Car Safety
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The inevitable march toward the driverless car continues. It's still off in the distance, a speck on the horizon, but that speck is getting larger with each flip of your calendar's pages. There are some aspects of the autonomous driving realm that are already a part of the automotive landscape. One of them will become a whole lot more prevalent in the next few years. A group of 20 automakers have banded together to bring autonomous braking systems to all of their vehicles. The plan is to make the tech a standard feature on all new vehicles by September 1, 2022. The list of automakers who are...
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Ford police cars offer protection against armor-piercing bullets
Stopping perpetrators and protecting police officers just became even bigger business at Ford Motor Company [NYSE:F]. The automaker announced today that its Police Interceptor sedan and utility models will both be available with ballistic panels capable of protecting the vehicle's occupants from...
Andrew Ganz -
Ferrari first to test Halo cockpit protection in F1
Official testing for the 2016 Formula One World Championship is still underway in Barcelona, Spain, and today Ferrari [NYSE:RACE] decided to shake things up a little by trialing a new cockpit protection system dubbed the Halo. Pictured above is Kimi Räikkönen in Ferrari’s 2016-spec...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Faster cars, cockpit protection coming to F1 in 2017
Following a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland this week, organizers of the Formula One World Championship have agreed upon a number of key proposals that will see some significant changes introduced to the sport as early as the 2017 season. Crucially, the changes are designed to deliver faster, more...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW M2 transformed into safety car for 2016 MotoGP season
Following in the footsteps of the M6 and M4 coupes, BMW’s new M2 will serve as official safety car for the 2016 MotoGP season. But before it could be supplied to Dorna Sports, the organizer of MotoGP, the M2 needed a few modifications. The modifications were handled at the BMW M factory and...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
DOT Unveils 10-Year, $4-Billion Plan for Development Of Autonomous Vehicles
New car announcements weren't the only news made at the Detroit Auto Show. In a press conference at the show, the United States Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx revealed part of President Obama's plan to invest in 21st century transportation systems. Specifically, Foxx announced a nearly $4...
Kirk Bell -
If you didn’t already know, production of the Dodge Viper is scheduled to end in 2017 and there are no plans at present for a successor—although that may change at some point, according to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles [NYSE:FCAU] CEO Sergio Marchionne. FCA hasn’t come out and stated why it’s killing the Viper but sales numbers tell part of the story. Just 676 Vipers were sold in all of 2015, down 11 percent on the previous year’s tally even though pricing was slashed and the world-beating Viper ACR was introduced. Remember, this is a vehicle that’s shares...
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McLaren P1 Hit With NHTSA Recall, Dozens Of People Affected!
The McLaren P1 is a marvel of modern engineering. Still, not everything out there is perfect and the P1 is proof of this. A batch of the cars were just hit with a recall notice. The reason? A secondary hood latch could fail, which could lead to the inadvertent opening of the hood if the primary...
Jeff Glucker -
Ferrari Issues Stop Sale On 488 GTB Due To Fire Risk
After issuing a recall on the 2016 California T, Ferrari [NYSE:F] has ordered a stop-sale on the 2016 488 GTB due to a potential fire risk. A recall wasn't necessary because none of the cars have been sold in the United States yet. ALSO SEE: 2016 Ferrari California T Recalled Over Fire Risk A...
Kirk Bell -
2016 Ferrari California T Recalled Over Fire Risk
Ferrari [NYSE:F] is recalling the 2016 California T because a manufacturing flaw in a fuel-system component could lead to an engine-compartment fire—and, potentially, one very unhappy Ferrari owner. The recall affects all 2016 Ferrari California T models made from September 8, 2015 to...
Bengt Halvorson -
California Looks To Tighten Rules For Autonomous Cars
California has become one of the top states for autonomous car research, primarily due to the number of tech firms based there including Google which is already testing self-driving cars on the state’s roads. However, state regulators are now making moves to tighten the rules for autonomous...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coming With Automatic Lane Changing
Mercedes-Benz continues to drop more information about its next-generation E-Class ahead of the car’s world debut at next month’s 2016 Detroit Auto Show. Yesterday, we got our first official look at the car’s interior, which for most trim levels will come with an all-digital...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
No, German police aren’t about to enlist a Chevrolet Corvette among their fleet of patrol cars. Rather, this particular Corvette, dressed in police livery, has been built to help promote safe and legal vehicle modification. CHECK OUT: 2017 Porsche 911 Turbo Packs More Power, New Infotainment System: Video The car was presented at this past weekend’s Essen Motor Show, and it’s the latest modified car to join the tuning mecca’s Tune It! Safe! program. The program is sponsored by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Transport and is now in its 11th year. Performing the...
