Car Tech

If you're a gamer and into racing titles, you'll know the rivalry between Forza Motorsport 4 on the Xbox 360 and Gran Turismo 5 on the PS3 is as intense as that between Ford and GM. Gran Turismo has always had the realism and car diversity, Forza the greater fun factor and better online play. With...

Anyone who’s driven on a busy highway can attest that vehicles moving erratically and braking needlessly breaks up the smooth flow of traffic and leads to congestion. Honda has also observed this phenomenon and claims to have pioneered a technology based on this principle that, rather than...

Self-driving cars, for better or for worse, are most likely inevitable. We wouldn’t expect them to appear in the next few years, or even the next decade, but much beyond that some degree of autonomous driving is all but guaranteed. Between now and then is the gray area, where the building...

America used to be the land of innovation, where progress was limited only by the imagination of engineers. Then corporate attorneys got involved, and most innovation was stamped out by the fear of product liability lawsuits. Technical challenges aside, there’s a reason we’re not all...

We may soon be able to drive cars that will know if we’ve had a rough day or whether we’re about to fall asleep behind the wheel. That’s the premise of new mood-sensing technology Toyota is working on in an effort to build safer cars. We first brought you details on the technology...

They're in your home, in your phone and they've been in your car for several years now--we're talking about computers. High-tech on-board infotainment systems are certainly useful, but not always easy to fathom. That's why Lexus is letting customers try before they buy--by releasing the Enform...

The 2013 Porsche Cayenne GTS has been officially revealed ahead of its debut at the Beijing Auto Show later this month. If you're looking for a lean, mean, sporting SUV, this may be the ticket. Nissan's rumored sub-370Z 240SX revival may be back on the table, especially now that the Subaru...

Real revolutions in engine technology are rare. By and large, the internal combustion engine has remained much the same for well over a century, with just general, incremental improvements in all areas separating today's engines from those in the very first automobiles. Scuderi's patented...

Though Powermat had plans last year to deliver in-car wireless charging to GM, first through the Volt, and later other brands, the cars didn't materialize. Until now. The 2013 Dodge Dart is now the first car in the industry to offer built-in in-vehicle wireless charging. It's available as a $199.99...

For many, electric cars seem rather simple: just stick a battery and an electric motor in place of the regular oily bits. While it's far more complex than that, there are other concerns beyond the powertrain itself. Things like sound--or a lack of it--both for occupants and bystanders. To deal with...

The Mazda 787B race car was an instantaneous legend. Driven to victory in the 1991 Le Mans 24 Hour race, it remains both the only Japanese car ever to win the race, and the only rotary-engined winner too. Perhaps even more than its shape, the defining characteristic of the 787B is its piercing...

We've talked about autonomous vehicles a lot in the past year or so, and as gearheads it's hard not to get wrapped up in the more negative aspects of the technology. If you love driving, the prospect of cars that drive themselves is a grim one. Driving is a skill you work hard to acquire, and...

Fans of Xbox 360 racing title Forza Motorsport 4 won't be doing much egg-hunting this easter, as Turn 10 studios has announced the latest pack of ten new vehicles. The April Alpinestars pack will soon be available to download, and includes everything from iconic cars to the latest racing...

Since its debut at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show, Cadillac has been showing off the new technology that sits inside the 2013 XTS sedan. Today, the newest feature in the spotlight is the Safety Alert Seat. Using haptic feedback (vibrations) in the seat bottom to give directional alerts to potential...

We've all been there: Stuck in traffic, or whooshing along endless stretches of highway, just wishing we were already at our destination. That's where autonomous vehicle technology comes in, and the concept is being explored by several different companies. That list now includes Continental...

Of the five senses that the human body is equipped with, sight and sound are the primary ones used behind the wheel of a car. You could argue that touch comes into play as well, since most vehicles now come equipped with steering-wheel-mounted audio, telephone and cruise control buttons, too. That...

Did you know Mercedes-Benz has been working on all-wheel drive for over 100 years? We didn't. But we recently took a trip out to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to spend some time with Mercedes' model lineup, and here's what we learned about its 4Matic all-wheel drive system: Mercedes' first vehicle with...

What happens when famous car customization shop West Coast Customs takes a classic pony car and sprinkles it with the latest in in-car technology? You get "Project Detroit", that's what. Coming to us via Mustangs Daily, Project Detroit isn't quite what it seems. You'll have noticed the matte black...

Automakers all make claims about what their various systems can do, and why those systems are better than the competition. Saying your system is better is one thing, backing up that claim with facts and true technical comparisons is a whole different thing. On our trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to...

Advances in material science aside, not much has changed with vehicle braking systems over the past 200 years. While today’s antilock, six-piston caliper, carbon-ceramic rotor braking systems may not resemble the leather-pad-against-wooden-wheel systems found on early coaches, friction is...