," Goodman added.

All cameras are IP68K compliant and offer a wide viewing angle even in low light conditions. All Rydeen vehicle cameras have a three-year limited warranty. In a related announcement, Rydeen introduced it's Ry-Link line of OE Integration solutions that enable aftermarket cameras to effortlessly connect to the factory screens now prevalent in most vehicles. The vehicle application chart is available on-line at rydeenmobile.com/oem-vehicle-integration/.

Metra Electronics has announced its radio installation kit for the 2011-Up Chrysler 300.

Part number 99-6525B is designed for both single DIN and DDIN installations. The integrated circuit board and buttons along with the included interface allow retention and all climate control and vehicle customization functions of the factory 8-inch touchscreen. Parts are painted black to match the factory color and finish. Also available in gloss back as part number 99-6525HG. 

Memphis Audio unveiled its biggest CES product launch since the company’s inception in 1965. This launch, coupled with a complete brand refresh, left dealers impressed and excited about the future of the brand, according to the company. Memphis debuted over 60 new and improved items all marked with the new “Memphis” logo proudly displayed on the front. 

When asked about the absence of the word “Car” from the company’s logo the answer was quite simple. “We elected to not use the word ‘car’ in our new branding for one reason, we are more than just a car audio company. We make a full line of power sports and marine audio solutions in addition to our line of proven car audio products,” said Nick LoMonaco VP of Memphis Audio. 

Along with a new logo and products, the brand opted to revamp all of its packaging with stylish new designs to help dealers properly merchandise their stores. When asked about the product and marketing direction of the brand, LoMonaco commented, “Our goal from a product and marketing standpoint was to focus on product performance as well as cosmetics and style. We want our consumers to be excited from the moment they see box to when they first touch the product and of course once they finally hear it. Based on the feedback from our dealers and social media fans I think we absolutely nailed it.”

The new look and feel of Memphis along with all the new products will roll out to dealers in the first quarter of 2016.  

Behind the Scenes at audiogrog by Bill Braun

Let’s face it: this is an unconventional time to start a 12-volt company. Between the shrinking sandbox that is aftermarket car audio and the increasingly difficult process of integrating gear into newer vehicles, most companies are receding from our industry, not adding to it. Yet, there are some that are not merely surviving. They are thriving.

Audiofrog is a fledgling manufacturer that comes to the table with some legendary names on the letterhead. The most notable among them are two long time forces in the industry: Andy Wehmeyer, formerly a product manager at Harman International (JBL, Infinity, et al.); Gary Biggs, formerly of JBL, Kicker and sound competition stardom; and Marcus Yeo, formerly of Harman Asia Pacific and Pioneer APAC. Gary and Andy could be fairly referred to as “installers extraordinaire.” Both have a wealth of technical knowledge as trainers, sound-off competitors, business owners and product developers that extends decades back.

And now they make speakers.

Read the rest of article by [Clicking Here]

Tech Feature: Amped Up by Joey Knapp

Amplifiers are a key component to a great sounding audio system. I believe amplification is even more important in the mobile environment. In a home audio system, there is a very low environmental noise floor. Because of the low noise floor, a marginal amount of power is needed to provide good resolution in the audio playback. In addition, home audio speakers are much more efficient than their mobile counterparts. The automotive environment is very different than the home environment.

Even a parked car with the engine turned off is susceptible to much more external noise than a home. Cars don’t have the benefit of dense building materials, heavy insulation, or double-pane windows. Starting the engine in a car will typically raise the noise floor in addition to adding a bit of tactile distraction. We own cars to be able to drive them. Whether for utilitarian purposes, or for enjoyment, at some point most every car will be moving. That movement brings in a whole other realm of noises to the vehicle cabin. Wind noise and road noise are two of the biggest enemies to a low cabin noise floor. Sometimes soundproofing can help address some of these issues, but they will never disappear completely. So, to have a great sounding audio system in a vehicle, an amplifier is paramount. Amplifiers help increase the signal level to overcome many of the typically present automotive interior noises.
Over my many years in car audio, I have installed hundreds of different amplifiers. The amplifiers have ranged in output from a few watts per channel, to thousands of watts. The locations in which the amplifiers are installed are usually narrowed down to the floor of the vehicle (whether the trunk or under a seat), under a rear deck of a trunk (leaving the trunk space useable), or the side or back panel of a trunk. Recently, though, I had the opportunity to install an amplifier in a place I had never before installed one. The location was the roll cage of a car.

