Michael L. Sena works for his clients to bring clarity to the often opaque and complex issues connected and highly automated vehicles. He has not just studied the technologies and analyzed the services. He has developed and implemented them. He has shaped visions and followed through to delivering them.
The Dispatcher newsletter touches on the principal themes of the industry, highlighting what is happening and, even more importantly, how and why. Explaining and understanding the implications for your businesses and working with you to develop your own strategies, are what we do together.
The Dispatcher’s Manifesto
Transport cannot be viewed in isolation. Traffic congestion is not caused by cars. It is an effect of policy decisions about where people live, work, shop and recreate. Most people live where they can afford to live and work where they get a job; everything else follows. The numbers and types of cars and trucks that are sold are the results of political and business decisions that are made locally, nationally and globally. Most people don’t buy cars and trucks to just drive around. They buy them to take them where they need to go and to make their lives easier to live. Changes to the transport network that affect driving and owning cars and trucks motivated by environmental considerations should only be made after full consideration is given to all potential societal impacts and after evaluating all alternatives, including possible future technological breakthroughs, like hyperloops, hydrogen fuel cells and CO2 capture. If actions we take make life for humans not worth living, then what’s the point?
Contact me at ml.sena@mlscab.se with comments or thoughts on the material covered in The Dispatcher.
The Dispatcher Issues
There are two groups of issues below. In the first group immediately below are issues beginning in September 2023 with the most recent issue at the top. Further down on the page are issues beginning in November 2013 and ending in June 2023 with the earliest issue at the top.
The Dispatcher Issues Beginning in September 2023
The Dispatcher Newsletter
March 2025 – Volume 12 – Issue 3
February 2025 – Volume 12 – Issue 2
January 2025 – Volume 12 – Issue 1
December 2024 – Volume 11 – Issue 11
October 2024 – Volume 11 – Issue 10
September 2024 – Volume 11 – Issue 09
June 2024 – Volume 11 – Issue 08
May 2024- Volume 11 – Issue 07
April 2024 – Volume 11 – Issue 06
March 2024 – Volume 11 – Issue 05
February 2024 – Volume 11 – Issue 04
January 2024 – Volume 11 – Issue 03
November – December 2023 – Volume 11 – Issue 02
September – October 2023 – Volume 11 – Issue 01
The Dispatcher Issues: November 2013 – June 2023
The Dispatcher_18 November 2013x
This is the first issue of The Dispatcher.
- Report from Telematics Update in Munich
- Call center services – What are the benefits
- What car companies are doing in telematics
- Insurance telematics
- V2V and V2I
- Split billing using a single SIM
- Big data
- What happens next
The Dispatcher_17 January 2014_V3x
- Report from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas
- What to expect in 2014
- Trends affecting the automotive business
- Autonomous driving: Quo vadis? Where are we headed with self-driving cars.
- Third Party eCall Services (TPS)
The Dispatcher_17 March 2014_V2x
- Report from Telematics Fleet and Asset Management Conference in Amsterdam
- The Chauffeured Generation
- Specific solutions versus guidelines: Why standards groups and legislators should avoid pushing solutions on the automotive industry and offer guidelines instead
- More paint: What governments need to do to speed up autonomous driving
- European eCall law passed
The Dispatcher_17 June 2014_V2
- Report from ITS Europe 2014 held in Helsinki, Finland
- Future of Call Centers
- Automotive Eco-systems
- Cloud computing
- Personal Periscope – Why a more direct and personal approach to traffic information delivery is superior to the indirect methods that we have today
- Google shows its true colours
- Is the Connected Car too complex
The Dispatcher_17 September 2014_V2
- Testing self-driving cars
- The cybersecurity dilemma
- One (St)app too far
- Apple-Android-Genivi
- CEOs on electric cars
- Invest in infrastructure
The Dispatcher_21 November 2014_V2
- Telematics Update Munich 2015
- Standardization
- Next Phase for Maps
- Mobility Wishes
- The Newsletter
The Dispatcher_11 January 2015
- Consumer Electronics Show Las Vegas 2015
- Uber’s Valuation
- Self-driving Test Sites – Part I
- European eCall
- ERA-GLONASS – Russia
- Antediluvian just isn’t what it used to be: Immediate Threats
- What is Apple’s Core
- Self-driving Test Sites – Part II
- Macro Factors: Real Influences on Telematics
- Musings: It snows in Boston; don’t let that catch you by surprise
- The Future of Vehicle Navigation
- OnStar Returns to Europe
- Uber Buys deCarta
- Is this the last word on EU eCall?
- Parking in Cities: Time for Phase Three
- Musings: What’s happening at Verizon Telematics?
The Dispatcher_15 September 2015
- A Car Hacking in St. Louis
- Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs)
- National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS)
- Tesla: Disruptive Business Model or Business as (almost Usual)
- Vehicles as Robots
- Musings: Transport in a Digital Age: Reflections from a Summer School
The Dispatcher_11 October 2015
- What happens next with Here (better known as Navteq)?
- Telematics Valley: Past and Future
- ITS World Congress in Bordeaux, France
- The Future of Transport
- Musings: What’s in a name.
- WirelessCar: Past, Present and Future
- ADASIS Forum: Part One
- Big Data: Is it the OEM’s answer, or just another question?
- Management by rule-breaking is transforming the industry
- Where do new ideas come from?
- Unmanned Aircraft Systems That Fly–and Why are they called drones?
