Milwaukee Auto Show spotlights new tech trends

The yearly Milwaukee Auto Show is a great way for folks to see what manufacturers are offering with the newer models, without the sales pressure. Debbie Lazaga visited the show to see what’s up as the Milwaukee Auto Show spotlights new tech trends.

Every year we get a new batch of brand new, some concept, some way out there – cars all at the Milwaukee Auto Show. This year is no different, but I wanted to get a closer look at some of the new technology trends we may be seeing in the near future.

Driver Safety
Senior Editor at Auto Trader Jason Fogelson says there’s all sorts of new technology integrating with cars now, and some of the most impressive have to do with driver safety, “That is one of the main reasons to look at a new car over an older car. It’s because safety features get more and more ingrained in vehicles and become more common.”

Everything from protecting you from the outside world to watching how you’re driving your car, it’s all becoming part of the driving experience.

Fogelson says, “My favorite safety feature is forward emergency braking. And what this does, it uses a sensor in the front of the car to detect obstacles in your path, and if you don’t brake in time, the car will brake for you. It may not help you avoid an accident, but it’ll certainly lower your speed and mitigate that, even if you aren’t paying close enough attention, your car can help save you.”

Sales Associate at our partners at Hall Mazda in Brookfield, Brandon Schimetz, says Mazda is introducing another feature, “It’ll have unresponsive driver support if it recognizes that you are deviating lanes, or things like that, due to, say, a heart attack. It’ll bring the vehicle to a stop, and it’ll turn the vehicle off, turn on your hazards and call the EMS for you so you get the proper care.”

So you can rest easy knowing that if anything happens, your car’s got your back.

Artificial Intelligence
Driving a car nowadays is more than just sitting and waiting until you get to your destination. It can also be a productive time, as long as you’re being safe about it. AI is jumping into the arena with this.

“It’ll allow you to integrate your smartphone seamlessly, devices, iPads, etc. You can order things from a shopping list while you’re driving. If you forget something and need a reminder when you’re home, you can do all that kind of stuff, too,” explains Schimetz.

And it goes beyond just updating your grocery list. How about getting around?

Fogelson says it should be seamless, “You’re already seeing it happen. There’s Google AI in some vehicles now, and it can do things like predict where you’re headed based on where you’ve been before. So your navigation system becomes a partner with you and where you want to go. There are a lot of intersections between tech companies and car companies. We’re going to see that more and more and more. And, you know, your handheld device, your smartphone, becomes part of the experience of driving your car.”

Electric Vehicles
EV is all the rage at the Milwaukee Auto Show. This year, we’ve seen people have issues charging their electric vehicles, and then them keeping their charge in the colder weather. Could it be the manufacturers in California didn’t really have that top of mind in their designs?

Fogelson says the technology is starting to evolve, “Battery technology is moving rapidly right now. I mean, we’re at the dawn of solid state batteries, and those will be much less prone to temperature fluctuations than the current lithium-ion batteries that we’re using.”

Still, there is such a thing as Range Anxiety, where people imagine their EVs conking out once they lose sight of regular charging stations along their routes.

“Driving these vehicles is just like driving a gas car. Charging the vehicles and maintaining your battery is a new skill for people, and that’s going to develop with time as well as infrastructure improves,” explains Fogelson.

And there are other solutions.

Fogelson says, “Don’t plunge head-along into EVs without doing your research. And maybe it’s not for you. Maybe what you should be looking at is a hybrid or a plug-in hybrid, which is kind of a mix of both of those technologies. You still have a gas engine, but with the plug-in hybrid, you can charge it on your own time. And then you can use the limited range, 25 to 40 miles of electric to do your commuting, to do your errands and never burn a gallon of gas. But when you run out of electric range, you’ve still got a gas electric hybrid that’s highly efficient and running really well on gas.”

Cybersecurity
All cars are incorporating more and more computers into their design. Connectivity is a big deal. Now, picture yourself as a hacker…Yeah, cybercrime will probably seep into your driving experience, too.

“Well, I think all the manufacturers are very aware of that. And you should be aware of that in the same way you would be with your home computer or with your cell phone. Make sure that you’re using robust passwords. Make sure that you change them on a regular basis. Make sure you don’t share them with anyone. All the common sense stuff that applies with computers applies with a car.”

There’s a lot of new technology penetrating every aspect of car ownership, and the fun lies in figuring out what will work best for you.

The Milwaukee Auto Show at the Baird Center runs until March 3rd.

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