Read the rest of article by [Clicking Here]

While self-driving cars already are being tested on public roads, newly released safety data support the cautionary view that the technology has many miles to go before people can sleep at the wheel.

That doesn’t mean relief is decades away for drivers weary of commuting. It’s possible, even likely, that within a few years mainstream cars will be able to drive themselves reliably — on routes they have mastered, in weather they can handle and on the premise that a driver will be ready to take over when needed. (The White House last week said it will work with auto companies and state governments to speed up the arrival of driverless cars.)

Traditional automakers and technology companies such.. read more

5 AXIS Solutions Launches to Provide Affordable High-End Retail Displays

5 Axis Solutions Limited, a company that designs and manufactures their products in both Canada and the United States, is a new force in the retail store fixture and display category that delivers high-end interactive features to any automotive accessory or consumer electronics showroom. With a strong focus on car audio and mobile electronics integration and safety products, and more than 50 years combined experience in the mobile electronics industry, the 5 Axis team incorporates features that help consumers interact with new technology in a way that assists the sales teams in each retail location increase sales closing rates and overall sales ticket amounts.

5 Axis is the first company in this industry to offer a high-power magnet design that holds the finishing panels in place to ensure a clean and uninterrupted look, and reduces overall weight from the overuse of assembly hardware seen in some competitors’ options. The company also understands the importance of attracting the customer’s attention when walking into the store, so their innovative bright LED backlit panels offer custom HD graphic panels are designed specifically for each dealer with their store branding as the primary focus, while visually stimulating consumers with important information and messaging via lifestyle images that appeal to all demographics. The panels are offered in many different sizes and can be crafted to fit custom spaces as needed. The HD panel graphics can also be changed very easily and 5 Axis prints and delivers the updated graphics for a small fee. This allows the retailer to change graphics easily to promote different categories and update messaging as technology evolves.

One of their designs, the Curve™, really sets them apart from the crowd. It angles the panels at the top and bottom of the display toward the consumer viewing it, which not only increases product visibility, it also encourages the consumer to touch and experience the products which is something that rarely happens with standard or flat one-dimensional displays. The displays are crafted with longevity in mind from high grade lightweight aluminum, which substantially reduces the displays overall weight thereby decreasing shipping and installation costs.

“Our goal is to help the owner visualize his new store with our drawings, and implement them in his store as efficiently and cost effectively as possible.” says Jody Culbertson of 5 AXIS Solutions. “Our package options for swapping display categories, coupled with easy upgradability built into every display ensures that the retailer is not locked into one design for many years. The retail stores in this industry need to be dynamic to stay ahead of the curve, and we are the only display and fixture company that makes this extremely easy.”

Typical timelines for a store redesign from first contact to in-store-installation can range anywhere from 2 to 8 weeks, depending on the size, number of categories, and preparation. The company prides itself on the motto “if you can dream it, we can build it”, and this is supported with a wide product line that ranges from standard wall displays to LED panels, counters, product islands, sound rooms, and just about any other in-store feature you can imagine.

5 AXIS Solutions uses cutting edge manufacturing techniques to bring affordability to customized high-end displays in your showroom. For more information, contact Jody Culbertson at (414) 326-7162 or Brian MacIsaac at (403) 471-5539. The team can also be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at its website www.5AxisSolutions.com.

Founder Of Award Winning Sonus Car Audio Ready To Launch New Training Center

Construction has commenced on the new EVOL Installer Factory training facility in Clarksville, TN after nearly two years of careful planning and evaluation, with the sole purpose of creating a campus that fully incorporates the real-world, hands-on training that has made Sonus Evolution training programs so successful and well attended over the last few years. This new training center will create an upscale, professional environment for corporate and manufacturer training as well.

A new technician ‘rating’ system has been developed extensively by Micah Williams, founder of Sonus Car Audio and Sonus Evolution/EVOL products and training programs, and it will be incorporated in a newly designed long-term training program that will help train new technicians, and reestablish veterans with the skills and knowledge needed to work on today’s vehicles. With the many obstacles and technical hurdles faced by technicians in even some of the simplest installation tasks nowadays, these skills are essential for everyday business, and can significantly increase the technician’s capability and their overall effectiveness in their role in any shop.

