Today, Honda announced that its 2013 Fit EV has been delivered via a demo program to Google, (as well as to Stanford University), and it will be used in GFleet.

Here’s the part of Honda’s announcement that pertains to Google:

The delivery of the Fit EV to Google Inc. was marked by an employee ride and drive. Nearly 100 ‘Googlers’ took the Fit EV for a spin around the Google Mountain View, Calif., campus. Google will now use the Fit EV as a part of its G-Fleet, an employee car-sharing service that features numerous plug-in vehicles. Google’s participation in the Honda Electric Vehicle Demonstration Program will involve analysis of vehicle usage including CO2 reduction, energy consumption on a miles/kWh basis and overall energy cost.

“The goal of the Honda Electric Vehicle Demonstration Program is to better understand the challenges and opportunities associated with the advancement in battery-electric technology,” said Steve Center, VP of the Environmental Business Development Office at American Honda. “Honda has a long history with electric vehicles beginning with the introduction of our first battery-electric car, the EV Plus, nearly 15 years ago. Honda’s experience and the unique feedback that Google, Stanford University and the city of Torrance will provide will be valuable to the future introduction of battery-electric technology.”

Here’s a broader look at GFleet itself:

Google, along with Stanford and the city of Torrance, California are conducting general testing on the Fit EV, to give feedback to Honda for the future introduction of electric vehicles.

I wonder if anyone will tell them that, like some electric cars before it, it kind of looks like a new-age mini van.

The first new channel comes to you from Motor Trend. Here’s what the Motor Trend Channel will offer users:

Get your automotive adrenaline charge right here on the Motor Trend channel. From first drives and tests of the hottest new supercars, muscle cars and motorcycles, to the latest automotive news from around the world, to the incredible machinery and personalities from beyond the automotive mainstream, the Motor Trend channel has it all, delivered daily. The Motor Trend channel. We drive it. We ride it. We live it.

You can expect the channel to have original programming from the folks that brought you Hot Rod, Motorcyclist, Lowrider, and Car Craft.

The other new channel is the Drive Channel.

Drive celebrates the culture of cars. On the road, to the races, to the factories, to the studios — to the places you can’t go. Cars may be something you need, but drive with us and you’ll never look at them the same way again.

YouTube says that on the Drive channel, we can expect to find news, reviews, and commentary from people like Mike Spinelli, Leo Parente, and Chris Harris.

Ever since YouTube launched their new homepage, they’ve made a point to focus on channels. YouTube wants to beef up their offerings of original content, and promote those channels so that users can easily subscribe to their interests.

Last month, YouTube added new entertainment channels as well as new action sports channels, one of which features Tony Hawk.

I gotta say, in some of these YouTube videos, with the way some of these cars were presented onstage at NAIAS, you’d expect these cars to commence with a pole dance while car aficionados approach the stage and stuff $2 bills into the car’s hubcaps. No wonder everybody gets excited about this stuff. Anyways, check out some previews of the 2012 NAIAS gathering below.

The Kia Ray EV, which will not be available in the U.S., is one vehicle seen in Vegas today. It will be sold exclusively in Korea, but puts the Hyundai-owned manufacturer in the electric vehicle market.

The Ray EV does 0-60 in just under 16 seconds and tops out at 80 mph. But, it does 86 miles on one charge. It fully charges in 6 hours, but in only 25 minutes in fast-charge mode.

Can’t wait to see these in a Mission Impossible movie!

Now, the company has actually got the patent on the technology. Specifically, the patent granted to Google this week (hat tip to Tech Radar) is: Transitioning a mixed-mode vehicle to autonomous mode.

Here’s what the abstract for the patent says:

Disclosed are methods and devices for transitioning a mixed-mode autonomous vehicle from a human driven mode to an autonomously driven mode. Transitioning may include stopping a vehicle on a predefined landing strip and detecting a reference indicator. Based on the reference indicator, the vehicle may be able to know its exact position. Additionally, the vehicle may use the reference indictor to obtain an autonomous vehicle instruction via a URL. After the vehicle knows its precise location and has an autonomous vehicle instruction, it can operate in autonomous mode.

So essentially, Google has the patent on vehicles that can switch from human driven to robot driven, if I’m understanding it correctly.

Here are a few videos of Google’s cars in action:

Google has downplayed how much of its resources it is actually putting into things like driverless cars. On an earnings call in July, CEO Larry Page said, “Overall we’re focused on long-term, absolute profit and growth.,” reiterating a point he had made that “speculative” projects like driverless cars are not something the company is “betting the farm on”.

It would be interesting to know if having the patent changes just how much they are betting on the technology.

Earlier this year, a law was passed in Nevada, making the cars legal. One was actually involved in a car accident at one point, though it was reportedly determined that there was actually a human driving it when that happened.

“Operating just like a technology company would, Ford is leveraging software to continuously update and upgrade the driver experience, a Ford spokesperson tells WebProNews. “The new upgrades to MyFord Touch will contain simpler graphics, larger font sizes, faster touch screen response, easier-to-use controls and even compatibility with tablets including the iPad.”

Some have voiced concern about the dangers of touch screens in cars. For example, there’s a comment on YouTube about the video below that says, “Touch screens don’t belong in cars, period. They’re dangerous and unreliable. Stick to knobs and buttons that can be operated without looking at them.”

