Gadgets

Danish audio-video masters Bang & Olufsen have announced today their partnership with Mercedes' AMG performance division. They join Audi and Aston Martin as the company's primary automotive partners. The primary focus of the agreement will be for in-car entertainment systems, both audio and...

While most carmakers attempt to improve the fuel efficiency of their vehicles by shedding weight, improving aerodynamics or downsizing engines, Nissan is taking a slightly different approach by conditioning motorists to drive more conservatively. Nissan unveiled today a new device called the ECO...

Update: Progressive has announced a more fine-grained approach to use-based insurance pricing. Cars can be fitted with a ‘black box’-type device that records acceleration patterns, brake usage and other important data the insurance company believes contributes to a driver’s risk...

Microsoft today announced that it will expand its automotive business unit with a number of new interface software systems and electronic services expected to be rolled out over the next couple of years. The first of these new features will be the immediate availability of ‘Microsoft Live...

Updated: The final legal hurdle to the merger of the two satellite radio giants XM and Sirius has finally been cleared - unofficially. FCC approval of the deal was secured after the two companies agreed to pay fees in relation to prior violations of FCC regulations. "I think it's fair to say an...

As the proportion of older drivers in the world’s leading nations grows, carmakers are finding new avenues for the technological advancement of safe driving. Taking a new angle on the head-up display (HUD) concept, General Motors is working on a prototype windshield system that enhances the...

Expanding on the same concept used in noise-cancelling headphones, Toyota has developed a noise cancelling system for its Japanese-market Crown Hybrid that nearly eliminates engine sound within the passenger compartment. The system uses a complex system of microphones, speakers and sensors located...

Earlier this week Opel revealed its Insignia sedan would get a high-tech new forward-looking camera system that recognizes speed signs and warns the driver if they are traveling too fast. Now Mercedes-Benz has demonstrated a system that not only recognizes stop lights and stop signs, pedestrians...

Colorado-based company PRV Performance is claiming to have invented a device that can improve fuel economy figures by around 25%. The device, called a pintle-regulated venturi, or PRV, replaces the traditional intake manifold with a venturi for each cylinder. This allows greater control for the...

Fuel prices are a hot topic among American motorists, and ways to reduce bills at the pump are equally popular, but new information shows paying in advance for savings down the road is not an appealing solution for today's buyers. The added up-front costs of hybrid vehicles turned as many as a...

Apple's iPhone is the telephonic equivalent of a luxury car - sleek, stylish, feature-packed and expensive. Now Mercedes-Benz owners can integrate their luxury phones into their luxury cars with a factory-optional iPhone cradle housed in the car's center console. All of the iPhone's primary...

Proof that competition exists between carmakers even at the extreme upper end of the market, Lamborghini has signed an exclusive deal with Sirius to provide its satellite radio service in the Raging Bull's cars. The first model so equipped will be the Murcielago. Starting with the 2009 model year...

Cars that navigate complex terrain or urban environments have already been built for competitions like the DARPA's (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) various challenges. In fact, GM and Carnegie Mellon won the Urban challenge in 2007. Now the two are teaming to bring that technology to the...

It's not the first time the Japanese have taken the novel concept to reality. A bridge over the Arakawa River already uses the vibrations from passing cars to power some of its lights at night. The new project will expand the technology to the other four bridges on Tokyo's Shuto Expressway. Working...

Scientists working at Continental, funded by the EU's Advanced Protection Systems project (or APROSYS) have developed a computerized system that can detect when a crash is unavoidable and brace the car for the impact. The system involves a side beam that moves into place at the last second before...

Novel technologies to improve the efficiency of existing vehicles and combustion processes are the quickest route to improved fuel mileage. Hybrid cars are great examples of the approach. Another way to recover some of the energy converted into heat in the average engine is the Waste Heat Engine...

The Japanese-market-only Toyota Crown Hybrid first debuted as a concept at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, and was revealed as a production model in April of this year. Now the luxury hybrid sedan is getting a cutting-edge pedestrian detection system for its Night View night vision computer. The...

SEAT is attempting to make the entire driving experience safer and more comfortable through its eCar Project. The project is being jointly developed by the SEAT tech center and Telefonica Espana and the aim of the project is to apply new information and communication technologies into SEAT cars...

As the automobile continues to catch up with the digital age, we’re starting to see more and more partnerships develop between car and technology companies and a new range of co-branded features come onto the market. We’ve already seen Microsoft team up with a number of carmakers to...

We're all aware of how technology has been employed to make driving and cars safer and yet faster, and even how lasers might be used to display ads at traffic lights, but so far not much has been done to solve the single biggest problem of driving in a heavily populated area: traffic. The Aldis...