Gadgets

  • Cutaway drawing showing the pistons of GM's LS9 engine

    A team from a west London university is claiming to have found the holy grail of the automotive world - a cheap, simple method to turn ordinary combustion engines into hybrid vehicles that run on air. The team from the Institute of Engineering and Design at Brunel University have developed a way to harness the energy that is usually wasted when an engine uses its natural compression to decelerate. During this process, pistons in the engine can work to compress air, and eventually store this compressed air in a tank located in the car. Then, at the appropriate time, the air will be used for...

  • Panerai Ferrari Chronograph Red Dial
    Ferrari and Panerai team up again for Scuderia range of watches

    At the end of last year famed Italian watch company Panerai released a special 'Ferrari California Flyback Chronograph' to commemorate the launch of the new Ferrari California convertible. Now, the exclusive watch company’s Ferrari Scuderia collection has been expanded by two new models: the...

  • GPS Driving Activity Reporter
    Hammacher Schlemmer releases GPS nanny to keep eye on teens

    Safety tech is progressing in every field imaginable, especially with the aid of computers and telematics. But what if you don't want to fork over for the latest vehicle to get the ability to track your teen's driving? Hammacher Schlemmer has the answer. Innocuously named the Driving Activity...

  • Heuliez Will with Michelin Active Wheel technology
    Michelin's Active Wheel technology nears production

    Michelin's Active Wheel technology has been 12 years in the making, and now there is finally a commercial application of the astonishing technology in a small city car named the 'Will'. The new car will be able to seat five passengers, and its electric drivetrain will offer a range of around 150km...

  • BMW's Connected Drive could be the first step toward ILENA's global domination
    Grab your tinfoil hats, BMW is developing a navigation system that tracks your habits

    Imagine a future where you don't have to drive yourself to work, the market or even home from a night on the town. Convenient, but to some a nightmare of lost control. Even worse: imagine a future where your car chooses your destination for you. That's what BMW is working toward with its new...

  • aston martin tcc 001
    Touchless Car Cover keeps your vehicle rust-free and clean anywhere

    You've just spent four hours washing, stripping, waxing and polishing your baby, and now you're faced with a choice: shove her under a $15 elastic tarp where water can get trapped against the metal and the fabric can scratch at the paint, or leave her exposed to the elements where dust is already...

  • Audi Holographic Virtual Assistant

    It's 2009, nine years into the new millenium. We were supposed to be driving anti-gravity cars and watching holographic television while kicking back in our ultra-high-rise space apartments. But alas, it turns out 2009 isn't so different from 1999. Except for the holographic part. Australian digital signage company Prime Digital Media (PDM) has teamed up with Audi to deliver the world's first life-size holographic assistant, stationed in the Audi Centre Sydney. Named simply the Holographic Virtual Assistant, the device uses a 10mm sheet of perspex - plexiglas - as the holographic medium. The...

  • avl turbohybrid 1
    AVL Turbohybrid Concept mates driving fun with efficiency

    Turbocharged, fun-to-drive hatchbacks and sedans - not the first things that come to mind when we hear the word 'hybrid' but one company is working to change that. Hybrid technology has become hugely important in the industry and to many eco-conscious drivers as well, and though it offers some...

  • Volkswagen Jetta TDI
    VW joins ranks of carmakers investigating thermoelectric generators

    Finding ways to make cars more efficient isn't always about improving the engine, changing the fuel or adding a hybrid system to the mix. Sometimes it's about recapturing some of the energy already expended. Volkswagen's thermoelectric generator applies that idea to waste exhaust heat, and turns it...

  • Ford's Sync system
    Ford study claims SYNC reduces driver distractions

    Jim Morrisson sang what may have been the best driving advice in rock and roll history in the quintessential "Roadhouse Blues": Keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel. While that advice may have been aimed at keeping a half-potted rocker between the lines, it's equally apposite in...

  • 2009 Mercedes Benz S-Class
    Modern luxury vehicles claimed to feature more software than a fighter jet

    The F-22 Raptor fighter jet uses about 1.7 million lines of software code, while Boeing’s upcoming 787 Dreamliner passenger jet is expected to use close to 6.5 million lines of code, but as extensive as this sounds it is nothing compared to the amount of software used in a modern luxury...

  • Traffic
    High-tech high-beams reduce glare, improve visibility

    Everyone has experienced it at some time in their night-driving life: the jerk with the ridiculously bright headlights that makes it impossible to see the road ahead. It's more than a mere annoyance, it's a genuine road hazard, and as vehicles have grown taller and lights brighter, the problem is...

