Thursday, July 23, 2015

LA Auto Show® To Unveil Next-Generation Auto Industry


  • Multiple press conferences featuring breaking auto-tech news
  • 60,000 square feet of exhibitors displaying the latest auto-tech innovations

LOS ANGELES, CA (July 23, 2015) – The Los Angeles Auto Show’s Connected Car Expo (CCE) will assemble the companies and innovators that are redefining the automotive and transportation business.  The full day conference and exposition has outgrown its previous space at the Los Angeles Convention Center and will now occupy virtually the entire JW Marriott at the adjacent L.A. Live entertainment complex.

“Expanding our campus to include the adjacent JW Marriott delivers a presentation room with capacity for 1,500 seats, 60,000 square feet of exhibit floor and dozens of meeting and hospitality areas,” said the show’s EVP and General Manager Terri Toennies.  “The demand on exhibit and hospitality space has already created limited availability.”

More than 25 speakers will outline their vision for the dramatic changes facing the auto industry as it collaborates with technology titans like Apple, Microsoft, Intel, Qualcomm and dozens of other fast-moving tech innovators.  Influential experts from Google, Volkswagen, Continental, Movimento, Redbend, J.D. Power, Pebble and others will converge in Los Angeles to debate some of the industry’s most critical issues and identify opportunities and challenges that lie on the road ahead.  Selected by the CCE Advisory Board, this year’s conference topics focus on the hot-button issues including autonomous vehicles, car sharing, cybersecurity, 3D printing, over-the-air updates and much more.  The full tentative schedule can be seen at: http://www.connectedcarexpo.com/schedule.

In addition to the conference, CCE attendees will be able to discover the latest automotive innovations at the JW Marriott, where more than 30 companies will demonstrate their latest solutions and products.  Companies participating include Auto Alliance, Covisint, Elektrobit, Faurecia, Garmin, Global Automakers, KPMG, Mojio, OnStar, OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, QNX, whiteCryption, Wind River and dozens of start-ups and app developers.  The exhibit floor will also serve as this year’s stage for several auto-tech press conferences on Nov. 17.

“This collaboration between major auto and technology players, combined with the emergence of thousands of disruptive start-up companies, creates an unprecedented need for an automotive-focused forum connecting this rapidly changing industry,” said Lisa Kaz, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Auto Show and CCE.

Part of the LA Auto Show’s broader Press & Trade Days, CCE is the award-winning conference and trade show that unites innovators, manufacturers, futurists and influencers to further the convergence of technology and the automobile.  This year’s CCE kicks off with an evening welcome reception on Monday, Nov. 16, and is followed by LA Auto Show’s press and trade events at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Nov. 18-19.  Other CCE events start on Saturday, Nov. 14 and 15, including the Mojio hackathon and the UCLA Anderson School of Business Connected Car discussion taking place after the Monday evening reception at the JW Marriott.

Registration is now open.  CCE exhibitors and attendees with a three days pass will be able to witness this year’s vehicle debuts and have access to an all-new CCE networking destination at the convention center.
For more information visit www.ConnectedCarExpo.com and www.LAAutoShow.com.

About the Los Angeles Auto Show and Connected Car Expo
Founded in 1907, the Los Angeles Auto Show (LA Auto Show®) is the first major North American auto show of the season each year.  The show’s 2015 Press & Trade Days begin with the Connected Car Expo (CCE) at the JW Marriott at L.A. Live on Nov. 17, followed by LA Auto Show’s vehicle debuts and press and trade events at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Nov. 18 and 19.  LA Auto Show will open to the public from Nov. 20-29.  The third annual CCE will unite automotive and technology professionals in an effort to increase development and foster relationship-building in the connected car industry, providing attendees with access to the key players and top media constructing the future of the automotive mobility.  The CCE conference is where the rules for how vehicles are made, sold, serviced and owned are changing and where the playbook is being written.  Named “Best Car Tech/Connected Car Trade Show” by AUTO Connected Car News, CCE is where the new auto industry gets business done, unveils groundbreaking products and makes strategic announcements in front of media from around the globe.  LA Auto Show is endorsed by the Greater L.A. New Car Dealer Association and is operated by ANSA Productions.  To receive the latest show news and information, follow LA Auto Show on Twitter at twitter.com/LAAutoShow or via Facebook at facebook.com/LosAngelesAutoShow and sign up for alerts at www.LAAutoShow.com.  For more information about CCE, please visit http://connectedcarexpo.com/.

Thursday, July 16, 2015

LA Auto Show's CCE Picks Top Ten Auto Startups For 2015


Fortune partners with CCE to help recognize
new auto industry disruptors
 
 
LOS ANGELES, CA (July 16, 2015) – The Los Angeles Auto Show’s Connected Car Expo (CCE) announced its plans to establish the premier top ten list of the hottest and most influential startups to hit the automotive scene.  Slated for reveal in September by Fortune, the inaugural shortlist will recognize startups with the potential to shape the future of the new automotive industry.
 