The rating system itself is meant to be a sort of bio of the technician’s strengths and weaknesses – which helps get them into the role that they are best suited for, but also allows shop owners to obtain more focused training for these technicians in their weaker areas to help them advance and become more of an asset to the company. This also helps shop owners looking to fill roles in their company by being able to access a verified talent pool of technicians to find the candidate that possess the traits required to make an immediate positive impact on the business. A real-time rating update system also allows shop owners to monitor progress of employees at a training to keep the owner engaged, and the technician motivated.

The training programs offer up to 1,280 hours of training, including classroom work, hands-on training in different areas of expertise, and a focused realization of their capabilities in each category. Tuition varies based on the program, and tuition assistance is available for almost any budget. Direct billing and invoicing is ready for manufacturers who send employees or retailers for training as well.

All programs cover the following:

• MECP Certification Testing
• Training on audio, video, tint, remote start, upholstery, radar, safety systems, and metalworking
• Sound Quality demonstration and tuning techniques by proven competition champions
• Advanced fabrication techniques with composites, alloys, and specialized tooling
• Sales training with a focus on client interaction and habit coaching
• Store and shop management skills and daily routine coaching to promote efficiency
• Priority access and discounts to annual EVOL training events and products
• Career path placement services through our extensive network of mobile electronics stores

Completion of the facility and all related items are expected by mid-May 2016, and technician training programs and manufacturer trainings are already being booked for a June kickoff. The effort is expected to realize a much needed industry standard of technician evaluation to allow shop owners to gauge and improve their staff, and to choose the right replacement candidates going forward. It is also expected to give mobile electronics manufacturers a third-party platform and facility to train retailers and employees, or hold events to promote regional and corporate events.

EVOL products and training programs are the brainchild of the founder of the award winning Sonus Car Audio, and are based on actual hands-on experience and expertise. These skills and the associated products are promoted to businesses worldwide to help them achieve a higher level of installation capability, efficiency, and professionalism. For more information, contact owner Micah Williams at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or call 931-802-8913.

Daily Caller -- Soon, our cars will be able to provide and share real-time data — such as windshield-wiper activity, drive times and outside temperatures — that can keep us safer on the road.

Car companies will be able to aggregate, geotag and share this data with weather reporters and local government officials who make school-closing or public-safety decisions. The benefits of car-data collection and consumption are about to be realized in life-changing ways.

These automotive data-collection systems will be on display at CES 2016 in Las Vegas the week of Jan. 4. Nine carmakers and more than 115 automotive tech companies will be exhibiting their technological advances at the annual consumer electronics trade show.

The Vehicle Intelligence Marketplace at CES 2016 will showcase, among other things, the latest in car-safety tech, such as parking assistance, collision avoidance, emergency braking and in-vehicle communications. They are all making cars safer and drivers more connected.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2016/01/08/how-car-data-can-save-time-lives-and-repairs-without-sacrificing-privacy/#ixzz3xB8LvBCy

AAMP Global has unveiled its new street team: Team Phantom. Team Phantom sets a new standard in retail support for the 12-Volt industry with in-field experts to provide solution consultation and leading edge customer service, sales support, and product training for AAMP’s network of retail partners.  

The team will be hitting the streets in high impact, experiential AAMP branded product showcase vehicles, which will allow its partners to fully immerse themselves in AAMP Power Brands solutions and previews of new products pre-launch.

“We are taking a 360º approach to retailer support extending our current, long-tenured headquarters team to include direct in-field representation, ultimately delivering an unprecedented level of service for our retail partners,” said Scott Forst, senior vice president, Sales. “We are also excited about the marketing opportunity the product showcase vehicles offer, putting our Power Brands in front of thousands of consumers, ultimately driving industry awareness and incremental customers to our retail partners.”

AAMP will launch Team Phantom in four key regions, and plans to expand that team to forty in the near future, unleashing Phantom Nation.

The Automotive Lift Institute, Inc. (ALI) announces the availability of the 2016 edition of ALI’s “VEHICLE LIFTING POINTS for FRAME ENGAGING LIFTS”. 

This updated guide is a quick-reference single-source manual for lifting point information as recommended by the vehicle manufacturers. The 70-page Lifting Point Guide (LP-G) for domestic and imported cars and light trucks uses over 200 undercarriage images to cover the most recent 25 model years.

For this new edition, the 2016 model year vehicles were added, some older images were revised, and additional cautionary notes were provided in an effort to clarify pick-up point locations for shop owners, technicians and other LP-Guide users. The Automotive Lift Institute (ALI) sponsors this Guide annually as an industry service, utilizing data furnished exclusively for ALI by Chek-Chart Products, MOTOR Information Systems. Many proactive companies and franchises now incorporate ALI’s LP-Guide and other safety materials as an integral component of their overall employee safety and training program.

