Car Tech

We recently told you that Google was asking Nevada legislators to allow testing of the company's autonomous cars. Now, less than two months later, we're not surprised to learn that Google's lobbying efforts have paid off. As we mentioned before, Google was pressing Nevada's elected officials to do...

Whether you're a dyed-in-the-wool do-it-yourselfer or the sort of person who pays people to pump his gas, chances are good that you've seen a Haynes Manual before. They're easy to spot at almost any auto parts shop or bookstore -- just look for the long row of unadorned tomes covering nearly every...

Yesterday, Ford Motor Company received quite a wallop from research firm J.D. Power: after several years of steady improvement, Ford plummeted from 5th place to 23rd on the firm's Initial Quality Survey. How can Ford climb back toward the top? Better voice-interaction with the company's SYNC system...

Carbon monoxide has occasionally been described as a silent killer, and the recent deaths of a New York man and a woman in Florida prove the phrase still runs true in modern cars. Chasity Glisson, 29 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Ernest Codelia, 79 from Queens, New York are two victims of the...

Think automotive aerodynamics and you'll either think of aerodynamic components for reducing lift or increasing downforce, or you'll think of streamlined, low-resistance vehicles like the 2011 Toyota Prius. Car designers have a tough job to combine these features in your typical road car - ideally...

While most automakers try to fix the problems with today's tech, Volkswagen is working on tomorrow's. The future of driving, in major cities at least, is looking more and more likely to be done by high-tech computers rather than actual people, at least if the latest breakthroughs in self-driving...

The inflating rear seatbelts first introduced with the 2011 Ford Explorer are finally trickling down to other vehicles. In a release, Ford stated that the 2013 Ford Flex and some yet to be named Lincoln vehicles will be installed with the safety technology by this summer. While the company...

Think turbocharger and you may think high performance, but the latest generation of cars are using turbochargers in order to maintain performance whilst engine capacity decreases in the push for improved fuel economy. Volkswagen is no stranger to forced induction, having used turbochargers on...

Ten new Ford vehicles will let drivers steer mobile apps by voice or by steering-wheel controls--while Ford promises it's actually less distracting that way.

What's the most advanced computer in a modern car? The ECU controlling your car's fuelling, ignition, throttle and more? Or perhaps it's the in-car infotainment systems with satellite navigation and downloadable apps? None of the above, says Lexus. The most advanced computer in the modern car is...

Drunk driving is a big problem in America, accounting for up to 31% of all traffic fatalities in the country. For years, education and awareness campaigns have tried to address the issue, but could the real solution lie in teaching cars themselves to spot intoxicated drivers? The National Highway...

Mercedes-Benz could be planning a system of apps, and a store to distribute them, much like rival German luxury marque BMW.

The good old coin-operated parking meter is a bit of an enigma in the modern automotive world. When virtually everything can now be paid for by cards or even mobile phones, having to fumble around in the ashtray for a few quarters seems a little last-century. Not so for Hungarian motorists, who...

As we're seeing with cars like the 2011 Ford Fiesta, small size no longer means a small specification list. The 2012 Toyota Yaris will be no different. The car has just been launched in Europe and more details have been revealed about what toys you can expect to have in Toyota's smallest model. The...

Privacy has long been a serious issue on the web. Now, a new bill authored by Senator Al Franken wants to address some of those concerns -- and from where we sit, it's arrived just in the nick of time. In the early days of Web 1.0, long before the rise of social networking, privacy concerns...

Shopping for cars on a PlayStation 3 is nothing new: in fact, virtually every racing game lets you view and even test drive cars ranging from the mundane to the exotic. Ford has realized that there may be an opportunity beyond brand licensing to game companies, so the automaker has opened a virtual...

If you're a fantasy baseball fan, you know that like everything in life, you get out of it what you put into it. Sure, you can pick a roster and let it run its course, but to make the most of it, you have to stay engaged. Now, Ford SYNC can help you stay up-to-date on key fantasy baseball news...

Modern cars can do over 100,000 miles without pausing for breath. If you really pile on the miles, you might have 200,000 or even 300,000 miles on the clock. If the car Gods are really shining on you, you might have managed more than half a million. Prepare to feel insignificant. Irv Gordon from...

We've seen cars with lane departure warnings and collision detection, but MIT is pushing the envelope with tech that can predict human driving patterns. The computerized intelligent transportation system (ITS) uses an algorithm created from modeled human driving to predict where human drivers are...

If you have any embarassing habits as you sit in traffic, then this could be your automotive arch-enemy. Nose pickers and secret scratchers need not apply. The transparent transport in question is a 1939 Pontiac Plexiglas Delux Six Ghost Car that was created for the 1939 World's Fair in New York...