- Electrical Car Charging – There’s a lot to think about
- Over-the-Air Updates of Firmware and Software
- Lyft and Sidecar in the GM Sphere
- Toyota and Kymeta Team Up On Satellite Connectivity
- Saab Says No to NEVS on Name
- Data Privacy and Connected Vehicles
- EU/US Safe Harbor for Data Agreement
- EU General Data Protection Regulation
- Customer Choice of Service Providers and C-ITS
- G7 and EU on Autonomous Driving
- Inrix
- 5G and ITS G5
- GM Buys Cruise Automation
- Report from Dispatch Central – What General Motors is up to; ACEA on connectivity strategy
- Third Party Automotive Services – What is the future of roadside assistance
- Mobile Apps and roadside assistance
- Insuring the Connected Car
- The Future of Automotive Navigation – What types of maps will self-driving cars need to have
- Vehicle Data Issues – Who owns the data from vehicles
- Autonomous Driving News
- Musings of a Dispatcher
the-dispatcher_7-september-2016
- What does BREXIT mean for the UK auto industry
- Will the UK do EU eCall and will EU Member States be ready when the EU eCall buttons are pushed on 1 April 2018
- What is Ford’s connected car strategy, really
- URGENT.LY and Allianz Global Assistance Australia cooperate
- Why isn’t usage based insurance taking hold
- Car manufacturer associations want governments to cooperate on automotive safety regulations
- Who will drive future automotive navigation developments
- What’s the big deal with BIG DATA
- Tesla Autopilot is not ready for the road
- Musings of a Dispatcher
the-dispatcher_4-october_-2016_v2
- Advice to the new U.S. President for keeping transport policy moving forward
- U.S. DOT and NHTSA issue the Federal Automated Vehicles Policy
- The Open AutoDrive Forum looks to expand the mission of NDS
- To have a steering wheel, or not to have a steering wheel: that is the question
- Who are your customers for your cars and trucks and what do they need?
- Another personal periscope is introduced
- Professor Amnon Shashua, Chairman and CTO of Mobileye, gives his views on the company’s differences with former customer, Tesla
- Google and Uber have fallen out: Why is that not surprising?
- Oxbotica, the new kid on the autonomous driving block
- Musing of a Dispatcher
the-dispatcher_15_november-2016
- Report from Dispatch Central – Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW are taking a leadership role
- Autonomous Driving News – Why not let all cars be driven by robots?
- What the car companies are doing – Toyota, Volvo and Geely produce a new car, Carlos Ghosn of Renault/Nissan
- Are governments using regulations as tools as weapons?
- HERE and the future of automotive navigation
- Musing of a Dispatcher
- Report from Dispatch Central – Will JLR build a new electric car manufacturing plant in the UK?
- Autonomous Driving News – Apple wrote a letter to NHTSA
- What the car companies are doing – Is Uber a good partner for Volvo?
- Cabman’s Shelters in London
- Reubanizing or Spreading the Sprawl – Cities are becoming livelier and business are moving back the the urban centers, but the suburbs continue to grow as well
- The Future of Automotive Navigation – The future of traffic information and the standards that support it
- Musings of a Dispatcher – When companies in different companies merge, there are always winners and losers
- Report from Dispatch Central – This is not an easy time to be in the transport-related business
- Automated Driving News – Robot-driven cars need a backup, a lifeline if they get themselves into trouble. Remote drivers is the answer
- The Future Networked Car Symposium in Geneva
- NHTSA on the Tesla Crash – Current laws are not up to the task enforcing accountability
- Cars can now talk to each other, but the question is what is the best way for them to do so. Cellular-V2X vs. WAVE
- The Future of Automotive Navigation – New owners for HERE
- TomTom Today and Tomorrow
- Musing of a Dispatcher – Self-driving cars are not the answer to traffic congestion
- Report from Dispatch Central – OnStar’s future in Europe following sale of Opel/Vauxhall to PSA
- Reality Check – How many readers own an electric vehicle or walk to work
- Automated Driving News – Intel buys Mobileye and the HERE ecosystem
- What the Car companies Are Doing – Ford and its F-150 money machine; European 112 eCall in Sweden
- Feature Article: The Issue of Ethics and Self-driving Vehicles
- Travis’s Travails – What business should Uber be in? Not the self-driving car and map business
- Musings of a Dispatcher – Let’s pull together on connected vehicle technology
- Report from Dispatch Central – Trucks as Weapons
- TomTom and Its Sphere
- Car Makers: Don’t Forget the Other Half – Not everyone lives in San Francisco, Boston and New York City
- Planet Labs: The Swarming Satellite Company
- Blockchain Beyond Bitcoin: Is there a life for the concept
- Blockchain Basics
- Princeton University SmartDrivingCars Summit to be held on 17-18 May 2017
- Musings of a Dispatcher: The car, once a miracle and considered the saviour of the city when it was introduced, is now considered a problem. It’s the city planners who are the problem, not the cars
- Spotlight on Sweden
- Lindholmen Science Park
- Vision Zero
- Connected Car Sphere
- Drive Sweden Forum
- Dispatch Central
- Tesla Lawsuit
- Swedish Unicorns: Skype and Spotify
- Amazon’s Servers to Sweden
- The End of Mobility: It’s Amazon that is the car killer
- Musings: Pick up those cones
- Real Driverless Cars are Not Just Around the Corner
- Identifying hype
- SAE Levels of Driving Automation
- Dispatch Central
- For the Record
- NHTSA update on Automated Vehicles Policy
- The Paris Agreement
- It’s not really the real deal for climate change
- Car and Truck Business
- It’s a high stakes game
- Musings
- Normative Ethics
- The World and Transport in 2030
Will it really be all electric robot cars delivering mobility as a service? - Dispatch Central
- Volvo Cars Electrifying
- NEVS and Microsoft
- NHTSA update on Automated Vehicles Policy
- Volvo Cars Electrifying
- Sensoris: Making sense of sensor data
- Zenuity: A Swedish OEM and Tier One team up
- Are BEV Owners Getting a Free Ride
- Musings: Robotic buses and trams don’t go out on strike
- Automated Vehicles
Are we moving too fast or too slow? - Dispatch Central
- No ICE on Our Streets
- Charge ‘er up – Charging Stations Needed
- GM Maven Offers Gig
- No ICE on Our Streets
- The AV Industry Needs an Asilomar Conference
- ISO/TC 204 WG3 and OADF: How do they fit together?
