Gadgets

Automotive parts suppliers 3M and Visteon recently held an event where they previewed a number of new vehicle interface technologies – 40 new features to be exact – in front of vehicle designers, engineers and employees from three different continents. Two different concept interiors...

Road taxes have come under increasing scrutiny these days, what with congestion charges, speeding fines and average-speed cameras all annoying motorists to no end. It's especially bad for people who drive little but must still pay the same taxes as those who drive long distances every day - they...

A man in California has devised an innovative method of generating ‘green’ power from passing trucks that drive up and down busy highways the world over. Inventor Terry Kenney came up with the idea of using the kinetic energy of a truck barreling down a highway to compress a tank of...

Exotic timepieces frequently attempt to secure some association with elite sports and activities - and the people that perform them. Though made of titanium, tungsten and carbon fiber, such watches are rarely much out of the ordinary when it comes to appearance or function. The latest creation from...

We've all heard the stories of drivers led into - or under - water, up one-way streets and down too-narrow carriage ways by their well-meaning satellite navigation devices, but a recent study shows the GPS-linked helpers can actually cut your fuel bill by up to 16 percent. The savings comes from...

New valve-caps, called P-eyes, which monitor the air pressure of the tire they're attached to have hit the market. Pitched as a handy tool for commercial fleet owners, we don't see why the tire-pressure monitoring caps wouldn't work equally well on your personal vehicle. The caps use LEDs combined...

BMW has made its navigation system faster, more convenient and easier to use with the introduction of the new ‘MyInfo’ address input service. The new addition to the BMW Assist Safety Plan allows subscribers to send business locations and street addresses as well as their associated...

As internet technology and the auto industry continue to converge we’re starting to see more and more devices and online services start to spring up, most of which will likely become just another distraction to worry about while driving. However, some devices and services show a great deal of...

A new system has been developed that measures driver inputs and determines if they are 'aggressive' or not. The system, developed by US company GreenRoad Technologies, works by measuring g-forces acting on a car and compares them to pre-determined 'safe' driving limits. The software in the system...

The EU’s proposed alternative to the U.S.-run GPS system, the Galileo satellite project, is now nearing the final stages of approval and could be in production within the year. The troubled project has experienced a number of setbacks over the past year, including a budget blowout that has...

GM has upgraded its OnStar monitoring and tracking system with two new navigational services for all 2009 models equipped with the subscription-based service. Working in conjunction with the existing Turn-by-Turn feature, OnStar now comes with a new ‘Destination Download’ service that...

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) approved the merger of satellite radio providers Sirius and XM. The merger has been in the works since last February, and now that the government's antitrust division has given the all-clear, the final hurdle is the FCC. Initial rumors about the deal popped up...

There’s usually nothing worth mentioning about a Bluetooth headset but here’s one that will get the attention of most performance enthusiasts. The device is the ‘Tonino Lamborghini Bello’ and apart from Lamborghini’s shield emblem on the outer casing there’s not...

In the pursuit of improved safety, a number of carmakers are developing face recognition systems that scan a driver’s face and determine whether he or she is about to fall asleep behind the wheel. BMW is also looking at the technology but sees face recognition as a way to identify the person...

For many the daily commute is one of the last refuges of peace and solitude, one of the last places where we control our environment almost absolutely. We choose the music (or roar of the engine), we choose the temperature, we choose the view outside our windows by choosing our route. But Microsoft...

Carmakers are always looking at ways of lowering costs and one of the easiest ways is to replace complicated systems with simpler ones. An Italian design company has now come up with an innovative wiperless windshield, which it plans to showcase on a new concept car at next month’s Geneva...

No longer will road-warrior salespeople have to hunt down a WiFi hotspot or finagle a laptop connection into their car for on-the-go Internet access. BMW has come to the rescue with an evolution of its ConnectedDrive technology that allows unrestricted Internet use via the car's in-dash display...

Tired of your suction-cup mounted GPS ending up on the floor of your car? Maybe you would just prefer to have your navigation system more in your line of sight? Whatever the reason, MirrorPilot has an answer. The GPS navigation device integrates into a rear-view mirror to give full navigation...

Anyone who’s restored a classic car knows how hard it is to find a stereo with all the modern features we’ve become accustomed to but retains the original look of audio devices from past generations. RetroSound helps solve the problem with its new ‘Model One’ media player...

Nokia has been trialling a new traffic monitoring system that relies on internet-connected mobile phones fitted with GPS receivers in vehicles, which can send information about traffic flow patterns in real-time and calculate alternative routes. The project is called ‘Mobile Century’...