Car Tech

Less than a week after the signing of the SAVE Act legislation in Michigan, the most lenient yet when it comes to self-driving cars, General Motors Company [NYSE:GM] has announced that it will start testing Chevrolet Bolt EV-based self-driving prototypes in the state. The announcement was made by...

Uber may be known around the world for its ridesharing service, where volunteer drivers earn money by offering rides. However, Uber is out to eliminate the driver by developing its own self-driving technology. The company already has a fleet of self-driving prototypes offering rides in Pittsburgh...

Winter has begun to embrace the country in its icy grasp, and that means it's past time you started thinking about winter tires. But are they really worth it and what do they actually do? Our friend Jason Fenske from Engineering Explained is here to help us understand the massive difference winter...

Following its September presentation of guidelines for the safe testing and deployment of self-driving cars, the Department of Transportation proposed a ruling on Tuesday that would advance the deployment of connected vehicle technologies. The DOT proposed requiring all new cars and light trucks to...

Google’s self-driving car project is no longer just one of the many moonshot ideas of the Google X advanced research skunk works as it has been transformed into a standalone business unit under the Alphabet umbrella. (Alphabet is the parent company of Google and its related businesses.) As...

Our friend Jason Fenske from Engineering Explained has been teaching us a lot about our favorite subject: cars. Today, he's here to talk about something that just might inspire you to get your hands dirty under the hood of your own car. It's basic, but every car guy should know it. The topic of the...

A countdown clock silently ticks down to 0:00 in the Audi A4’s instrument cluster display, almost like the timer on an oven. Except instead of a baked casserole, the A4’s timer ends just as the traffic light in front of us turns from red to green. This is no coincidence; the Audi has...

The Volkswagen Group has formed a new unit tasked with the development of new mobility solutions. The unit is called MOIA, a name that's meant to signify independent mobility for all. The VW Group rightfully sees the automotive landscape undergoing rapid change. Alongside the traditional business...

As Toyota slowly renews its fleet with cars built around its TNGA (Toyota New Global Architecture) modular platform unveiled in 2015, we’ll see new technologies that should dramatically improve efficiency and dynamic performance levels for the brand. Of most significance to buyers of...

Besides fuel, oil is the lifeblood of your vehicle. It keeps your engine rotating smoothly. This is accomplished by the properties of oil that allow it to lubricate moving parts and reduce heat generated by friction. If the moving parts in your engine weren't lubricated, you'd hear a lot of...

Back in August, a startup by the name of nuTonomy made headlines following the launch of the world’s first taxi service built around self-driving cars. Albeit a trial only, the service, which covered a few streets in Singapore, provided an early look at a likely future where self-driving cars...

Audi has demonstrated how it is using machine learning to help refine its self-driving system. Machine learning is a form of artificial intelligence where computers “learn” how to perform actions on their own, i.e. without the need to be explicitly programmed, typically via trial and...

General Motors Company [NYSE:GM] on Tuesday released the first details for a new 9-speed automatic transmission designed for front-wheel-drive applications. The transmission, code-named the 9T50, makes its debut in the 2017 Chevrolet Malibu and by the end of calendar year 2017 will be available in...

If you're going to do work on your own vehicle, you'll most likely need to get underneath it at some point. Unless you own a monster truck, this means that you're going to have to lift your car in the air. This is intimidating for many, but there's a way to make it less so and Engineering Explained...

Mercedes-Benz has developed a new type of headlight with such precise control of the light beam that it can project complex symbols, including words, onto the road ahead to help inform the driver of his or her surroundings. Mercedes calls the technology HD (High-Definition) headlights and plans to...

Comma.ai is an electronic driving aid developed by computer programmer George Hotz. It's a partial self-driving solution that can be retrofitted into virtually modern car, and Hotz's plan was to sell the kit for $999. However, a problem arose when the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminstration...

When Dodge brought its Viper ACR to the production car party back in 2015, the automaker also brought a long a sheet filled with brand new track records. The ACR broke production-car lap records at 13 different tracks. These weren't rinky-dink little local circuits that you've never heard of...

It’s been over four years since General Motors Company [NYSE:GM] first announced plans for a self-driving system for its Cadillac brand known as Super Cruise. At the time, GM said the system would be made available in the “near term.” Super Cruise is now expected to debut on a...

Divergent is a company that has big plans for the world of 3D printing. This is a company that has already created a number of parts for what it's calling the first 3D-printed supercar; the DM Blade. Divergent also creates 3D-printed metal parts that could find use in a number of automobiles; names...

As the old saying goes, there is no replacement for displacement. That's not the case when it comes to rotary engines, which typically have very small displacement. Instead of cubes, if you want a rotary to make more power you do two things: add more rotors and/or slap on a turbocharger or two...