- Lithium-Ion Batteries: Are They Really the Answer
- To Share or Not to Share
- Musings: Plausible Deniability Does Not Result in Better Transport
- Work in the Future
What it will be and how we will get to it - Dispatch Central
- Future Quotes
- Move to the Right
- IKEA Moves to Town
- China’s New Silk Road
- Ford Delivers Pizza
- Future Quotes
- Cybersecurity: The Achilles Heel of Automated Vehicles
- Change of Plans: NavInfo and Tencent will not invest in HERE
- Report on the European Commission: Access to In-vehicle Data
- European Parliament: Why isn’t one house enough
- Musings: Food and Driving Memories
- NHTSA on AVs
Version 2 provides guidance not regulation - Dispatch Central
- Distracted drivers
- Electric outages
- The Serge on BEVs
- PSA Free2Move in US
- Toyota’s two wheeler
- Mercedes mit drone
- Shell game
- The Dispatcher’s office
- Distracted drivers
- SoftBank: Investment vision
- Cybersecurity Part 2: The Achilles Heel of Automated Vehicles
- London’s Congestion: What did you expect?
- What3Words: Will it replace your street address, or?
- Location Referencing: A short primer
- Musings: Global Warming will get you
When Accidents Weren’t the Drivers’ Fault
The Nader effect
Dispatch Central
GM Abandons Lyft
Mark Fields’ New Job
Tesla keeps losing money
Bob Lutz on the future of the automobile
Ford’s Stay Awake Hat
Mediamobile
Safety Related Content
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powered Vehicles
Are they the answer or a diversion?
Has DSRC Reached the End of the Road?
Not the WAVE of the future
Eye in the Sky
Traffic UAVs
Musings
A Friendly Wave
The Bus to Utopia 1-2
Who gets to ride it
Dispatch Central 1-3
Tim O’Reilly
Electric Uniti
Geely flying high
Electric Volocopter
BMW in South Carolina 2
New factory brings jobs and growth to region
Car Insurance 3
Don’t look for carrots
Do-it-yourself Maps 4
From Rudbeckius to LIDAR
Calculating the Value of Humanless-driven MRTVs 5
What are we gaining?
Musings 6
Finding another sun
Note: There are two files. The first is standard newsletter format that I have used since I began writing The Dispatcher. The second is a format optimized for reading on a digital e-reader. Take you pick.
The Dispatcher_February 2018_Flowing
Artificial General Intelligence 1-3
Key for humanless driving
Dispatch Central 1-3
Passengerless buses
Cable cars over the river
Bosch and Conti buy into Here
WirelessCar on the move
Geely Buys into AB Volvo 4
That’s the Volvo that makes trucks, not cars
Drive Me 4
Volvo Cars resets
Electrified Roads 5
Hot roads
Musings 6
Why can’t afford it any longer
* Humanless-drive
This is a vehicle piloted by a non-human which is capable of taking itself and passangers anywhere a vehicle driven by a human can be taken at any time. I use this term instead of ‘driverless’ since driverless connotes the absence of a driver, human or otherwise. The terms ‘self-driving’ and ‘autonomous’ can imply varying degrees of mechanical or software assistance to a human driver.
The Dispatcher_March 2018_Flowing
GEAR 2030 1-3
Latest attempt by the EC to steer the competitiveness bus
Dispatch Central 1-3
2017 Car Sales Winner
U.S. Recalls
AutoPilot Redux
More Musk
Stuck in Traffic
U.S. DOT Summit
ITU-T in Geneva
The Cycle of Cities 3
Depopulation and Concentration
Edge Computing 4
Power Where It’s Needed
Marketplace Platform 5
Here delivers
Drive Sweden 5
Annual Meeting
Musings 6
Too many red herrings
The Dispatcher_April 2018_Flowing
In this issue:
The Future Networked Car – Geneva 1-3
Notes from the Future Networked Car Symposium
Dispatch Central 1-5
Geneva Motor Show
European Car of the Year
VW’s CEO on Diesels
Broadcom Broadsided
Zetsche’s Photo Op
Dissent and a Death
Another Geely Deal 4
What is Geely’s Chairman up to?
Are We Ready to Fly? 5
Options for Personal Aerial Transport
Musings 6
Do we really need to choose between diesel engines and tofu?
The Dispatcher_May 2018 The Dispatcher_May 2018_Flowing
In this issue:
EU 112eCall Begins 1
Better late than never
Dispatch Central 1-3
Tesla X fatal crash
No furs in San Francisco
Merging sharing
Numbers of things
Virtual feelings
China’s One Belt One Road 2
No more slow boats
High-speed Rail 3
Clipping wings
Beating Traffic Ten Years Later 4
Can robots get us unstuck?
Mapbox 5
What is it really?
Musings 6
Who washes a rental car?
The Dispatcher_June 2018_Flowing
In this issue:
Princeton SmartDrivingCars Summit 2018 1
2nd Annual Summit on making cars smarter and safer for everyone
Dispatch Central 1-5
GM expands OnStar
Safe testing by Toyota
Blockchain for autos
Delivery to cars and homes: Is it secure?
High-speed Rail 4
Luxury or Necessity
Musings 6
There is no free lunch
The Dispatcher_July 2018_Flowing
In this issue:
GM’s OnStar 1-2
An experimental work in progress
Dispatch Central 1-5
Future of auto shows
Top car brands
Veoneer spins out from Autoliv
German numbers
Over-the-Air Updates 3-4
Absolutely indispensable
EU on Mobility 5
An updated strategy document
Musings 6
What have we done to our postal services?
