This press release is copyrighted by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE). Its use is granted only to journalists and news media.
Automakers beware: hot rodders do software, too, and they are already hacking the digital car, which may have dozens of microprocessors under program control. These hackers are out to improve performance with software, just as hot rodders, who were the first hardcore hackers in modern America, did with mechanical modifications to the car engines, systems, and sheet metal. But digital hot rodding is orders of magnitude cheaper and far more accessible.
Detroit should not turn its back on today's hacker-hot rodders or pretend they don't exist. Author David Whitehorn-Umphres, writing in the October issue of IEEE Spectrum, says Detroit should provide the hackers with the software equivalent of hardware racing parts; both groups could benefit from boosts in performance.
Contact: Alfred Rosenblatt, 212 419 7550, [email protected].
For faxed copies of the complete essay ["Hackers, Hot Rods, and Detroit's Digital Cars" by David Whitehorn-Umphres, IEEE Spectrum, October 2001, pp. 14-17] or to arrange an interview, contact: Desiree Noel, 212 419 7555, [email protected].
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