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Comma.ai makes your car semi-autonomous for $999

At TechCrunch's Disrupt conference in San Francisco, Comma.ai founder George "Geohot" Hotz announced the launch of the Comma One semi-autonomous driving device. Hotz said at the conference that his company has worked on the Comma One for about a year, and it will be available at the end of the year for $999 and a $24 per month subscription fee. But aside from the reasonable price, which TechCrunch points out is possible thanks to off-the-shelf components, the appeal here is that it's an add-on to an existing car that can be installed at home by the car's owner. This gives people with normal cars the opportunity to have semi-autonomous features without having to buy an entire vehicle... that is, if you have a Honda or Acura with lane-keeping assist, since Comma One is currently only compatible with those vehicles. It remains to be seen if the company will add more vehicles to the list over time. The device is roughly the size of a large cell phone or aftermarket navigation system, and it has a screen on the front and a pair of cameras on the back. The computer combines information from the device's cameras and the car's radar sensors to understand what's happening and how to respond. Hotz explained at the conference that this system is similar in capability to the Tesla Autopilot system, and will be able to complete a drive, start to finish, without the driver having to touch anything. He did however emphasize that the driver must still pay attention in the event something goes wrong, comparing the experience to watching a young student driver. Hotz told TechCrunch that the device should start shipping at the end of the year. He also said that owners of compatible Honda products in the San Francisco area are eligible for beta testing, and can get involved by emailing him at george@comma.ai. So if you've been pining for a semi-autonomous vehicle of your own, but couldn't spring for a Tesla, you won't have to wait much longer. We should point out that we don't know yet how well the system works, though we hope to find out soon. Related Video:

Honda installs 3-minute, fast-fuelling hydrogen fuel station in California

OK, but let's see how well Honda can control hydrogen refueling temperature in Houston or Buffalo. That's what some pessimists may be saying now that the Japanese automaker has installed a fast-fueling hydrogen station in the oh-so-temperate environs of Torrance, CA. That city is about 20 miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles and a sliver of it actually touches the Pacific Ocean, so we're not talking about wild swings in air temperature here. Honda is calling its fast-refueling platform the MC Fill (we'd expect a lawsuit if it was McFill, even though that'd be clever) and says that filling up takes about 45 percent less time than the typical hydrogen-refueling station. That's because the system monitors the ambient temperature in order to speed up the process. There's more scientific stuff in there - for example, the fact that the MC name comes from the "two key values in a heat transfer equation- 'M' for mass and 'C' for specific heat" - but the long and the short of it is that a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle can fill up in less than three minutes. That's pretty impressive, despite the distinct lack of vehicles needing to charge that fast today. Honda unveiled its FCEV Concept vehicle at the Los Angeles Auto Show last November. The five-seat vehicle has a range of more than 300 miles, while its fuel-stack power density is about 60 percent higher than its previous version. The production version is due to arrive in the US in 2015. Check out Honda's press release below. Honda R&D Installs Advanced Fast-Fill Hydrogen Refueling Station -- New station on Honda R&D Americas' Torrance, California campus built in anticipation of Honda's next-generation fuel cell electric vehicle, due in 2015 -- Honda-developed hydrogen refueling protocol significantly reduces fill time TORRANCE, Calif., March 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Preparing for the 2015 introduction of the next Honda fuel cell-electric vehicle (FCEV), Honda R&D Americas has installed a state-of-the-art hydrogen refueling station on its Torrance, California campus. This advanced station will serve as a platform for demonstrating and validating the enhanced hydrogen fueling protocol developed by Honda, named the MC Fill. With the aim of standardizing this new protocol, Honda will make the new research station available to other automakers to further validate the MC Fill protocol's performance and functionality.

Autoblog Podcast #416

Episode #416 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, and Brandon Turkus talk about the 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata, seeing the 2016 Nissan Maxima in the company's Super Bowl ad, and GMC's potential plans for a Jeep Wrangler fighter. Of course, the podcast starts with what's in the garage and finishes up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the rundown with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #416 Topics 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata first drive 2016 Nissan Maxima previewed in Super Bowl ad GMC mulling Jeep Wrangler fighter In The Autoblog Garage 2015 Hyundai Genesis 5.0L V8 2015 Honda CR-V Long-Term 2015 Volkswagen GTI Hosts: Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, Brandon Turkus Runtime: 01:36:43 Rundown Intro and Garage - 00:00 Maxima – 30:48 Miata – 41:46 GMC/Wrangler – 59:14 Q&A - 01:11:13 Get The Podcast UStream – Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Podcasts GMC Honda Hyundai Jeep Mazda Nissan Volkswagen vw gti nissan maxima