August 2018 – Volume 5, Issue 10
In this issue:
Roboticized Vehicles Viewed in the Wider Context 2
Death of the Suburbs Is Greatly Over Exaggerated 5
To Buy or Use: These Are the Today’s Car Questions 9
EC Proposal for New Type Approval Regulation 13
Dispatch Central 15
The Last Great Market for Paid Chauffeurs Falls 15
It’s Human Nature Not to be Bored 15
Stockholm Parking Agency Didn’t Get the GDPR Memo 16
Musings of a Dispatcher: Train Stations of Dreams 17
September 2018 – Volume 5, Issue 11
In This Issue
Data Control Is the Key to the Future of Transport 2
Bicycles: Are They Good or Bad for Cities?. 7
Robot Drivers Need to Navigate More Like Humans. 11
SOCRATES 2.0: Interactive Traffic Management 15
Dispatch Central 17
FAA: It’s My Ball so I Make the Rules of the Game. 17
Uber Autonomous Truck Project: Otto-ejected. 17
…and will Uber sell its self-driving car division?. 18
Volvo Cars Announces It Will List on Stockholm Exchange. 18
Musings of a Dispatcher: Car Company Leadership. 19
October 2018 – Volume 5, Issue 12
In This Issue
Where Are We Going with Our Road Infrastructure. 2
Radical Chic: The Automotive Experience House. 7
Agero, Inc.: An Automotive Call Center Case Study. 11
JRC Science for Policy Report: CCAM in Europe. 14
Dispatch Central 16
Tesla will not, after all, delist itself from Nasdaq. 16
Do we need continuous education for drivers. 16
If I only had a chauffeur. 17
Time to close your social media accounts?. 17
Not yet ready to ring the stock market bell for Volvo Cars. 17
Next Issue of The Dispatcher. 18
5G: It’s Show Time. 18
Tesla: “You don’t understand me.”. 18
Musings of a Dispatcher: Car Collecting Fervor. 19
November 2018 – Volume 6, Issue 1
In This Issue
Ready or Not, Here Comes the Waymo Taxi Robot 2
Tesla Inc.: The Most Misunderstood Car Company. 7
United Nations Climate Panel Issues Its Report 13
Dispatch Central 16
U.S. DOT Issues Automated Vehicles 3.0. 16
Senator says BEV’s not paying fair share. 16
Stockholm unwelcomes dockless bicycles. 16
Driving with one hand tied behind your back. 17
The first experience house was in Paris. 17
IKEA Imagines Roaming Rooms for Its Furniture. 18
Musings of a Dispatcher: Pollyanna Predictions. 20
The Dispatcher_December 2018
December 2018 – Volume 6, Issue 2
In This Issue
The 5th Generation of Mobile Wireless is Arriving. 2
5G for the auto industry. 5
Results of a field test of ITS-G5 versus C-V2X. 6
U.S. DOT Issues Its Report on Automated Vehicles. 7
Dispatch Central 11
Daimler and Geely set up JV taxi service. 11
AAA says ADAS adds both safety and cost 11
Who makes the most reliable cars?. 11
Digital license plates in California. 12
Are Tesla’s October sales a one-off event?. 13
Is It Time to Throw the Bus Under the Bus?. 14
A Dispatcher’s Musings: The End of History – Part II 17
The Dispatcher_January 2019
January 2019 – Volume 6, Issue 3
In This Issue
Amaz’n Amazon: Making Hay While the Sun Shines. 2
Dispatch Central 7
At opposite ends of the climate spectrum.. 7
WirelessCar turning twenty. 7
Ever wonder what happened to Segway?. 8
Tesla and U.S. November sales. 9
1H = 2X Range + ½ Cost + 0 Tailpipe Emissions. 9
Carlos Ghosn: Fallen Hero or Betrayed Emperor?. 10
A Dispatcher’s Musings: Whose City Is It Anyway?. 15
The Dispatcher_February 2019
February 2019 – Volume 6, Issue 4
In This Issue
OEM De-fossilization and Automation Programs. 2
Dispatch Central 10
China car sales drop; the world reacts. 10
Tesla joins the big league. 11
Waymo gets stoned in Arizona. 11
Venice entry fee: pedestrian congestion charge. 12
How do I get to mum’s for Christmas dinner?. 12
TomTom Telematics sold to Bridgestone. 13
May I drive without a driver? Yes you may. 13
Hard to put a price tag on a sustainable climate. 14
A Dispatcher’s Musings: Can Time be Wasted?. 16
The Dispatcher_March 2019
March 2019 – Volume 6, Issue 5
In This Issue
OEM De-fossilization and Automation Programs II 2
General Motors Company. 2
Ford Motor Company. 6
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA) 9
Dispatch Central 12
Where public transport will be free. 12
Driving for knowledge and pleasure. 13
Amazon’s Scout delivers, but why?. 14
Nevs, Koenigsegg and Faraday Future. 14
Drive Sweden’s Annual Meeting: A Day Well Spent 16
A Dispatcher’s Musings: Hitting Home Runs. 18
The Dispatcher_March 2019_Musings
The Dispatcher_April 2019_Dispatch Central
The Dispatcher_April 2019
April 2019 – Volume 6, Issue 6
In this issue
The Symposium on the Future Networked Car 2019. 2
Session One: Connected and automated vehicles at the cross-roads to success. 3
