Paging Ray LaHood: New Audi A8 With Wire-Speed Internet Connection

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

The Autochannel in the UK is talking about a long wheelbase Audi A8 with built-in LTE 4G connectivity. That shouldn’t be a big feat, it’s new technology, but it can be bought off the shelf. The Autochannel pistonheads however are deeply in awe: “LTE technology offers data transfer speeds of up to 100Mbps, which is similar to a fixed-line broadband connection. This means passengers in the prototype can use the LTE broadband connection to stream music, high-definition videos and other data on up to six computer or mobile phone devices with ease.” Sure, and Ferdinand Piech invented the Internet.

In real life situations, Verizon’s LTE network promises speeds of 5-12 Mbps down and 1-5 Mbps up. Actual tests have shown that it’s not the hardware that makes things faster, it’s the network.

Put a Samsung Galaxy S smartphone into Murilee’s pocket, and he’ll convert the 1962 Plymouth Fury into a datacenter-on-wheels. Just don’t run Speedtest.net while on the track, willya? Ray wouldn’t like that.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Slocum Slocum on Mar 21, 2011

    Why would anybody want to build data service into their car when they can use smart phone tethering or a little mifi device to do the same thing? Dumb. But I could see luxury car buyers signing up anyway.

    • Thirty-three Thirty-three on Mar 21, 2011

      A few years ago the hardware required for LTE was too big and power hungry to fit in your back pocket. I used to develop them. The first gen hardware was about as big as a small pizza box. Second gen is smaller, about the size of a wifi router. Today's tech is small enough to fit into a smartphone. Audi must have started development on this a long time ago, when the size and power requirements made it worthwhile.

  • Philosophil Philosophil on Mar 21, 2011

    More and more people seem to be using cars for everything but driving. I refuse to even own a cellphone because I don't like the idea of always being 'on-call' all the time (and I'm no Luddite, by the way). I much prefer driving to work than working while I'm driving. I'm sure there will be lots of replies saying that these kinds of advances are great for this and that (I've heard all the arguments), but in the end, for all the good things they do, they end up placing increased demands and expectations on people to be constantly 'available' at a moments notice at all times and places, even while you're driving. Of course someone is going to say you can just turn it off, but the competition and pressure to be constantly 'available' and 'productive' in this sense can be hard to resist. Some people no doubt enjoy being able to multitask at all times and in all places, but I actually like having some time and space for myself without the pressures and expectations to be constantly available. Thanks, but no thanks.

  • Oberkanone My grid hurts!Good luck with installing charger locations at leased locations with aging infrastructure. Perhaps USPS would have better start modernizing it's Post offices to meet future needs. Of course, USPS has no money for anything.
  • Dukeisduke If it's going to be a turbo 4-cylinder like the new Tacoma, I'll pass.BTW, I see lots of Tacomas on the road (mine is a 2013), but I haven't seen any 4th-gen trucks yet.
  • Oberkanone Expect 4Runner to combine best aspects of new Land Cruiser and new Tacoma and this is what I expect from 2025 4Runner.Toyota is REALLY on it's best game recently. Tacoma and Land Cruiser are examples of this.
  • ArialATOMV8 All I hope is that the 4Runner stays rugged and reliable.
  • Arthur Dailey Good. Whatever upsets the Chinese government is fine with me. And yes they are probably monitoring this thread/site.
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