Car Tech
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Soon, you’ll never have to worry whether you’ve left an appliance switched on when heading out for a drive as new technology being developed by Japanese firms Toyota and Panasonic will allow you to control your home from behind the wheel. The two companies are cooperating on a cloud-based system to monitor and operate home appliances. DON'T MISS: Volkswagen Anti-Texting Ad Is Brilliantly Simple, Incredibly Frightening: Video The system is being presented by Toyota at the Smart Community Japan 2014 exhibition in Tokyo this month, prior to it being launched on the Japanese market...
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Is Tesla About To Allow Rival EVs To Use Supercharger Fast-Charging Network?Electric car charging may be about to get a lot faster—and a lot cheaper—for everyone. Speaking at the Tesla Model S official U.K. launch, CEO Elon Musk dropped the clearest hints yet that he planned to offer Tesla Motors' [NSDQ:TSLA] Supercharger fast-charge specifications to other...
Antony Ingram -
Toyota Thinks Hover Cars Might Be A ThingIf you asked a guy in the 1960s what he thought we'd be driving today, he'd probably think about what he'd seen in a popular TV science-fiction show of the time and say "a hover car". But 1960s guy would probably be a little disappointed that what people are actually driving are cars that look a...
Antony Ingram -
Local Motors Announces Winner of 3D-Printed Car Design ContestLocal Motors will print a car based on the winning design at the International Manufacturing Technology Show this fall.
Stephen Edelstein -
Start Of i8 Deliveries Means BMW Is First To Market With Laser Headlights: VideoAlthough BMW was the first to announce plans to introduce laser headlights to its cars, revealing the technology in concept form as far back as 2011, Audi hinted earlier this year that it may in fact be the first automaker to actually start selling a car with laser lights with the reveal of its R8...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Volvo Opts For Bowers & Wilkins Audio In New XC90Volvo's next-generation XC90 SUV won't just introduce a new design language and interior layout to the brand, it'll also offer one of the world's best automotive audio systems. That's because Volvo has teamed up with British audio equipment company Bowers & Wilkins to develop a system for the...
Antony Ingram -
You won't be getting your knee on the ground through every corner, but Mercedes-Benz's latest technology replicates at least one of the sensations of cornering in a motorcycle--leaning into bends. MUST SEE: McLaren P1 Vs. Bugatti Veyron Drag Race In The Wild: Video Active suspension is nothing new, but the 2015 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe has a clever function in its Active Body Control suspension system--Dynamic Curve. In turns, special plunger cylinders raise the suspension struts and lower the opposite side, depending on the direction of the bend. This has the result of tilting the car...
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Ford Fusion Lightweight Concept Car Goes All-Out With High-Tech Weight Savings: VideoWhen it comes to vehicle performance, weight is the enemy. But saving weight can do more than make a car turn better, accelerate better, and stop better. It can also make it more efficient. ALSO SEE: Homebrewed Chinese Batmobile Tumbler Replica Proving Wise Investment That’s why so many...
Nelson Ireson -
Volvo Shows Off New XC90’s Button-Less Interface: VideoIn just a couple of months Volvo will reveal its first all-new XC90 since the launch of the original SUV all the way back in 2002. The new XC90 is shaping up to be a much more luxurious and refined model than the one it replaces, and it will also be packing some of the latest technology found in...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Lego V-8 And Six-Speed Sequential Gearbox Are AwesomeSo you want to get to better know the inner workings of a V-8 engine, and, perhaps, how a sequential gearbox works? Well, you could always build your own. Out of Legos. MUST SEE: Angry Supercar Hater Throws Rocks At Lamborghini Aventador: Video That’s exactly what Huib van der Hart has done...