Session Two: Cybersecurity impact and outlook for automotive systems. 4
Session Three: Automated capabilities and AI in the vehicle: status and expectations. 6
Session Four: The deployment of automated mobility services. 7
Driverless Power to the Geezers. 9
This is serious; we have to do something. 10
When is a Mustang not a Mustang?. 11
An OEM blinks (sort of) on speed. 12
…while another OEM blinks on sales. 12
Veoneer: After the hype, reality hits—and bites. 13
EU CAD and CCAM Policy and Regulation Initiatives. 14
Dispatcher’s Musings: Control and Impact 16
The Dispatcher_May 2019
May 2019 – Volume 6, Issue 7
In this issue
OEM De-fossilization and Automation Programs III 2
Where Hidden Value Lurks in the Car Industry. 8
Dispatch Central: All the news that fits we print 14
Geely takes 50% stake in Smart 14
I know you wanted to go to Düsseldorf, but….. 15
Computer program bug reason for Boeing crashes. 15
Tesla unlocked and stolen in two seconds. 16
Amazon invests in Rivian (It’s a car company) 17
SoftBank and Nvidia part company. 18
Book Review: Volvo’s Revenge. 19
A Dispatcher’s Musings: UX for User Experience. 21
The Dispatcher_June 2019
June 2019 – Volume 6, Issue 8
In This Issue
Third Annual Princeton SmartDrivingCar Summit 2
Day One: The Global View on SDCs. 2
Time to catch our breath. 4
Driverless Mobility Initiatives in Europe. 5
Day Two: The Business and Institutional View.. 6
Perspectives from the Insurance Industry. 7
OEMs and Dealerships. 7
Take Aways from the Summit 8
European Commission is getting it wrong on V2X. 9
Dispatch Central 15
Toyota backs off IEEE WAVE in U.S. 15
Uber: A Fool’s Gold. 16
FCA and Tesla: Strange bedfellows. 17
Tesla’s fifteen minutes of European fame. 18
A Road Trip Down Memory Lane. 18
A Dispatcher’s Musings: Here’s looking at you, kid. 19
The Dispatcher_July 2019_2
July 2019 – Volume 6, Issue 9
In This Issue
Where Will You Sell Your Cars in the Years Ahead?. 2
Passing Through the Ordeal of Change. 3
The Making of a Car-buying Nation. 5
China Discovers the Magic Potion. 8
What About the Continental Conjoined Twins. 10
And Now for the Ultimate Questions. 11
Dispatch Central 13
FCA a Pawn in the RNM Alliance Game. 13
The Dispatcher_August 2019
August 2019 – Volume 6, Issue 10
In This Issue
Putting Their Heads and Their Data Together for Us. 2
The EU Data Task Force (DTF) 2
There’s something different this time. 4
SOCRATES2.0: Parallel and Complementary. 5
EU Regulation for Free Flow of Data. 6
Dispatch Central 8
Fifty Years Since First Moon Walk. 8
Paying the Price for Irresponsibility. 9
Lee Iacocca: One of the Great Ones Dies. 10
A Dispatcher’s Musings: Losing the Olympics. 11
The Dispatcher_September 2019
September 2019 – Volume 6, Issue 11
In This Issue
Who Are the Companies Making Driverless Claims. 2
Everyone’s got the singularity answer 3
Argo AI: Peter, Bryan and the Argonauts. 3
Aurora Innovation: The Dawn of a New Age. 5
Cruise Automation: Do you believe in magic. 7
Should we put it in the skunk works. 10
Another Aurora: Father Juliano’s 1957 ESV. 11
Dispatch Central 12
Europe’s Galileo Suffers Major Outage. 12
ESRI and Mobileye Cooperate on Maps. 13
Who in the World is Franky Zapata. 14
OEM Q2 profits are up and down. 14
A Dispatcher’s Musings: Palo Alto Dreaming. 16
The Dispatcher_October 2019
October 2019 – Volume 6, Issue 12
In This Issue
Deciders Will Decide If or When Driverless Arrives. 2
Deciders, Influencers and Everyone Else. 3
A new way of thinking emerges. 7
Invention is the mother of necessity. 8
You say you want a revolution. 12
Automation is a religion. 14
James Dyson: Appliancizing the Automobile. 17
Rental e-scooters Are Worse than a Nuisance. 18
Dispatch Central 21
NHTSA’s Acting Leader Leaves. 21
A sign or our times. 21
Electric Cars: A matter of give and take. 22
New California law encourages driverless taxis. 23
A Dispatcher’s Musings: Which Brave New World?. 24
The Dispatcher_November 2019
November 2019 – Volume 7, Issue 1
In This Issue
Is This the End of the International Motor Show?. 2
Dispatch Central 12
The Hotel California Parking Lot 12
Who Was Richard Trevithick?. 13
What WeWork Has to do With Driverless Cars. 13
Why Musk Must Push (Not So) Smart Summon. 15
A Dispatcher’s Musings: The Will to Charge. 16
The Dispatcher_December 2019
December 2019 – Volume 7, Issue 2
In This Issue
Turning Over Vehicle Infotainment to Tech Titans. 2
Good for Google is not always good for us ganders. 4
We are the Borg. Resistance is futile. 5
Dispatch Central 7
New Consortium for Self-driving Cars. 7
Sergio’s Vision Still Guides FCA. 8
