Car Tech
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What do you do when Chevy hands you the keys to a 2015 Corvette Stingray and an open run at the Milford Road Course? You flog it for all you’re worth, whether you know the track or not. That’s just what we did yesterday. Of course, this wasn’t your usual 7-speed manual Stingray. Nor was it the old 6-speed automatic. No, for 2015, the Stingray gets an all-new, GM-designed and built 8-speed automatic that it claims will slay Porsche’s PDK dual-clutch. MUST SEE: Watch This 1,029-HP Honda Odyssey Minivan Roast Its Tires: Video But wait, you say. How can a slushbox...
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2015 Corvette Valet Mode Helps Preserve Tires, Owners' Peace Of Mind: VideoThe Corvette's Valet Mode will now include video, audio, and date from the Performance Data Recorder.
Stephen Edelstein -
Jaguar Details New XE Sedan’s Infotainment System: VideoJaguar’s upcoming XE small sedan, set for a reveal in September ahead of a U.S. sales launch in 2016, will be the automaker’s first model equipped with a new infotainment system dubbed InControl. The system is designed around an 8-inch display with touch capability, but for added safety...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Audi's New Four-Cylinder Engine Could Match Larger Engines' Smoothness: ReportAudi is looking to a new engine design to increase four-cylinder refinement.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla Looks To Hire Hackers To Beat HackersThe technological advancement of vehicles means the risk of hackers infiltrating myriad electronic systems becomes ever greater. For car companies, the onus is on them to ensure their vehicles are secure—preventing their customers becoming a target for the less salubrious members of society...
Antony Ingram -
Volvo Presents New XC90’s Modular SPA PlatformVolvo is about to introduce a new modular platform called the Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) that will soon underpin all of its models sized from the S60 up. The first to be based on the SPA platform will be the all-new Volvo XC90, which thanks to the capabilities of its platform promises to...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Head-up displays (HUDs) are the preserve of high-end, expensive vehicles, right? Well, yes actually, though like most high-end tech it only takes time and perhaps a little persuasion from the aftermarket to help it filter downwards. It happened for satellite navigation and now it's happening with HUDs. ALSO SEE: 2016 Chevrolet Camaro Spy Shots Navdy is a head-up display system you can take anywhere and transfer to any car. At a basic level, that means the little portable device with its flip-out screen can put your speed in plain view, rather than relegating it to a little dial in your...
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Are Changeable Interior Colors The Future Of Car Personalization?Johnson Controls is experimenting with color-changing plastics for future car interiors.
Stephen Edelstein -
Why Your Electric Car May Talk To Your Utility Behind Your Back: It'll Save You MoneyCars are remarkably dumb and uncommunicative objects. They only started having any situational awareness of what's around them--other vehicles in the blind spot, for instance--a few years ago. And they still don't talk to each other. Electric cars--which usually pioneer a whole lot of...
John Voelcker -
Clear Valve Covers Make For Mesmerizing Machine Action: VideoIf you’ve ever sat and stared at one of those water-drinking bird toys for a few minutes, you will be glued to your screen for the next several minutes. Of course, even those without an affinity for plastic waterfowl will appreciate the mechanical awesomeness that is the visual valvetrain...
Nelson Ireson -
Wireless Charging Coming To A Cadillac Near You: VideoCadillac wants you to put your phone away. Well, all automakers do really, but Cadillac will soon offer you a bit of an energizing incentive to do so. The automaker has teamed up with Powermat to serve up a wireless charging pad in the 2015 ATS. After it makes its introduction on the ATS, the...
Jeff Glucker -
2016 XE Will Be The Most Fuel-Efficient Jaguar Ever Thanks To Aluminum ConstructionJaguar’s all-new 3-Series and C-Class fighter, the XE, is set for a reveal on September 8 but the British automaker simply can’t help itself from releasing a few details early. In addition to a teaser photo showing the car’s face, we’ve been given a look at its new aluminum...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Audi deploys new sound tech on the latest TT
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Mercedes-AMG GT’s New Twin-Turbo V-8 M178 Engine: GalleryThe Mercedes-AMG GT is shaping up to be a worthy successor to the SLS AMG family of cars, with a sleek and sensual design and, now, a powerhouse of a twin-turbo V-8 engine. MUST WATCH: 5,000-HP, 348-MPH Devel Sixteen Spotted In The Wild: Video Displacing just 4.0 liters, the previously revealed...