  • Pirelli Cyber Tire

    Three famous Italian automotive firms have joined forces to bring a new “Cyber Tire” to the market. While tire pressure monitoring systems have become commonplace on all but the most entry-level cars, these companies are working on a self-powered microchip-based system that reports temperature, pressure and load wirelessly to the car's computer. Pirelli will work with Magneti Marelli on the electronic control systems and Brembo for the brakes on the new tire. The goal will be to develop a complete solution for car companies that will reduce their engineering costs and be easy to...

  • Ford SYNC
    Ford to launch SYNC in Europe by 2010, Asia Pacific and Australia to follow

    Late yesterday Ford revealed its latest-generation SYNC in-car connectivity system, which for 2009 is updated with a new personalized Traffic, Directions and Information system. The new services will be available on nearly all 2010 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models, however, their availability will...

  • Ford's Sync system
    Updated Ford SYNC provides personalized traffic, directory and news services

    Ford is enhancing the connectivity capabilities of its vehicles by introducing exclusive new SYNC real-time information features that deliver personalized news updates to drivers’ mobile phones while also helping them navigate around trouble spots in the hope to save time and fuel. SYNC is an...

  • Blaupunkt Internet stereo
    Carmakers to offer Internet radio as factory option

    In-car multimedia specialist Blaupunkt is teaming up with Internet radio company miRoamer to unveil what they claim is the "world's first Internet car radio". The two companies state that the newly-developed system will enable drivers of vehicles fitted with Blaupunkt Internet stereos to tune into...

  • ford active park assist 001
    Ford unveils automated parking system for Lincoln MKS and MKT

    The 2010 Lincoln MKT crossover has officially been revealed at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show. Click here for all the details and images. Ford is introducing an automatic parking system in the flagship Lincoln MKS sedan, as well as the upcoming Lincoln MKT seven-seat luxury crossover, to help drivers...

  • Valeo speed-visio
    Valeo releases windscreen-projected speedometer

    Factory-installed options such as blind spot warning systems, park-assist radars and automatic headlights are often only available on luxury cars, and that too at a premium price. Now, French automotive parts supplier Valeo has unveiled a range of new driving and parking assistance devices that can...

  • Autobahn lights

    A group of Israeli engineers have created a system that allows certain types of roads to generate electricity just by driving over them. The Israeli engineers behind the project claim that a 1km stretch of the power-generating asphalt will generate 400kW - enough power to run eight small cars. The system works by embedding tiny piezoelectric crystals into the road. When cars drive over the crystals, they are 'squeezed' and thus generate a small electrical charge. The new 'electric road' will be tested next month when engineers in Israel drive over a stretch of tarmac embedded with the tiny...

  • mercedes splitview 001
    Mercedes to debut 'Splitview' technology in facelifted S-Class

    Mercedes Benz today announced the availability of a new display technology that allows driver and passenger to see two totally separate programs from the same screen, at the same time. The equipment will debut on the facelifted S-Class, Mercedes' perennial platform for innovation, in the first half...

  • Ferrari California Flyback Chronograph
    Panerai releases ‘Ferrari California’ Flyback Chronograph

    Famed watch company Panerai, whose timepieces were once favored by Italian navy commandos for their superior performance, has now released a new chronograph to celebrate the launch of the Ferrari California convertible. Known as the Ferrari California Flyback Chronograph, the new watch will be...

  • Michelin Active Wheel
    Michelin partners with China’s MGL to produce Active Wheel powertrains

    Tire manufacturing giant Michelin is partnering with China's CITIC Guon Mengguli Corporation (MGL) to develop a new-generation electric powertrain systems based on its Active Wheel technology. The first commercial applications of Active Wheel are expected to be in production in China early next...

  • carbon fiber child seat 001
    Prototype carbon fiber child seat takes inspiration from racing

    The Art Center College of Design has turned out some of the most highly regarded designers in the automotive industry, including Chip Foose, Chris Bangle, Henrik Fisker and Frank Stephenson. One of the college's current students has now unveiled a prototype carbon fiber child seat modeled after a...

  • fujitsu wraparound camera 002
    Fujitsu announces revolutionary 360 degree around-car camera system

    Fujitsu has developed a new video-processing technology that enables drivers to see a complete wraparound view of their vehicle's perimeter, in real time. The new driver assistance technology adapts to different driving situations, enabling the driver to view the entire surroundings of a vehicle...

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