Anytime there’s a new automotive show, our ears perk up. This time, it’s a sitcom called “American Auto.” It’ll be airing on NBC, and the network just released the show’s first promo clip that you can watch above.
NBC’s description of the show can be found directly below.
“Set in Detroit, the corporate executives of Payne Motors are at a crossroads: adapt to the changing times or be sent to the junkyard. Shaking things up is the new CEO, whose leadership, experience, and savvy are only slightly offset by her complete lack of knowledge about cars. Luckily, her team has some of the best minds in the business — when they aren’t fighting or trying to outwit each other. From the corporate office to the factory floor, the crew of Payne Motors is driving home the laughs.”
Sound interesting? At the very least, we’re intrigued to see where they take this show. The short clip depicts a scene in a boardroom where execs are working out what vehicles they’ll sell in the future. Longtime "SNL" star Ana Gasteyer is the CEO of Payne and lead of the show. We get to see the Ponderosa, which is supposedly Payne’s big idea for a future autonomous vehicle. It’s a sedan rocking a combustion engine up front with some big, gaudy wheels at all four corners. Will that make production? Who knows!
If you want to check out “American Auto,” NBC says it’s airing a special preview episode on Monday, December 13, at 10 p.m. ET. It’ll be available the following day on NBC’s streaming service, Peacock.
It’s been said that if you build it, they will come. If you design a program that promotes daily walks, will they choose to walk more? To help measure the effects on walking behavior and attitudes of a program aimed to promote walking, Mobility Lab provided research assistance to WalkArlington, Arlington County’s walking education and... Read more »
Mercedes- Benz DIGITAL LIGHT: Die revolutionäre Scheinwerfertechnologie DIGITAL LIGHT mit nahezu blendfreiem Fernlicht in HD-Qualität und mit mehr als zwei Millionen Pixel Auflösung steht für höchste Präzision, optimale Sicht des Fahrers nahezu ohne Blendwirkung sowie für Performance, Fahrassistenz und Kommunikation. Mercedes- Benz DIGITAL LIGHT: The revolutionary headlamp technology DIGITAL LIGHT with almost dazzle-free main beam in HD quality and a resolution of more than two million pixels represents highest precision, optimal view for the driver almost without dazzling effect as well as performance, driver assistance and communication.
In case you aren't familiar, adaptive driving beams are fully explained in this story here. But in short, they’re the trick headlights we see in many European cars that can adapt their high beam illumination based on the surrounding environment. The system uses cameras and sensors to pick out other cars on the road, and is able to trace a perfect, darkened opening for the other cars, while still throwing out high beam-like light everywhere else. In a way, your brights never fully turn off. They only dim their beam in the select spots necessary so as not to blind other drivers. The headlights also dim their beam when directed at road signs as you approach them so as not to dazzle the driver with a bright reflection. There’s potential for much more, too, as some manufacturers have designed headlights that can project warning signs onto pavement, swivel up to highlight pedestrians entering the road, highlight lane changes and more. You can watch a video example of everything we described below in an Audi demonstration of the tech.
We’ve been missing out, but that’s about to change.
So, how has this tech finally found a path to legality? For years it’s been barred due to outdated regulations in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108. The exact language that held manufacturers back specifically states that headlights must have a dedicated low beam and dedicated high beam to be compliant and road legal. The new infrastructure bill changes that by laying out the following in a headlamps section: “to allow for the use on vehicles of adaptive driving beam headlamp systems.”
This request comes in the form of a direction to amend FMVSS No. 108 to include the adaptive driving beams provision, and the bill allows for two years to get it done. So yes, we could theoretically be waiting another two years, but no longer than that.
In addition to making adaptive driving beams legal, the infrastructure bill also says that testing of headlight performance will now be required. It doesn’t go much further than that, but we suspect it’ll resemble the headlight testing currently done by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