“Research shows that activity that draws drivers’ eyes away from the road for an extended period of time substantially increases risk of accidents,” Ford Motor Company Technology Communications Manager Alan Hall tells WebProNews. “Therefore, we developed new technologies with intuitive, simple controls and voice commands as part of MyFord Touch to deliver a safer, smarter way to access vehicle functions and features. Drivers experience many different types of distractions on a daily basis, and our MyFord technology helps reduce some of those distractions.”

The upgrades will be showcased for the first time at the Los Angeles Auto Show later this month, where the company will launch the new Escape. At BlogWorld a few days ago, Ford CMO Jim Farley revealed Escape Routes, an interesting promotion for the vehicle. Here’s an interview we did at the show with Ford’s Social Media Director Scott Monty:

Here’s the actual list of the MyFord Touch feature upgrades, as provided by Ford:

· Improved voice recognition experience powered by Nuance

– Quicker voice recognition upon startup and faster command prompt when the voice button is pushed

– Voice commands used in conjunction with navigation are simplified through elimination of the need to provide street direction, e.g., “Main Street” instead of “North Main Street”

– Music requests are simpler by removing the need to include the additional song, album or artist information often found at the end of a name in (parenthesis) or [brackets]

– Customers can find their favorite sports team in action via new Sirius Game Finder simply by saying a command such as “Tune to Detroit Lions game”

· Tablet device compatibility

– Music and other media content from most popular tablet computers like the Apple iPad can now be accessed through a simple USB connection

· Audible.com audiobook support

– Listen to Audible.com content using voice commands or the easy-to-use touch-screen controls

· Connected navigation powered by TeleNav features new map data by NAVTEQ

– Updated map views are richer and feature more 3D landmarks

– Views of freeway junctions and signs are enhanced through photorealistic screen images

– Smart routing options are provided based on a database of historical traffic patterns

· Phone compatibility

– Automatic Bluetooth connection upon vehicle entry has been improved

– Noise and echo cancellation during phone calls has been improved to enhance call quality

· Gracenote album cover art database

– Inclusion of the latest music metadata available enhancing the music playback experience

– Improved voice recognition for music search allowing drivers to pinpoint artists with hard-to-pronounce names or nicknames

Car Home lets users access apps like GPS, voice-activated commands, contacts, etc. while placed in a car dock. Another new feature is the ability to automatically switch to Car Home when your phone pairs with any Bluetooth device. 

"We’ve also made it simpler for Android developers to modify their existing applications to be compatible with Car Mode," says Markus Mühlbauer, Manager Engineering & Product, Google Automotive. "Apps which support Car Mode will show up in a ‘Car applications’ category so they can easily be identified by you and added as a shortcut."

Car Home is available for Android 2.2 (FroYo). The update is available in the Android Market. 

It’s probably not a bad app to have if you use your phone in the car. It may save lives, or at least help you avoid getting ticket if you live somewhere that texting while driving is against the law. 

"Imagine I’m planning a trip to New York City and want to visit the Empire State Building," says MapQuest’s Ted Babitz. "Instead of printing the directions, I just click "Send to SYNC" to have the information sent to my SYNC system. Once in my vehicle, I just press the voice button, say ‘Services’, and the vehicle navigation system will calculate a route and then begin guidance to the MapQuest point of interest."

"Now you can plan and research where you want to go online and send it directly to your car," adds Babitz. "Think of how many drivers will navigate with their eyes on the road, instead of looking down at a printed map."

MapQuest has been working hard to attract new interest in its service. It recently rolled out a whole new design (which it has been improving upon since), and had expanded its live traffic coverage.

This partnership with Ford should go a long way in keeping users interested too.

Users of the Send-to-Car service can send business listings or addresses found on Google Maps directly to their cars. The expansion of the service is great news for local businesses, and perhaps makes it all the more important to hone their Google Maps presence.

"Drivers can then use their car maker’s turn-by-turn navigation system to be guided to their selected destination. With today’s additions, drivers can send destinations from Google Maps directly to their connected vehicles in 19 countries and more than 20 different brands," says Markus Mühlbauer, Engineering and Product Manager. "In the US alone, Send-To-Car is now available on more than 15 car brands and we hope to see even more partners join us soon."

"We think this is a great convenience for drivers – Prepare your route at your desk, send the destination to your car, and safely enjoy your ride – hands on the wheel, eyes on the road," he adds. "We also like to think that in the age of green driving, not having to print paper directions anymore is a great start of a green trip!"

Now imagine if Google gets Android into that many vehicles one day, and consider the potential for apps that cater to the driving experience. Also consider that app-making is getting simpler.

We also got an up-close look at tKia’s new UVO (Your Voice) system, which utilizes Windows Embedded Auto for some cool voice controlled features and more:

With UVO, users can place and receive calls and stream media over their phones if they connect with Bluetooth. Users can also use voice controls to operate the CD player and devices that plug into the car’s USB port.

This year’s CES event displayed some interesting innovations in automotive features, and provided a glimpse into what just may become very common in vehicles.
 

Related Articles:

> Ford Shows You Can Have Your Office in Your Truck

> Ford Turning Cars Into Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspots

> How Ford Does Social Media