"Military Grade" Aluminum F150?

I'm trying to absorb Ford's marketing for the just revealed 2015 F150. The most significant new feature, of course, is the aluminum body (fenders, hood, cab, doors, and cargo box). Ford keeps calling the aluminum ally "military grade", but I'm not sure what that means. It may just mean that the alloy they chose for the truck (something in the 6000 series) has an official U.S. military specification.

Ford's job, of course, is to convince the guys in Texas that the new truck will be as tough and durable as the steel truck. I think the up-coming webisodes about durability testing will go a long way towards that.

(Image courtesy of Ford.com)

New partnership to bring Android to the open road

In this multi-screen world, switching between our different devices should be easy and seamless. Common platforms allow for one connected experience across our phone, tablet and PC, so we get the right information at the right time, no matter what device we�re using. But there�s still an important device that isn�t yet connected as seamlessly to the other screens in our lives � the car.

To help address that gap, today we�re announcing a new partnership that will bring Android, the world�s largest open platform, to the open road. Google has teamed up with automotive and technology leaders Audi, GM, Honda, Hyundai and Nvidia to form the Open Automotive Alliance (OAA), a global alliance aimed at accelerating auto innovation with an approach that offers openness, customization and scale.

Today, millions of people already bring Android phones and tablets into their cars, but it�s not yet a driving-optimized experience. Wouldn't it be great if you could bring your favorite apps and music with you, and use them safely with your car's built-in controls and in-dash display? Together with our OAA partners, we're working to enable new forms of integration with Android devices, and adapting Android for the car to make driving safer, easier and more enjoyable for everyone. Putting Android in the car will bring drivers apps and services they already know and love, while enabling automakers to more easily deliver cutting-edge technology to their customers. And it will create new opportunities for developers to extend the variety and depth of the Android app ecosystem in new, exciting and safe ways.

But this is just the beginning; we welcome other automotive and technology companies to join the OAA, to work together to build a common platform to drive innovation in the car and bring Android to the open road. Learn more about the OAA at openautoalliance.net, and stay tuned in 2014 for more updates coming soon to a car near you.

Posted by Patrick Brady, Director, Android Engineering

Regular Car Reviews

LOL, this guy is BRILLIANT.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GavwFFJHot8

Tesla Model S and Carwashes

Did you know you are not supposed to take a Tesla S through a normal automatic carwash? And this is the car of the future?

The 2015 Mustang Design

Ford unwrapped the new 2015 Mustang today, and it is a very handsome car. Personally, I think they struck a good balance between retro styling and the Ford corporate styling, mixing classic Mustang bits with the new Fusion in reasonable proportions.

I did this quickie photoshop to compare the outline of the old and new. You can see the basic proportions are the same, with a long nose and a fastback roofline, and a stubby rear deck. There are some surprises here. The new car is noticeably more compact, which enhances the low-and-wide aspect of its stance. Notice how the hood line is very horizontal, and then has a pronounced curve downward towards the shoulder line, which includes the top edge of the headlamps. On the rear quarter, there is less pronounced of a curve to the shoulder, but the rear pillars seem to move inwards quickly, leaving pronounced horizontal shoulders, which reminds me a bit of the Camaro. Also notice the very vertical front nose profile. And the old "hockey-stick" curve near aft of the doors is gone.

Part of the reason for the pronounced curve of the nose and the very flat front, I think, is probably the aggressive Euro pedestrian protection regs, which require crush space so that pedestrian legs and heads take less damage from car-people collisions.

Overall, I think the 2015 Mustang is a very good design, which balances the needs of style, tradition, and all the other less obvious requirements such as aerodynamics and crash safety. It is more conservative than I personally would have liked, but fresh enough to not look like a rewarmed 2010 model.

The power of Search, now across apps

A task as simple as choosing a movie to see can actually be complex � and the information you want can be in several different places, often in apps. You might get your trivia from IMDb, the box office stats from Wikipedia and ratings from Rotten Tomatoes. Starting today, Google can save you the digging for information in the dozens of apps you use every day, and get you right where you need to go in those apps with a single search. Google Search can make your life a little easier by fetching the answer you need for you � whether it�s on the web, or buried in an app.

Getting you there faster
Let�s say you�re getting ready for the holidays but can�t remember the name of that classic Christmas movie you want to show your children. Now, you can use Google search to find the movie and learn more about it in one of your favorite apps.

Helping you find just the right app
Sometimes, the best answer for a search can be an app. Say you want to explore downhill skiing � now, you can just ask Google for downhill skiing apps and get a collection of useful apps.

These new features are rolling out now on Android (through the Google Search app or directly in Chrome and Android browsers). App listings for from Google Play will appear in search when they�re relevant. You�ll be able to search within a select number of apps initially (learn more). We�re working with developers to add more over the coming months (if you�re a developer, learn more). 

This is just one step toward bringing apps and the web together, making it even easier to get the right information, regardless of where it�s located.

Posted by Scott Huffman, VP of Engineering

The value of openness in Android security

If you use an Android phone or tablet, there are a lot of benefits that come from Android�s open nature--customization and choice are the most obvious. But an often overlooked benefit of openness is security: by developing in the open, anyone can check Android�s code to verify that it�s trustworthy or discover areas where it can be improved. Furthermore, the security community can even write code to make Android stronger and protect it against unrealized attacks.

Google has always worked closely with the security industry to make the products you use safer and more secure, and we wanted to highlight a few recent examples of that cooperation on Android:

• Android, now part of the Google Patch Reward Program: That�s right, Google actually pays developers when they contribute security-related patches to popular open source projects, and Android is now a part of this program. As a user, this means that you have the broader security community looking out for you and preventing possible threats, before they are acted upon. 
• Security improvements in Android 4.4, from the community: In Android 4.4, we reinforced the Android sandbox (which prevents applications from extending outside of their own area and damaging other parts of a device) by putting SELinux into enforcing mode, providing one of the strongest security systems available. The core of SELinux, as well as many of the Android specific extensions have been contributed by third-parties through open source, an example of real security improvements from the community you can use today. 
• Pwn2Own Mobile, with Android: Android was a contributor to the bounty in this year�s PacSec Security conference, where teams of security researchers tried to exploit popular mobile devices. And while no exploit was found in Android on the Nexus devices provided, we were ready and waiting to create a patch in the event of an exploit! 

The Android team works very closely with the security research community at large to foster public discussions and implement improvements such as the ones above. This openness has helped make the Android phone or tablet you carry with you everyday much more secure.

Posted by Adrian Ludwig, Android Security Engineer