Car Tech

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT) yesterday released the final results from NASA's Engineering and Safety Center's ten-month study into potential electronic causes of unintended acceleration (UA) in Toyota vehicles. As the DoT's press release states: "The National Highway Traffic Safety...

With the exception of the crazy concepts found at the Tokyo Motor Show, Geneva is often where you find some of the most original ideas and designs on the yearly auto show calendar. BMW are continuing this tradition with their Vision ConnectedDrive concept car, which is due to be shown at the 2011...

Lamborghini is going to great lengths to reveal the technical details of its successor to the Murcielago supercar, the upcoming Aventador LP700-4. Already we’ve seen details about its new V-12 engine and Independent Shifting Rod (ISR) automated manual gearbox, its F1-inspired pushrod...

Your average car key has a limited range of functions. Even when giving it an ostentatious name like Aston Martin's "Emotion Control Unit" and constructing it from glass, it's essentially there to allow you to enter your vehicle, and turn it on. BMW could be about to change that though. Using a...

Car-themed IT gadgets are no rare occurrence these days, and a multitude of gadgets with luxury car themes have hit the market in recent years. The latest is from Asus, which has just launched a new Lamborghini-branded external hard drive. Like the actual Lamborghini cars, the focus on the Asus...

The airbag is one of the single most significant inventions in the field of passive safety that the automotive world has seen. Patented in 1953 by American inventor John W. Hetrick and introduced into passenger cars in the United States in the mid seventies, it has been responsible for saving...

Drivers with Android-compatible smartphones can now download the American Automobile Association's free roadside assistance application allowing you to report a breakdown without even needing to make a phone call. Stranded motorists can now use their Android smartphone's GPS signal to transmit a...

In-car cameras have a variety of uses and not all are just 'Big Brother' style surveillance. We've recently looked at equipping new drivers' cars with 'nanny cams' so parents can make sure their teenage son or daughter is driving responsibly and safely, and they're also popular in a world of ever...

Whilst not illegal in many states, taking a call or texting whilst driving can be very dangerous since it can take your eyes and mind off the road and if you're not using a hands-free device, occupy one of your limbs, too. American Auto Sales in Fremont is one of the first retail outlets now...

Garmin, TomTom, and other aftermarket telematics systems have been fighting an uphill battle since July 2008. That's when Apple launched the App Store and smartphone users began to realize that apps could serve the same function as pricey dashtop units, but with minimal upfront cost and no...

If you haven't heard of Rocky Mountain Tracking or its Smart Tracker GPS device, we don't blame you. The relatively small operation is one among many such services, including the by-word for the field, LoJack. But it's no less effective for being small. This past Friday, January 28, a 2007...

BMW's ConnectedDrive Future Lab is a car tech geek's Disney World. In this video, the team from the Future Lab previews possible future directions for BMW's ConnectedDrive infotainment and telematics system. As a leader in the Internet-connected car field, BMW has a brood of ideas growing in the...

You might have some preconceptions about cars sold in emerging automotive markets such as India. The overriding impression is probably one of cheapness, befitting of a nation whose population are still significantly poorer of those in more developed markets. Another might be durability, since even...

Last year, Formula 1 drivers had the ability to adjust the angle of attack of their front wings from the cockpit, in theory to aid overtaking in the turbulent wake of another car. It didn't work all that well. This year, it's the rear wing that gets active control, showcased in the video below by...

If you live in the U.S., chances are pretty good that you've been affected by the winter storm currently swirling its way across the country. It's the latest in a string of snow and ice blasts that have caused travel delays, highway closures, traffic accidents, and, unfortunately, more than a few...

Etsy is a unique marketplace for all the handmade and vintage items you could ever want. Unfortunately it's also full of things no one should ever want, and many of them are car-themed. Here's our short list of what to avoid buying, or gifting, to the car person in your life. Car Scrap Jewelry...

James Bond has had a lot of cool gadgets, but one of our favourites had to be the remotely controlled BMW 7-Series from Tomorrow Never Dies. Controlled by a touch-screen cell phone (which still manages to look old-hat now, such is the pace of technology), our hero was able to drive, and indeed...

Designing an effective car interior isn't easy. Car companies need to think about the design, the features, and the ergonomics. After all, you spend more time in there driving your car than you do staring at the exterior. If you've ever driven a car with a particularly poor interior, you begin to...

Smartphones have moved one step closer to controlling our lives: Dodge recently announced that it has launched owner's manual apps on the Android, Blackberry, and iPhone platforms. The apps offer a range of features that supplement and enhance the existing hard-copy manuals and DVDs that come with...

Many of us in the past may have taken the car keys off a friend to prevent them from driving after a few too many drinks. Now, a new piece of technology will leave them high and dry even if you're not there to walk them home. Known as the Driver Alcohol Detection Systems for Safety (DADSS), sensors...