Nelson Ireson -
Mercedes Doesn’t Want You To Forget Its Autonomous Car Development: VideoThis week Google unveiled its first car, a prototype autonomous vehicle devoid of a steering wheel and brakes yet capable of transporting passengers at speeds of up to 25 mph. Like most fully autonomous cars, Google’s prototype can only travel on pre-set routes but the plan is to eventually...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Ford Introducing Adaptive Steering: VideoFord already offers electronic power steering, which helps to conserve fuel by using an electric motor to assist the steering instead of a hydraulic system drawing energy from the engine. Now Ford Motor Company [NYSE:F] is enhancing its steering system with a new feature called Adaptive Steering...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
If you’ve ever wondered what it was like to drive to a fire through the streets of New York City in the 1920s, wonder no more. This video shows what it was like—and it’s one of the earliest dashcam videos anywhere. MUST SEE: First LaFerrari Replicas Already In Production: Video With a camera on the nose of the FDNY Chief Kenlon's car (jump to the 2:00 minute mark for the action), the ride shows hectic traffic, pedestrians everywhere, and some rather creative interpretation of what, exactly, makes for an expedient path—gems like “Bad traffic jams force use of...
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Porsche Tells Us Just How Efficient Its 919 Hybrid Le Mans Prototype Is: VideoAs the 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race draws ever closer—now just three weekends away—Porsche has revealed even more details of its 919 Hybrid endurance racer. Not only is the car aiming for success at the famous French endurance race, but Porsche sees it as a test-bed for future...
Antony Ingram -
DeltaWing Four-Passenger Street Car Design RevealedThe DeltaWing’s unusual shape provoked comparisons to the Batmobile when it first hit the motorsports scene. While its on-track record was plagued by bad luck, the company behind the car is taking it to the next level: a street-legal, four-passenger version. This is it. MUST SEE: Google...
Nelson Ireson -
Volkswagen Previews Future TechVolkswagen in July will reveal a new generation of the Passat sedan that the rest of the world enjoys. The new sedan will be packed with the automaker’s latest technologies which will eventually filter across to more of its models, and some of those technologies were recently previewed. DON'T...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Audi Previews Electrically-Driven Turbo In RS 5 TDI ConceptWe first heard Audi was working on an electrically-driven turbocharger back in 2012, but now the automaker has revealed an engine fitted with the technology in a new concept car. The concept is based on the RS 5 but the car’s standard V-8 has been replaced by an advanced twin-turbocharged...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Google Unveils Its First Self-Driving Car Prototype: VideosCute as a button and spelling doom for the enthusiast; no, it’s not the Rabbit of Caerbannog. It’s Google’s first in-house-designed self-driving car prototype, built from the ground up to deliver a seamless driving experience. But you won’t be doing the driving. Still a...
Nelson Ireson -
If you bought a 2015 BMW i8 based on its styling alone, we'd not begrudge you for it. While BMW's i3 has gone for high-tech and futuristic styling, the i8's designers added some good, old-fashioned beauty to the plug-in hybrid sports car. MUST SEE: Pagani Huayra From The Driver's Point Of View: Video There's more to it than styling though, and BMW has released a video detailing the i8's technical highlights—showing how the lightweight construction and clever detailing enhance its efficiency irrespective of its drivetrain. That starts with BMW's 'Life Drive' module; the use of a...
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BMW M4 DTM Pit Stop In Thermal Technicolor Is Amazing: VideoIf you’re a fan of any kind of motorsport, you know just how impressive the furiously synchronized miracle of a pit stop is. But it’s even more impressive when recorded with a thermal imaging video camera. ALSO SEE: 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat: Live Photos And Video As the team...
Nelson Ireson -
Toyota Refines Semiconductor Tech For Higher-MPG HybridsThe greatest fuel efficiency gains can be made on the least efficient vehicles. Improve a 15 mpg car by 5 mpg, and you've raised its gas mileage a third—find a similar 5 mpg improvement on a 50 mpg Toyota Prius and you've dragged it up by a scant ten percent. Despite those odds, Toyota says...
Antony Ingram -
Non-Satellite GPS Could Soon Be A ThingThe "quantum compass" sounds like something Dr Who might use, or a 1990s special edition car name. In actuality, it's the name of a new device under development with the British military to allow GPS-style navigation in submarines without the use of satellites. The big news here is that GPS itself...
Antony Ingram -
The World's Strongest Brakes Stop The 1,000 MPH Bloodhound SSC: VideoThe Bloodhound SSC will use steel disc brakes in concert with air brakes and parachutes.
Stephen Edelstein -
New European Rules Could Open The Door For Autonomous CarsAn amendment to the United Nations Convention on Road Traffic would allow for the legalization of self-driving cars.
Stephen Edelstein