Car Tech

Not so long ago, variable valve timing systems like Honda's VTEC and Mitsubishi's MIVEC were used to extract ludicrous horsepower from relatively small capacity engines. Now, in an age of MPG rather than MPH, the carmakers are using these systems to meet a greener end, reducing fuel consumption and...

In recent years, Nissan and Apple have gone together like macaroni and cheese. The Japanese carmaker was one of the first to launch an iPhone app and the late Steve Jobs even used Nissan's Leaf to demonstrate the iAd serviced when it was launched last year. Nissan's boffins have been hard at work...

If you thought a NANOSLIDE was a driving situation fixed by a dab of nanocorrection on the steering, think again. It's actually the name of a new, award-winning technology developed by Mercedes-Benz for use in engine design. NANOSLIDE technology is a way of giving the cylinder walls in an engine a...

Returning to your car to find its windscreen (dis)graced with a parking ticket ranks among modern life's most frustrating experiences. Whether you parked illegally or not there's always a strong feeling that you didn't really deserve it and that a parking attendant's time would be far better spent...

Pandora has been on a roll the past few years. After a shaky period during which the company fought for the right to broadcast copyrighted material, Pandora roared back, becoming one of the first infotainment services to be featured on Ford's popular Sync system. Now, the company has developed a...

Buick is rolling out Pandora Internet radio services as a standard feature across its lineup, integrating it with the new IntelliLink infotainment system announced in April. It will be made standard initially on the 2012 Buick Verano, Regal and LaCrosse, and on the Enclave crossover in 2013...

Your car might already have an option to synchronize with your smartphone, but General Motors reckons the technology could offer so much more. Apps like Waze and Bump can be handy for avoiding traffic (or chatting if you're already stuck) but vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure systems...

As gamers around the world get their teeth stuck into Forza Motorsport 4 on the Xbox 360, racing fans on the Sony PlayStation shouldn't feel too left-out. Gran Turismo 5 creators Polyphony Digital have been hard at work behind the scenes and the "Spec II" update for GT5 was released a week ago...

Carbon fiber is the ready answer to much of the automotive industry's weight-reducing quest, but sometimes it's not the only answer. In the case of the next Audi R8, it will be part of the answer--as will aluminum. Due in 2014, the second generation of the R8 will get a hybrid aluminum and carbon...

Google Maps has become an indispensable tool for many travelers, offering highly detailed maps, complete with satellite imagery. Now, the service offers a new feature: seamless movement from Google Maps to its popular sibling, Street View. Once upon a time, if users wanted to use Street View, they...

Over the next five years, the amount of "connected" cars on the road is expected to grow from 5 percent to 100 percent, raising questions about both features and costs.

Don't say we didn't call it. The old-school radio control handset is dead. Back in March we showed a Mini Cooper radio control car being directed via smartphone. Since then we've seen smartphone apps used to control all manner of other objects, and the culmination of these advancements is in one of...

An Austrian company that provides toll transponders to most automated toll systems in the U.S. has just filed a patent for a multifunction camera system to be embedded on future toll transponders.

At this point in the game, satellite navigation is old hat. To really get attention, automakers have to up their game -- and that's exactly what BMW has done with its new microNavigation system prototype. The microNavigation unit works a lot like other satnavs, offering traffic data, suggesting...

Earlier this week, we told you about a new, Top Gear-branded satnav system from TomTom. Unfortunately, someone failed to clear the licensing of Jeremy Clarkson's voice with BBC's editorial staff, and now, TomTom has been forced to cease production of the devices. It's a classic problem of the left...

Earlier this week we spent some time looking at future product and technologies at GM's Design Center. While security was so tight they made us put a sticker over our iPhone camera, we did spot what we believe could be the C7 Corvette gauge cluster. The focal point of the gauge cluster is a large...

Whether you're texting, calling, updating your social media networks, or simply pressing buttons on your stereo or sat nav, in-car technology can be quite a distraction from the actual process of driving. Now it turns out that it isn't just Mr. and Mrs. Average Joe who fall foul of distractions -...

“To Protect and Swerve” is not its title, but a new study suggests tech devices in squad cars pose distractions and contribute to police-involved accidents. Through the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust, Public Safety Administration grad students from St. Mary’s...

For years, we've wanted more from our cars. More power. More performance. More luxury. More gadgets. More recently, we've wanted less, at the same time: Less weight. Less expense. All the time carmakers have been giving us more of some things and less of others, cars have continued to get safer...

Cadillac’s just-announced CUE (Cadillac User Interface) system, which will make its debut in the upcoming 2013 Cadillac XTS, will mark a number of automotive technology firsts.