Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica – Sep 15, 2015 – “Even if they’ve been longtime partners, the tech sector’s influence on the automotive industry has never been stronger. OEMs in Detroit, Stuttgart, Seoul, and elsewhere are continually transforming cars to meet the demands of consumers now conditioned to smartphones (and their 18-month refresh cycle). Much of this is being driven by cheap and rugged hardware that can finally cope with the harsh environment (compared to your pocket or an air-conditioned office) that a car needs to be able to handle. Wireless modems, sensors, processors, and displays are all essential to a new car in 2015, but don’t let this visible impact fool you. The tech industry is having a broader influence on the automobile. Hardware is important, but we’re now starting to see larger tech philosophies adopted—like the open source car. Those two words will instinctively conjure images of Richard Stallman for some, but fear not, there will be no parrots in this piece. Open source means more things than just free software, and, in the case of cars, we’re talking about collaborative platforms and diverse communities combining to design vehicles (or things for vehicles) more quickly and efficiently than the status quo. Today this ethos is being adopted by more than just plucky outsider upstarts—or startups—shaking up the establishment with their tech industry ways. Yes, some of that is going on, but even global giants like Ford have some skin in the open source game…”