Car Tech

Tesla [NSDQ:TSLA] on Wednesday started beaming out its version 8.0 over-the-air software update to its customers’ Model S and Model X vehicles. As the company outlined in a September 11 blog post, the update changes hundreds of functions in the vehicles, the most important of which have to do...

Congratulations to Jason on his 500th Engineering Explained video. The series has been wonderful in the way it presents technical concepts and brings them down to a language that most of us can comprehend and understand. For his 500th video, Jason is trying to figure out which automaker makes the...

There remain two main barriers to the wide-scale introduction of autonomous cars: technological and regulatory. While the automakers and tech firms continue to make rapid advancements in the technological side, the regulatory aspect has been lagging. That’s starting to change, though, and on...

A video production can quickly turn into a very expensive endeavor. This is especially true when you're dealing with a shoot that calls for certain vehicles driven in certain manners. Perhaps Ford wants a commercial for a car that's not even out yet? Mercedes-Benz would like to shoot an updated...

We've all made the same jokes. You see a front-wheel-drive street car go by and there's a massive rear spoiler hanging off its tail. It's an easy item on a car at which to poke some fun. In some cases, however, that rear spoiler on the right front-wheel-drive car makes a heck of a lot of sense. Our...

Israeli firm Mobileye has criticized Tesla [NSDQ:TSLA] over the semi-autonomous Autopilot system, stating the automaker was “pushing the envelope in terms of safety.” Mobileye developed the camera-based sensor technology used by Autopilot but ended its partnership with Tesla in July...

There's the smiley face. A thumbs up. Heck, there's even ...well, the history of that Emoji is a long tale, but we all sure use it a lot. Now though, there's a set of Emoji ready for iOS 10 that is sure to please the automotive folks out there. It's the Automoji set for Porsche, and it's been...

Divergent 3D, the company that in 2015 unveiled what it claimed to be a 3D-printed supercar, has partnered with French auto giant PSA Group to introduce 3D-printed metal components in mass-produced cars. Divergent is a startup based in Los Angeles that has developed a proprietary...

Uber on Tuesday started allowing users of its popular ride-sharing service to hail rides from its autonomous prototypes currently testing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It’s not the first autonomous ride-sharing service—that honor goes to fellow American firm nuTonomy, which started a...

The internal-combustion engine is something with which you're no doubt very familiar. Air, spark, and fuel come together over the course of four strokes to create power and move your vehicle forward. That's for a gasoline engine; in a diesel engine, fuel is compressed until it explodes, after it's...

Volvo in 2014 announced an ambitious project that would see autonomous car prototypes handed to members of the public for evaluation. As part of the project, called Drive Me, 100 of the prototypes, all of them based on the XC90 SUV, would be lent out to participating customers in Gothenburg, Sweden...

Jaguar Land Rover is leading the development of an innovative 8-speed transmission that can combine dual-clutch, hybrid and low-range elements all in the one unit. The development is being handled by a five-member research group called Transmission Supply Chain Excellence for Next-Generation...

Before you start shaking your head and shouting "No!" at your computer screen and preparing an angry email about how stupid we are, hear us out. Our host Jason Fenske from Engineering Explained is referring to the addition of weight when traction is limited, such as in snowy or icy conditions. In...

Tesla [NSDQ:TSLA] on Sunday provided the first details on a software update that addresses some of the shortcomings of its semi-autonomous driving aid known as Autopilot. The company said the Version 8.0 update will be released in the next two weeks. The changes included in the update were prompted...

According to McLaren’s head designer, future wheel patterns will be radically different to what we’re used to seeing. Speaking with Motoring, McLaren design boss Frank Stephenson said his team is looking at asymmetrical wheel patterns inspired by the root systems of trees...

Kia has taken the increasingly unusual step of developing its own automatic transmission, a new 8-speed that debuts in the automaker's Cadenza sedan set to arrive in dealers within the next couple of weeks. In the Cadenza, the 8-speed mates to a 3.3-liter V-6—but it's safe to assume that the...

Life is too short to lap massive parking lots looking for open spaces. That's why Mercedes-Benz, along with automotive supplier giant Bosch, announced last week that its cars would eventually be able to detect empty spaces and share the info with other Mercedes cars that are nearby, looking for...

Virtual Reality is, well, pretty much here right now. You can buy an Oculus. There's a headset that comes with a Samsung phone. If you wander the halls at the next Consumer Electronics Show, you'll be surrounded by a sea of developers creating worlds for virtual reality exploration. Audi is getting...

For some time now, Jason from Engineering Explained has been teaching us about all areas of our shared passion—and now we get to share in something a little more personal. His method of clearly explaining seemingly complex mechanical and technical parts of a car is both enjoyable and...

BMW in 2015 launched a version of its M4 equipped with a water-injection system. The technology, available in the aftermarket for years, is able to boost output while also improving efficiency, the downside being the added weight and inconvenience of a water tank that owners will have to top up...