Nelson Ireson -
Your Next Supercar Could Be Covered In Morphing DimplesGolf balls and cars don’t often have more in common than whether there’s room for a couple of bags in the trunk. But that may soon change. A new technology from a research lab at MIT—called Smorphs—could put a set of dynamic dimples on the exterior of a car to improve its...
Nelson Ireson -
Audi Abandons CVTs, Focuses On Conventional Auto And Dual-Clutch TransmissionsGerman automaker Audi has decided to kill off its continuously variable transmission, in the next generation of its models. Continuously variable transmissions, or CVTs, have long been available in several Audis, but the firm will now replace it with conventional automatics and dual-clutch...
Antony Ingram -
U.S. Marines Test Self-Driving Support Vehicle On Battlefield: VideoSelf-driving cars aren’t all cute, cuddly, Google-powered bubbles. Some of them are big, gnarly, and potentially life-saving military machines. This is one of the latter in action. MUST SEE: 5,000-HP, 348-MPH Devel Sixteen Spotted In The Wild: Video Built for the United States Marine Corps...
Nelson Ireson -
Tesla Model S Hacked In Chinese ContestAs cars become increasingly computerized, it's hard to ignore that, like your home computer, it's a target for hackers all around the world. Chinese computer security conference SyScan recently promised a $10,000 reward to anyone who had the skills to hack into Tesla Motors' [NSDQ:TSLA] Model S...
Antony Ingram -
We’re now just a few weeks out from the reveal of the all-new Volvo XC90, which goes on sale in the U.S. early next year, and today we’ve received details on some of the new safety and convenience features that will be offered on the seven-seat SUV. Volvo is famous for its safety, and with the XC90 being one of its most recognized vehicles you can bet that the latest version, the first all-new XC90 in 12 years, will be teeming with the latest safety technology. Two features will be world firsts: run-off road protection and auto brake at intersection capability. The first, run-off...
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Smart Fortwo Vs. Mercedes-Benz S-Class: Crash Test VideoDaimler's Smart brand has faced many challenges in the past, but overcoming common perception is probably toughest of all. So used to huge SUVs and pickups are many customers, that they refuse to believe anything as small as the Smart Fortwo can be safe. MUST SEE: Lamborghini Veneno Roadster...
Antony Ingram -
nanoFLOWCELL-Powered Quant e-Limo Approved For German Road TrialsSo many companies claim to have developed the future of road car propulsion that those making genuine strides run the risk of being ignored. Luckily, German firm Quant is avoiding such a fate, as its innovative 'flow-cell'-powered vehicle has just been approved for real-world testing by the German...
Antony Ingram -
Nissan’s self-driving car due in 2020 won’t be fully autonomousLast summer, Nissan said it would launch a vehicle with revolutionary autonomous car technology by 2020, saying that the technology at present can detect and respond to certain emergency situations and that in the future it will allow drivers to use their time behind the wheel more productively...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Former Ford CEO Alan Mulally Joins GoogleOnce CEO of the Ford Motor Company [NYSE:F], Alan Mulally has now joined the board of technology firm Google—just as the tech giant expands its automotive horizons to in-car entertainment and autonomous vehicles. Mulally became the boss of Ford in September 2006, but left the firm earlier...
Antony Ingram -
Porsche 991 GT3 Shows Off Front-Axle Lift System: VideoThe steep driveway. It's the natural enemy of sports cars and supercars around the globe. Ears and hearts ring out with anger and sadness when the familiar scrape of plastic or carbon fiber meets tarmac. Some have evolved to combat this issue. Lamborghini has been installing front-end lift systems...
Jeff Glucker