Car Tech

Volvo is looking to join the ranks of cloud-connected automakers, and it knows it has some catching up to do. To quickly close the gap on automakers like Audi, Ford, Nissan, BMW, Toyota and Honda, Volvo will partner will cellular giant Ericsson in developing cloud-connected cars. Volvo will debut...

The 2014 Mercedes-Benz S Class due out next year will be the first car in history to offer customers a fully autonomous system, whereby the car will be able to drive itself--in certain situations--without any driver involvement. This is made possible due to an extensive array of sensors on the new...

Mercedes-Benz already sells a pair of compact cars outside the U.S. in the form of the A Class hatch and B Class MPV, both of which come standard with front-wheel drive. However, when the automaker launches its first compact model in the U.S., the 2014 CLA Class sedan, the car will come with a new...

When it comes to seating position, some drivers are more fanatical than others about precise adjustments. While the average driver pays little attention to seat back angle or position once a semi-comfortable setting is found, some of us spend days dialing in the optimum amount of rake and the...

The White House Office of Management has approved a request from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to mandate event data recorders, commonly referred to as “black boxes,” in 100-percent of new vehicles sold. In the very near future, then, the car you drive may...

When the 2014 Acura RLX hits showrooms next spring, it will come with the next generation of Acura’s connectivity system, AcuraLink. Thanks to new embedded technology and the ability to link to web-enabled devices such as a smartphone, AcuraLink will be able to bring a much broader range of...

The 2014 Chevrolet Corvette will be making its world debut in January, but the first test drives of the car won’t be available until the sales launch later in 2013. If, like us, you just can’t wait, dust off your PlayStation 3 or visit a friend that owns one and get ready to test drive...

Coinciding with the launch of the 2014 Chevrolet Impala next spring, Chevy will introduce its next-generation MyLink infotainment system, which the automaker says has been made easier to use, more customizable and now able to link up to 10 different mobile devices. MyLink is Chevy’s vehicle...

When it comes to increasing fuel economy, the obvious steps are decreasing engine size (and, often, performance), shaving pounds, refining aerodynamics and possibly implementing hybrid technology. Significant gains, however, can also be found in other areas. Tire design can contribute up to...

With the unintended acceleration debacle now in its rearview mirror, automaker Toyota is employing technology to ensure that this won’t happen on future models. Intelligent Clearance Sonar and Drive-Start Control will (hopefully) eliminate accidents caused by pedal confusion or improper gear...

The job of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is to make passenger travel safer, whether that travel occurs by car, bus, train, or airplane. Recent advances in vehicle safety have produced safer cars, but in this case safer also translates to more expensive. Consider the 2013 Infiniti...

Like it or not, autonomous cars are coming. But with any new technology, especially one that’s particularly groundbreaking, the introduction of self-driving technology in cars is being done gradually, with each introduction merely a stepping stone to the next facet of the technology. First...

Car 2 Car and Car 2 Object communications are the next big steps forward in vehicle safety, and both are necessary milestones on the road to fully autonomous cars. Automakers such as Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Ford, General Motors and Nissan have been active in research for years, and now Toyota...

Acura may not quite have the prestige or the cachet of longtime luxury marques like Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, or even Lexus, but it does have top-drawer access to the most innovative powertrain and chassis engineering developments from Honda. And with Acura’s upcoming flagship sedan, the 2014...

The problem with highway signs is that drivers rarely, if ever, pay attention to them. “Keep right, except to pass” may as well be written in hieroglyphics for all the good it does, and the same can be said for signs that read, “Caution, bridge freezes before road surface.”...

For decades, automatic transmissions had three or four speeds, which were deemed sufficient to provide reasonable acceleration and fuel economy. Then came the five speed automatic, which was standard issue on most cars until just a few years back. Then, the race for more gears in the transmission...

The BMW M Performance range of vehicles, performance upgrades and accessories are still not available in the U.S., but it’s only a matter of time until they head our way. We’re betting that one of the more popular items will be the BMW M Performance steering wheel featured in this...

Currently, Jaguar Land Rover’s range of models roughly comprise seven largely unrelated platforms, but going into the future the company hopes to prune these down to just two or three. The goal is to get around 70 to 80 percent of Jaguar Land Rover’s core model range on common...

While some would say that miniature cameras are the best thing to ever happen to televised racing coverage, they generally limit what you can see to a fixed view. With current technology, you may get a feel for what the driver sees when looking straight ahead, but you have no sense of what looking...

Like it or not, a future filled with semi-autonomous (and eventually, fully-autonomous) automobiles is coming. For all the complaining from enthusiasts (ourselves included), there’s no denying that self-driving cars will improve safety for today’s attention-impaired drivers, as well as...