The EU wants to know if it is needed. 9
Tesla Does the Right Thing with its New Plant 10
A Dispatcher’s Musings: The 95% Solution Myth. 11
The Dispatcher_January 2020
January 2020 – Volume 7, Issue 3
In This Issue
Is Chasing Traffic Congestion a Fool’s Errand?. 2
Should we not worry and just be happy?. 10
Rickshaws in Our Midst: Importing Intractability. 12
Dispatch Central 17
Paying a speeding fine with your time. 17
Uber has an inadequate safety culture. 18
GM sues FCA: More than a family feud. 18
Daimler reality check on driverless cars. 19
This is Tesla country, home on the range. 20
Nikola got the charging station memo. 21
Sometimes you need the almost human touch. 22
A Dispatcher’s Musings: Where Robots Will Roam.. 23
The Dispatcher_February 2020
February 2020 – Volume 7, Issue 4
In This Issue
Open Data Access Challenges Entire Car Ecosystem.. 2
How the seeds of discontent were sown. 3
Everyone wants the same thing: the customer 4
For the OEMs, this is bigger than electrification. 8
Car companies already signaled acquiescence. 10
Dispatch Central 14
Future Networked Car 2020 (FNC2020) 14
China is buying the European car industry. 14
California Consumer Privacy Act vs. GDPR. 16
Here Technologies gets two new investors. 17
Tech Titan Turnover: Part Two. 19
A Dispatcher’s Musings: High-Speed Rail is Too Slow.. 20
The Dispatcher_March 2020
March 2020 – Volume 7, Issue 5
In This Issue
The U.S. and EU Can Still Save Their Car Industries. 2
Dieselgate was the climax not the commencement 3
The higher the bar, the fewer who can jump over it 5
Musk showed China how it could win. 8
China has a plan; the West doesn’t 11
The West needs to decriminalize the car business. 13
The Dispatcher_April 2020
April 2020 – Volume 7, Issue 6
In This Issue
Symposium on the Future Networked Car: FNC2020. 2
Opening Remarks. 3
Session 1: Policy and Regulatory Issues. 4
ITU Activities on Intelligent Transport Systems. 5
Session 2: Cybersecurity. 6
Session 3: AI for Autonomous and Assisted Driving. 9
UNECE Activities. 10
Session 4: Connected and Automated Vehicles. 10
Closing Remarks. 13
The Dispatcher_May 2020
May 2020 – Volume 7, Issue 7
In This Issue
The Automotive Industry in a Post-COVID-19 World. 2
Lessons learned from a global shutdown
Dispatch Central 14
Volvo and Veoneer Close Down Zenuity. 14
Clayton Christensen Cleared Away the Clouds. 15
Stockholm Gets a Mail Order Bridge. 17
Musings of a Dispatcher. 19
Climate change solved; just one glitch. 19
The Dispatcher_June 2020
June 2020 – Volume 7, Issue 8
In This Issue
Competing in a World Full of Electric Skateboards. 2
Competing Yesterday and Today. 3
Competing Tomorrow.. 6
Only Non-essentials Get to Give Commuting a Rest 12
Not everyone can work from home. 13
Maybe some people should always stay home. 15
Musings of a Dispatcher: Driverless Cars. 16
Evaluating the Evidence for a Need. 16
Do we need driverless cars?. 22
The Dispatcher_July 2020
July 2020 – Volume 7, Issue 9
In This Issue
The Plan to Merge Geely Auto and Volvo Cars. 2
Is it time to say Zàijiàn to Volvo Cars?. 2
Dispatch Central 8
Battery Electric Vehicle News. 8
Dyson shows ditched BEV, codenamed N526. 8
France most generous with €12,000 EV incentive. 9
Germany, not be outdone, hands out cash too. 10
Ultimate Co-branding: SpaceX, Model X, NASA. 11
Musings of a Dispatcher: Vehicle Connectivity. 13
We’re all speaking different languages. 13
The Dispatcher_August 2020
August 2020 – Volume 7, Issue 10
In This Issue
Car OEMs Driving Toward Relevance or Perdition. 2
Are we ready to be online carscribers?. 2
Dispatch Central 11
Battery Electric Vehicle News. 11
Former British icon leading the Chinese BEV charge. 11
Tesla is scaling back its European Gigafactory. 12
Is the Volvo Cars and Waymo tie-up a big deal?. 13
BMW and Daimler pause self-driving alliance. 15
Musings of a Dispatcher: The Way Forward. 17
We Continue to Wander in the Desert 17
Postscript on the China Series. 25
The Dispatcher_September 2020
September 2020 – Volume 7, Issue 11
In This Issue
Creating Standards in an Environment of Mistrust 2
Will ITS standards work fall prey to geopolitical conflicts and meddling?
Dispatch Central 16
Battery Electric Vehicle News. 16
Chinese BEV maker Byton bites the dust, maybe. 16
Germany officials investigating EV charging. 17
A reader’s clarification on Tesla as pure online seller 18
Is the new FCA and Waymo deal a big deal?. 18
Undecided between Geely and Volvo Cars. 21
Six months of COVID-19 and still counting. 21
The Low-earth Orbit Satellite Broadband Battle. 24
Is this another win for Elon Musk?
