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Lyft and GM; Google and Ford; What's Next?

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I don't follow.. that article is, in my opinion, a perfect example of native advertising.
It pretends to be an article, but it's an advertisement. Same thing VICE does.

Freightliner sponsors the company that wrote the article.

Ahh... ok. Does that mean DR's on the take for cargurus?
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Native Ad?
Naw. Native ads are click bait. It was a PR puff piece from an industry rag.

What I see is a the first look at a self-driving 18 wheeler from an industry savvy reporter (he has a CDL). He's driving it ON PUBLIC HIGHWAYS on a windy day in the only state it's legal in.
 
Craig. A PR fluff piece is not native ad.

Internet Native ads reside on the content host (e.g. the Onion) They use optimized content (headlines and photos) to lure visitors into clicking. Native Advertiser shares ad revs with Content host.

The HRblock example is a classic Native ad (host and optimised content). The HR ad does not become a 'native ad' until it shown on a hosts page (who's content is relevant to the ad).

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We're both talking about two definitions of the same term. We can exchange links all day.
An article written by a publication to appear as a real article, but actually being sponsored by a company is native advertising.
What you're talking about is the more obvious form, which is when it's labelled as sponsored.
When CNN announces on the nightly news that Starbucks Pumpkin Lattes are back or that McDonald's came out with a McRib they don't announce that it was sponsored by those companies, but we all know they paid for that announcement.

If it wasn't a problem, the FTC is wasting their time.
http://www.fastcocreate.com/3055143...hink-of-the-ftcs-new-native-advertising-rules

What is Native Advertising?
Simply put, native advertising is paid content. Articles, infographics, videos, you name it – if a content producer can make it, corporations can buy it and publishing platforms can promote it.

Now, you might be thinking, “How does a native advertisement differ from an advertorial?” Well, in order to be considered a true native advertisement, the content should align with the publication or site’s established editorial style and tone, and must also provide the kind of information that the publication’s audience typically expects.

These qualities are what make native advertisements difficult to spot, as they often blend in with the “organic” content extremely well. This is made even more challenging by the fact that there are no defined rules or guidelines on how publishers must label native ads, and standards of transparency vary widely from one publication to another.
 
"Drive a car?" Who here even owns a manual shift? If you don't own a manual or dual clutch automatic sport tran, you're not really driving anyway. Half of us would rather be texting or checking facebook. None of younger generation will even know what a manual is. Maybe it's time to invest in some property to build racetracks for the people (myself) that will still want to "drive".
 
This is a very interesting topic! It has to do with our future and our careers. I was speaking to Zack Kanter (http://bit.ly/1SaBzN2) about this very topic and his awesome blog post just last week.

So the changes will happen in 3 phases gradually.
1st we will see more electric cars from the OEM’s. (Mass adoption by 2022)
2nd We will see MORE cars with autopilot like features not fully autonomous. (Mass adoption by 2020)
3rd Autonomous vehicles (No steering wheel) – 2025 - 2030?

A teenager who is currently 15 – 16 years old is already getting by with an Uber or Lyft and won’t have the social pressure to get his driver’s license. Remember, they started with Uber and Lyft.

I think metro markets will have far more adoption then rural markets (with autonomous, on-demand services). Metro markets will go autonomous much faster then we think. Rural markets will see more used car sales and most probably metro dealerships that do stay open will focus on buying cars from people switching to these autonomous on-demand services and will sell to rural market dealerships. So essentially people would get rid of there cars in metro markets and rural market dealerships will retail these used cars.

Dealerships in general will see more profits coming from the fixed ops side then the variable side. These autonomous vehicles will most probably need to be insured by the technology providers or the OEM’s. For these autonomous cars to continue running well and have the radars and camera’s adjusted or calibrated / fixed they will need to be done by a franchise dealer in my opinion and fixed by OEM parts / OEM certified technicians. Clearly the independent repair shops have the most to lose in all this.

Again this is just an opinion and if all this does happen sooner or later then Tesla should be focusing on manufacturing for there on-demand service and not to retail them by 2025. Great discussion Cullen!

- John