Visit ALI’s website www.autolift.org to order this updated guide, to locate automotive lift inspectors certified by ALI, or for information on other safety materials and standards sponsored by the lift manufacturers who support ALI’s mission of promoting the safe design, construction, installation and use of automotive lift products. Your Safety Is Riding On It!

Kenwood, K40 and iDatalink Maestro have partnered to announce the world’s first integration of a head unit and stealth installed radar detector.

The revolutionary new K40 radar detector will communicate with the Maestro RR integration module. When connected to a compatible Kenwood radio, the user will be able to see on screen radar alerts complete with signal strength, radar band and speed of the vehicle at time of detection. Setup and installation will be greatly simplified using on screen menus and the speaker of the audio system for the radar alerts. 

As a final touch, the driver will be able to silence alerts using steering wheel buttons and see real time status in the new Kenwood “widget” view. Shipping is scheduled to occur sometime in the second half of 2016.  

News Watch -- CES 2016 has come and gone. Another year in the bag. NewsWatch was there on the ground in Las Vegas covering all that is groundbreaking and new in the tech world. While attending this massive event definitely gives you an idea of how large it is in scope, you won’t truly be able to fathom the size without a few statistics.

Sure some of you couldn’t be there with us but there were many that were. Over 170,000 to be a little more precise. That’s roughly the population of Chattanooga, Tennessee. So basically the entire city of Chattanooga attended CES this year.

There were over 2.47 million square feet of tech exhibits at the world’s biggest tech trade show. These square feet housed north of 3,800 exhibitors, there to drum up business and highlight the newest breakthroughs in their field.

Needless to say these numbers blew away any previous year’s performance. But what’s even more staggering is the fact that over 50,000 of these attendees were international. They traveled to Vegas from over 150 countries. There were even 100-plus delegations in attendance, including Cuba! (Yes that Cuba.)

Gary Shapiro, CEO of the CTA (Consumer Technology Association), which organizes and puts on the event every year, remarked on this, “CES has cemented its position as the global gathering place for all industries to be wowed by the tens of thousands of ways that technology is changing the world as we know it.”

Continuing with the numbers, over 500 startup companies represented. That’s in comparison to 375 last year.

There were a jaw-dropping 15.2 billion social media impressions regarding CES between January 5thand the 9th. #CES2016 alone appeared just under 1.3 billion times on social media. Just to put that in perspective, that’s over 200 million more mentions than the Super Bowl garnered last year during the big game.

Read the rest here: http://newswatchtv.com/2016/01/13/ces-2016-how-big-was-it/#

ABC News -- The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is a technology nerd's playground -- and this year it was bigger than ever.

There were more than 3,600 exhibitors spread across 2.47 million-square-feet this year. The Consumer Technology Association, which hosts the annual trade show, said the show brought more than 170,000 people to Las Vegas.

Show participants are given a glimpse into the future and new technology stars are born at CES. Here were the biggest takeaways from this year's show.

Virtual Reality Is Here to Stay

There's no doubt 2016 is the year virtual reality begins to go mainstream. Jaunt, NextVR and Oculus all grabbed headlines last week for their VR cameras -- and in the case of Oculus -- its $600 consumer headset. Luna 360, a consumer-friendly camera about the size of a pool ball, made its debut at the show ahead of a planned release later this year.

"This year is really the first year consumers have access to this," DJ Roller, founder of NExtVR, told ABC News last week. "Virtual reality is a whole other medium, as different as radio was to television."

Smarter Drones and Autonomous Vehicles

Intel showed off a fleet of drones that use the company's RealSense technology, which enables them to map an environment in real-time and react to it. Intel included the technology in Segway's Advanced Personal Robots. A race car driving experience using RealSense showed movements on the screen.

Chipmaker NVIDIA showed off another super-powered computer called the Drive PX2, which is designed to be the brain inside of self-driving cars. The car is about the size of a lunch box, the computer can process 8 teraflops, which by comparison, the company said is the equivalent strength of 150 MacBook Pro computers.

"When it comes to drones and autonomous vehicles, you are finally seeing solutions out there that aren’t perfect but are solving the biggest issues that are out there without needing a supercomputer. To make something autonomous it needs to be able to see, perceive and act," Patrick Moorhead, an analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, told ABC News.