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Don’t Be This Idiot: Tesla Model S Owner Tests Autopilot System From Back Seat
In the same week Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] CEO Elon Musk announced the company will be implementing some constraints on its Autopilot autonomous system to prevent some of the more stupid users from incorrectly using the system, typically by removing their hands from the steering wheel or using it on...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
New Video Highlights Potential Danger Of Replica Wheels: Video
As an auto enthusiast, it’s easy to be tempted by deals for OEM-style wheels that cost a fraction what the dealer or authorized reseller may be asking. But there are often good reasons why you should consider paying the premium for genuine wheels, as highlighted in this video from...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
New Video Shows What It Will Be Like Owning A Volvo Autonomous Car
Continuing its reputation for stellar safety, Swedish automaker Volvo is committed to developing cars that that are crash-proof in an attempt to completely eliminate vehicle-related deaths and injuries for its customers. Volvo has set a target date of 2020 for reaching this momentous goal and to...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Automotive Safety Giant Autoliv To Help Develop Autonomous Systems With Volvo
Automotive safety systems giant Autoliv has joined Volvo in the Swedish automaker’s Drive Me autonomous car research project. The two companies will share their findings in order to accelerate efforts to get the active safety systems fundamental to autonomous driving into production. ALSO...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Automatic Emergency Braking To Become Standard?
There's no question about it; modern cars are incredibly safe, and there's new technology being released that has them becoming safer still. Since it was mandated that we all wear our seatbelts to the introduction of airbags, the number of people dying on our roadways has been going down and...
Jeff Glucker -
Already responsible for developing more luxurious and higher performing vehicles from Jaguar Land Rover, the Special Vehicles Operations division has now been tasked with building armored cars for the British automaker. And the first off the list is an armored Land Rover Range Rover which dons the Sentinel badge we last saw on an armored Jaguar XJ. ALSO SEE: 2016 Rolls-Royce Dawn Drops Top Ahead Of Frankfurt Debut: Video The Range Rover Sentinel is based on the luxurious Range Rover Autobiography and benefits from VR8 ballistic and blast protection certification. This means it can withstand...
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FIA Will Test Closed Cockpits
In the wake of Justin Wilson's tragic death last week, the conversation about closed cockpits in open-wheel racing has been renewed. Formula One's governing body, the FIA, will begin evaluating potential closed cockpit designs for single-seat racecars. It's a surprisingly controversial topic that...
Jeff Glucker -
Tesla Model S Hacked... Wait... Tesla Model S Fixed
Last year, some hackers in China proved that the Tesla Model S was a hackable machine. In the wake of some more recent hackable automotive news, it shouldn't be quite as surprising that such a connected car like the Model S is exploitable. Still, Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] seems to be far more in...
Jeff Glucker -
Hacker Working With GM To Fix OnStar Vulnerabilities: Video
Connected cars promise better safety and security, but like anything connected to a network, they can be susceptible to attacks from hackers. And General Motors Company [NYSE:GM] is just the latest automaker in the news due to cyber security concerns. ALSO SEE: BMW Offers EnLighten App Connectivity...
John Coyle -
FCA Responds To Hackers' Scary Breach Of 2014 Jeep Cherokee: Video
On Tuesday, Wired posted an account of writer Andy Greenberg's ongoing experiment to demonstrate the potential of the 2014 Jeep Cherokee to be remotely hacked. During this round, partners Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek were able to access the vehicle's climate control, entertainment...
John Coyle -
Samsung Builds A Truck You Can See Through, Sort Of
We've seen some pretty interesting applications of camera tech lately—see Land Rover's Transparent Hood and Jaguar's 360 Virtual Urban Windscreen. Yet Samsung's Safety Truck seems particularly clever. Compared with the Jaguar Land Rover applications, Samsung's effort is decidedly simple...
John Coyle