The Dispatcher_October 2020_V2
October 2020 – Volume 7, Issue 12
In This Issue
Dealers are the Present and Future of Automobility. 2
New and used car dealers deliver what car buyers want and need
Dispatch Central 11
Battery Electric Vehicle News. 11
Europe is not going gentle into that good BEV night 11
Chinese Xpeng raises $2.1 billion with a U.S. IPO.. 13
Self-driving Vehicle News. 14
China’s TuSimple wants to mine gold in U.S. 14
Daimler loses a round on patents to Nokia. 15
The (Motor) Show Must Go On in China. 16
Subscriptions: When a car rental is not a car rental 17
Musings of a Dispatcher: Turn Back the Clock. 19
Fan Club Petitions IH for Scout II Redux
The Dispatcher_November 2020
November 2020 – Volume 8, Issue 1
In This Issue
Will the Vehicle OEMs Acquiesce on Data Sharing?. 2
Service providers and car OEMs diverge
Dispatch Central 9
Electric Vehicle News. 9
GM and Nikola: A deal made in heaven or hell 9
Tesla and its market value. 12
Polestar 2 and Volvo XC40 Recharge. 13
Dealers remind Volvo who owns the pitch. 15
What happens after the 3rd of November 2020. 16
The Other Button: It’s More Than Meets the Eye. 19
That button needs to work like a charm
The Dispatcher_December 2020
December 2020 – Volume 8, Issue 2
In This Issue
The Vehicle Fuel Debate Has Been Hijacked. 2
It’s time to start listening to the experts. 2
Dispatch Central 8
Battery Electric Vehicle News. 8
A shortlist of cars on their way West from China. 8
Polestar leaves its Swedish heritage behind. 10
…and here’s one from Croatia. 10
Self-driving and Data Sharing News. 11
UK insurance group criticizes plans for self-driving cars. 11
Massachusetts independents win on data sharing. 12
Is Waymo’s Driver-less Taxi Service Now for All?. 13
Musings of a Dispatcher: Cars are from Mars. 19
Will driverless riders be only from Venus?. 19
The Dispatcher_January 2021
January 2021 – Volume 8, Issue 3
In This Issue
Automotive Service Providers Press for Data Share. 2
Claim it’s the customers’ choice not OEMs’
Dispatch Central 16
Electric Vehicle News. 16
Geely wants a Volvo and Daimler HEV engine hook up. 16
Will new U.S. administration push BEVs again. 17
GM has a rethink on Nikola. 19
The FCC Takes Big Bandwidth Bite. 19
What is the Alliance for Automotive Innovation. 21
Cybersecurity and OTA Updating Regs are Ready. 22
Time to get the show on the road
Musings of a Dispatcher: Living with Change
The Dispatcher_February 2021
February 2021 – Volume 8, Issue 4
In This Issue
Spatial Cognizance: How We Learned to Find Our Way. 2
And how to teach a new dog old tricks
Dispatch Central 9
Electric Vehicle News
Why would Foxconn want to build Byton’s BEVs
Will Apple build its car after all?
Magna Steyr slated to build Fisker’s Ocean Electric SUV
Aurora and Uber 12
When It’s Time to Call It Quits. 14
When You Can’t Reach Stretch Goals By a Date. 15
CES Experience Without the Las Vegas Buzz. 16
Musings of a Dispatcher: The Safety Proposition. 18
The Dispatcher_March 2021
March 2021 – Volume 8, Issue 5
In This Issue
Vehicle Testing: There is no way to test a car virtually. 2
Dispatch Central 10
Electric Vehicle News. 10
Is there no end to Geely’s partnerships. 10
Chinese Ford Mustang Mach-E SUV. 11
There’s a new political climate on the climate in DC. 12
VW goes it alone on its driverless software. 14
Driving Neat: Can U.S. Take Its Cars Without ICE?. 16
Europe and U.S. following different paths. 16
Musings of a Dispatcher: The Button Doesn’t Work. 20
The Dispatcher_April 2021
April 2021 – Volume 8, Issue 6
In This Issue
A Closer, Critical Look at Operational Design Domain. 2
Dispatch Central 12
Geely decides to leave Volvo Cars alone. 12
What do you do when the chips are down?. 14
Electrifying Roads: Part Two. 16
New UNECE Regulation for Automated Lane Keeping. 18
UN Regulation No. 157 Adopted. 18
Musings of a Dispatcher: The Book of Mercedes. 22
The Dispatcher_May 2021
May 2021 – Volume 8, Issue 7
In This Issue
To Ban or Not to Ban: Should That Be the Question?. 2
They banned spray cans with chloro-fluorocarbons, didn’t they? Why not ICE?
Dispatch Central 9
Tesla profiting from emissions credits. 9
More Thoughts on Operational Design Domain. 11
Seventy years of car production. 14
Have we now had an automotive cyberattack?. 15
C-V2X PC5 Saves Face for European Commission. 16
Shall we all agree to move on from DSRC?
Musings of a Dispatcher: The Leviathan Syndrome. 22
The EC can’t let go of Wi-Fi-based V2X
The Dispatcher_June 2021
June 2021 – Volume 8, Issue 8
In This Issue
The Future of Mobility is Slowly Coming into Focus. 2
Two Ends Forming Around a Big Middle
Dispatch Central 11
Better Batteries Are on the Way. 11
A Burning Question. 13
The sky is falling! 14
Musings of a Dispatcher: Our Own Legacies. 15
At some point we have all burned coal
The Dispatcher_July 2021
July/August 2021 – Volume 8, Issue 9
In This Issue
How Important is Exact Localization for HAD?. 2
Road Data for Highly Automated Driving
Dispatch Central 14
Driverless dreams meet insurance reality. 14
Tesla takes steps to expand Tesla Insurance. 17
Bits and pieces. 19
Tesla’s China orders were halved in May, or were they?. 19
Please come back to me again, my little darlings. 19
Stealthy BEVs shall be no more. 20
Why have traffic deaths risen during the pandemic?. 20
The Milan-Monza Auto Show shows how it can be done. 21
Using stationary LiDAR for intersection data. 22
Musings of a Dispatcher: Who Crosses the Bridge?. 23
You only have to cross a bridge if you want to get to the other side
The Dispatcher_September 2021_V4
The Dispatcher_September 2021
September 2021 – Volume 8, Issue 10
In This Issue
Not So Easy to Pop a Top Hat on a BEV Skateboard. 2
It turns out that a car is not an e-scooter
Dispatch Central 11
SOCRATES2.0 submits final report 11
Germany and France say no to EU Commission. 12
Bits and pieces. 14
Panasonic sold all its shares in Tesla. 14
ISA: Map Data or cameras for speed limits – Neither good enough. 15
Some interesting statistics on world energy and BEVs. 17
Flooded coal mines could heat homes. 19
This is what happens when a city loses control 20
Taking Back Control of the Vehicle from the Robot 21
Fail-safe response must be designed in
Musings of a Dispatcher: Evolutionary Domesticity. 29
Choosing a post-pandemic place to live
The Dispatcher_October 2021
October 2021 – Volume 8, Issue 11
In This Issue
There Is a New Order Emerging for the Auto Industry. 2
What happens when suppliers can do it all
Dispatch Central 19
Finally, a U.S. mandatory alcohol lock law.. 19
Tesla meets its fork in the road—and fails. 20
Do BEVs cost more to service than ICE vehicles. 23
Baker Electric: Turn-of-the Century Elegance. 25
FCC says it’s C-V2X in top 30 MHz of 5.9 GHz. 27
Musings of a Dispatcher: A Sense of Cars. 28
Do you need to have it to build them?