Read the rest of the story here: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/ces-2016-biggest-takeaways-future-tech/story?id=36216616

Entrepreneur -- Last April, the city of Seattle began rolling out an incremental minimum-wage increase. Employers with 500 workers or fewer would bump hourly wages up to $15 over the course of seven years; larger businesses would have to reach the mark in three years, with an immediate raise to $11 per hour. (The federal minimum wage is $7.25.)

It has been a controversial law on many fronts, but no more so than in the franchise world. For the purposes of the law, any franchised business is considered a large employer -- even if the local franchisee has only a handful of employees -- because, the city argues, franchisees that are part of a larger system have the financial wherewithal to absorb the pay raise sooner than other small businesses can.

Seattle is not alone in putting pressure on franchisees. In June, the Los Angeles City Council voted to increase the minimum wage there to $15 per hour by 2020. In September, the state of New York raised the minimum wage for fast- food workers to $15 per hour, to be phased in over three years in New York City and six years in the rest of the state. Other municipalities, including Washington, D.C., and Portland, Ore., are looking at similar increases.

Opponents say significant minimum-wage increases will be the death knell of franchise growth, and could lead to unit closures. Proponents argue that increasing the minimum wage will lead to lower employee turnover and better customer service, and will reduce the burden on government programs like food stamps and housing assistance that many low-wage workers depend on. It’s a sticky situation, and one that economists have argued about for decades with no real consensus.

Representatives of the International Franchise Association -- which, along with five franchisees, sued and lost an appeal to amend the Seattle statute -- claim the law is part of an orchestrated effort to get fast-food employees unionized.

“The mayor and head of organized labor said as much,” says Matthew Haller, the IFA’s senior vice president of communications and public affairs, who argues that along with last year’s National Labor Relations Board ruling that franchisors can be treated as joint employers with franchisees, the wage increase is part of a multipronged attack on the franchise model. He says the IFA is working to educate other jurisdictions considering similar ordinances to Seattle’s, pointing out that most of them don’t completely understand the franchise model and don’t realize that franchisees are, in essence, small-business owner. 

Read the rest of the story here: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/253836

In the January issue of Mobile Electronics, 2015 Top 12 Retailer Prestige Car Audio showed why they are both worthy of their name and on the most prestigious list in 12-volt. Read the story below:

Disasters are caused by many things. Earthquakes, tornados and volcanoes are on the list. Some cause buildings to collapse, cities to burn and lives to be lost. Others, like hurricanes, are known to cause flooding. When a flood occurs, the water in the area rises and often damages homes, equipment and vehicles. 

In Metairie, La., a city that is part of the greater New Orleans area, rainfall is common, as is the threat of hurricanes. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck land in New Orleans and caused over $180 billion worth of damage and took an estimated 1,836 lives, with 1,577 of those taken in Lousiana alone. Needles to say, residents of Louisiana take storms very seriously.

Such was the mood when a storm hit in Metairie in 1990, causing a fair amount of flooding. While no lives were lost during this particular storm, many vehicles were damaged. Interested in a career fixing cars, Cory Himel offered to replace carpet in his neighbors' damaged vehicles, working out of his garage. Soon enough, more work came in, and before lone he had enough to purchase some alarm systems, which he flipped into enough money to purchase a small building and start a business. That business would become Prestige Car Audio and Marine, a Top 12 Retailer of the Year for 2015.

Read the rest of article here:

Automotive IT -- Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche showed the new Mercedes E-Class on the eve of the Detroit auto show, saying the core model is “the very first series-built car that is equipped with car-to-X communication.”

Zetsche said the E-Class not only “talks” to other cars, but also can learn, using artificial intelligence technology to take another big step in the direction of autonomous driving.

Self-driving cars need to deploy, so-called “deep-learning computers” that are capable of labeling concepts such as street, vehicle or pedestrian on their own. Such computers, therefore, don’t need to be trained or programmed to identify and deal with every detail, Zetsche said.

“With this technology, cars will, for instance, learn to recognize the typical concept of street life in Stuttgart and they will be able to adapt that knowledge to a street in China” or anywhere else in the world, he added.

Artificial intelligence is widely acknowledged as an essential technology on the road to driverless driving. At the CES consumer electronics fair in Las Vegas earlier this week, Toyota unveiled details of its 1 billion dlr investment in a new research operation that focuses on artificial intelligence and robotics.

Read the rest of the story here: http://www.automotiveit.com/detroit-mercedes-says-e-class-is-first-car-with-car-to-x-communication/news/id-0011193