LA Auto Show’s Top Ten Automotive Startups (Top 10) will be selected by the CCE Advisory Board, comprised of senior executives from companies including Aeris Communications, AT&T, City of Los Angeles, Elektrobit, Ellis & Associates, Google, Microsoft, Mobile Electronics Group, NVIDIA, Pandora and Strategy Analytics.  Following the Board’s consideration and extensive analysis of qualified newcomers, ten startups will be chosen based on the following criteria: vision, innovation, unique perspective and the likelihood of technology adoption and success.
“Today’s automakers are looking at California’s technological hotbeds to spark their innovation, but there are thousands of companies competing to bring their technologies to market,” said Andy Gryc, CCE Conference Director.  “We feel that the startups identified by our Advisory Board will be the true standouts among a crowded field, companies that will push the envelope of the automotive world in ways that will change the way cars are built, bought and driven.”
Part of LA Auto Show’s broader Press & Trade Days, CCE is the award-winning conference and trade show that unites innovators, manufacturers, futurists and influencers to further the convergence of technology and the automobile.  This year’s CCE will be held at the JW Marriott at L.A. Live on Nov. 17, followed by LA Auto Show’s press and trade events at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Nov. 18-19.  CCE exhibitors and attendees with a premium pass can witness this year’s vehicle debuts and have access to an all-new CCE networking destination at the convention center.
Over the next few months, the LA Auto Show and CCE will announce more details about the 2015 show, including session/discussion topics and industry expert participants.
For more information visit www.ConnectedCarExpo.com and www.LAAutoShow.com.

About the Los Angeles Auto Show and Connected Car Expo
Founded in 1907, the Los Angeles Auto Show (LA Auto Show®) is the first major North American auto show of the season each year.  The show’s 2015 Press & Trade Days begin with the Connected Car Expo (CCE) at the JW Marriott at L.A. Live on Nov. 17, followed by LA Auto Show’s vehicle debuts and press and trade events at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Nov. 18 and 19.  LA Auto Show will open to the public from Nov. 20-29.  The third annual CCE will unite automotive and technology professionals in an effort to increase development and foster relationship-building in the connected car industry, providing attendees with access to the key players and top media constructing the future of the connected car.  The CCE conference is where the rules for how vehicles are made, sold, serviced and owned are changing and where the playbook is being written.  Named “Best Car Tech/Connected Car Trade Show” by AUTO Connected Car News, CCE is where the new auto industry gets business done, unveils groundbreaking products and makes strategic announcements in front of media from around the globe.  LA Auto Show is endorsed by the Greater L.A. New Car Dealer Association and is operated by ANSA Productions.  To receive the latest show news and information, follow LA Auto Show on Twitter at twitter.com/LAAutoShow or via Facebook at facebook.com/LosAngelesAutoShow and sign up for alerts at www.LAAutoShow.com.  For more information about CCE, please visit http://connectedcarexpo.com/.

Monday, July 13, 2015

The Chrysler 300C Platinum Makes An Imposing Statement


By Darlene Donloe

THE CAR: 2015 300C Platinum

Talk about a smooth, comfortable ride! The 300C Platinum not only looks good on the outside, it also looks good on the inside. The panel is user friendly. The speakers are bumping. There is lots of legroom, which, for me, at 5’10”, makes it a winner and my new best friend. Whether you’re the snooty type with your nose up in the air, or the more grounded type, this car can go both ways. It’s elegant, but it’s also not afraid to get down and dirty. The model I drove had a granite crystal metallic clear coat exterior and a black interior, which was luscious. The interior boasts luxury leather and perforated insert seats. I don’t think there is anything like it on the market.


VEHICLE AT A GLANCE: Engine: 5.7-Liter V8 HEMI® MDS VVT Engine’ 8-speed automatic transmission with E-Shifter; advanced multistage front airbags, supplemental side-curtain front and rear airbags, supplemental front seat-mounted side airbags, driver inflatable knee-bolster airbag, anti-lock 4-wheel disc brakes, Parkview rear back-up camera, electronic stability control, electronic roll mitigation, tire pressure monitoring display, keyless go, remote start system, acoustic windshield, power backlight sunshade, security alarm, universal garage door opener,  363@ 5,200 rpm, 394 kb-ft @ 4,200 rpm, Uconnect® 8.4AN AM/FM/SXM/HD/BT/NAV, Uconnect® Access 1-year trial, heated steering wheel, Sirius Satellite Radio, Sirius XM Travel Link, Sirius XM Traffic, heated second row seats, illuminated front cup holders, heated/cooled front console cup holders, ventilated front seat.

MSRP: $50,675
FUEL ECONOMY: 16/25/19
THE DRIVE: Bellissimo!