The Dispatcher_November 2021
November 2021 – Volume 8, Issue 12
In This Issue
The Coming Battle Over Car Electrification. 2
Energy shortages a sign we have been moving too fast
Dispatch Central 20
GM recalls all Chevy Bolt BEVs for fire risk. 20
Synthetic fuel: Is it better than a BEV switch?. 23
China says it has too many BEV car companies. 25
Veoneer leaves Magna at the altar 27
Ford, Argo and Walmart deliver the goods. 28
The Dispatcher_December 2021
December 2021 – Volume 9, Issue 01
In This Issue
Germany’s Automotive Industry in Transition. 2
Will it remain at the auto industry’s heart
Dispatch Central 18
In the end, investors must place their bets. 18
Rivian makes a big IPO splash. 20
BEV, ICE, and alternative vehicle news. 21
A BEV maker delivers the facts. 21
BEVs will continue to have competitors. 22
We’d all be driving electric today, if only….. 23
Ensuring the survival of ICE intellectual property. 24
Musings of a Dispatcher: Not Your Father’s Volvo. 26
China’s trendsetters prefer sex appeal
The Dispatcher_Special Edition
Our First Cars
The Dispatcher_January 2022
January 2022 – Volume 9, Issue 02
In This Issue
One Way to Achieve Mobility for the Non-mobile. 2
Putting Driverless Vehicles to Use for Those Who Really Need a Ride
Environmental Activists Want to Engineer a Utopia. 14
Utopias and Democracies Don’t Mix Well
Dispatch Central 21
Until cars fly, we need roads and bridges. 21
Tesla has missed the point on safety. 24
The first gasoline-electric hybrid car 27
Looks like congeston charging isn’t working. 27
Musings of a Dispatcher: Roadway Intruders. 28
It’s a free-for-all on urban roads
The Dispatcher_February 2022
The Dispatcher_February 2022_V2
February 2022 – Volume 9, Issue 03
In This Issue
U.S. FTC Wants to Level the Tech Playing Field. 2
Data sharing not on monopoly table
Dispatch Central 21
Regulatory oversight of driverless cars receiving a second look in California. 21
Business phrases from Bartleby. 28
Let’s look at some statistics together 29
Everyone’s time comes, sooner or later 30
The Dispatcher_March_2022
March 2022 – Volume 9, Issue 04
In This Issue
The Evolving Business of Powering Our Vehicles. 2
Coal bins, gas pumps and charging points
Sony Corp Wants to Join the Crowd of Car OEMs. 11
Wannabe success depends on details
Dispatch Central 17
To beat traffic, give commuting a rest 17
There’s been an event in the world of cameras. 19
Daimler becomes Mercedes-Benz. 21
Chekhov’s Gag: DeLorean and de Vries in double redux. 22
Musings of a Dispatcher: Running on CO2 24
Why not make like a tree and leave
The Dispatcher_April_2022
April 2022 – Volume 9, Issue 05
In This Issue
The Symposium on the Future Networked Car 2022. 2
Annual Event Arranged by ITU and UNECE
Dispatch Central 13
New OEM strategy: Divide and Conquer 13
NOX: Objection sustained and then overruled. 14
UK investigating laws for driverless cars. 17
Musings of a Dispatcher: Renault Says It’s Staying. 21
Who said making cars isn’t a political act
May 2022 – Volume 9, Issue 06
In This Issue
Legal Framework for Driverless Cars Already Exists. 2
We need compliance, not disruption
Dispatch Central 12
West Virginia mulled ban on OTA updates. 12
UNITI, a BEV company full of promises, sinks. 13
Musings of a Dispatcher: Different Shades of Urban. 16
America’s anti-city legacy lives on today. 16
June 2022 – Volume 9, Issue 07
In This Issue
NHTSA’s New Car Assessment Program: A Critical Look. 2
How does it fit into the standards framework
Dispatch Central 17
DOJ targeting Google Maps 17
Honey, can you pump my gas one last time. 18
Driving on uncrewed toll roads in a foreign land. 22
BMW and M-B: We’re not sharing anymore. 23
Freebees to EVs matched by cash for gas. 24
Austria follows its own nose on ITS issues. 26
Driving on uncrewed toll roads in a foreign land. 22
A notable quote on the move to BEVS. 23
July 2022 – Volume 9, Issue 08
In this issue
Princeton Fifth Annual SmartDrivingCars Summit
Safe, Equitable, Affordable, Sustainable, High-quality Mobility for Everyone
Dispatch Central
Someone lit a fire under NHTSA
The Economist: Right Analysis, wrong solution
Musings of a Dispatcher: Eyes on the Back Story
The evolution of digital maps and ADAS
Digital Maps for the Vehicle – 1970 – 2022
Other Documents
2017-05-access-to-in-vehicle-data-and-resources
NHTSA Automated Driving Systems
August 2022 – Volume 9, Issue 09
September 2022 – Volume 09, Issue 10
October 2022 – Volume 09, Issue 11
November 2022 – Volume 09, Issue 12
December 2022 – Volume 10, Issue 01
January 2023 – Volume 10, Issue 02
February 2023 – Volume 10, Issue 03
March 2023 – Volume 10, Issue 04
April 2023 – Volume 10, Issue 05
May 2023 – Volume 10, Issue 06
June 2023 – Volume 10, Issue 07