Articles about Car Tech

There was a time when I could figure something out, just plain figure it out of raw data, then blurt my conclusions out to the world through this rag just to see what would happen. And what would inevitably happen was a thousand experts would pipe up just to tell me to pipe down, saying that I was too frigging stupid to read, much less write. Except occasionally I got it right (pure luck) so, damn it, they had to keep reading my work. Well I’m back to try again and here it comes: When the history of autonomous cars is written, the winner will be Tesla. Heck, I think it’s already won.

Autonomous cars are like the graphical user interface, object-oriented programming, the Internet, or yet another K-pop boy band: you can know in advance they are coming and will define the future, you just can’t be quite certain when they will arrive or exactly what they will look like. We all now know there will come a time when most cars will be electric and they will be able to drive themselves. The only question is when will this finally happen?

Continue reading →

Have you ever seen someone with a dashcam in their vehicle and wondered why they have such a thing? No, they are not just obsessed with recording every aspect of their life -- a dashcam has actual benefits. For instance, if you are in a car accident, or someone with road-rage attacks you (it happens), the recording could provide evidence to show to the police or an insurance company. It's one of those things that you don't think you need -- until you do.

Today, Transcend launches a new dashcam that is chock-full of features and nice specifications. Called "DrivePro 10," it features a small and attractive body that should look quite stylish in your car, truck, or SUV. It comes with an adhesive mount for your windshield and is powered by micro USB -- a "lighter" adapter is included in the box. If you prefer, an optional accessory allows you to hardwire it directly to your vehicle's fuse box for power.

Continue reading →

While video games on PCs and consoles can be great, the titles released for smartphones are often quite bad. On-screen controls can be inaccurate and hard to use, leading to a very frustrating experience. Alternatively, developers can "dumb down" their games for mobile with simpler controls, but this often makes them nothing more than time-wasters -- something to do while sitting on the toilet, for instance.

Today, Turn 10 Studios (a Microsoft-owned game studio) releases Forza Street for iOS and Android. The racing game is "free" to play, which is cool, but sadly, it does offer in-game purchases to try and suck some money from your wallet. I installed it on my iPhone, and from what I can tell, the game kind of stinks. In my time "racing" I didn't even get to steer the car! Seriously. Instead, you just hold down a virtual gas pedal. Around turns, you let go of the pedal when the road turns yellow and then hold it down when it turns yellow again. That's pretty much it -- that seems to be the game. Maybe it gets better later, but I won't be finding out. Does the game look good? Absolutely. Is it fun? Heavens, no!

Continue reading →

Have you ever known someone with a smelly car? Of course you have. We have all experienced a terrible aroma coming from a friend or family member's vehicle at some point in time. I have gotten into many a stank NYC taxi cab in my lifetime. Hell, maybe it is your car that stinks! These terrible odors can come from many places too. For instance, the driver could have forgotten to apply deodorant to his/her armpits, there may be 20 empty White Castle burger boxes in the back seat, or worst of all, the car's owner may be a cigarette smoker -- yuck!

What is to be done about a car that smells so horrific? Well, many people buy air fresheners for their vehicle, such as those iconic cardboard trees that hang from the rear view mirror. For the most part, they work -- by masking odors, at least. Let's be honest though, those things just look tacky and trashy. They also signal to the world that you may have an odor problem.

Continue reading →

Twenty percent. A fifth. One in five. That’s how many stalled cars it would take to completely gridlock the Island of Manhattan in New York City. And according to a recent study from Georgia Tech on the impact of a large scale cyberattack against connected vehicles, that’s the more optimistic number. It could go even lower when you factor in traffic flow from side streets and the human propensity towards panic when we feel trapped or boxed in.

Basically, it would be the world’s worst traffic jam, with even emergency vehicles unable to move. And it would all start with a massive, system-wide attack against the Over the Air (OTA) software update mechanisms present in many modern, highly connected cars -- like those made by Tesla.

Continue reading →

Distracted driving isn't just stupid, it is dangerous too. If you aren't paying attention, instead opting to look at your smartphone while in the driver's seat, you aren't only risking your life, but more importantly, the lives of countless other drivers sharing the road with you. Don't do it.

Thankfully, there have been huge improvements with hands free communication. Not to mention, thanks to virtual voice assistants, you can perform tasks without taking your eyes off the road too. The problem? Some people drive with their phone in their pocket, meaning the voice assistant can't hear its wake word, such as "Alexa" or "Hey, Google." This can also happen in loud environments, such as when music is playing or when kids are fighting in the backseat. A new product from Anker called "Roav Bolt" aims to improve the Google Assistant experience in the car.

Continue reading →

We all know people who seem to not like anything. There are very successful people who sometimes seem to have reached that success entirely through saying "no." I’m not that kind of person. I’m an optimist. I’m even a bit of a risk-taker. But I can’t say that we’re going to see anything beyond more beta tests of self-driving cars in 2019. So my Prediction #4 is that self-driving cars won’t hit the retail market in any fashion this year. We simply aren’t ready and probably won’t be for years to come.

The problem with self-driving cars isn’t the technology. Heck, we’ve had the technology pretty much whipped for the past decade. Throw-in all the more recent data collected by Google and -- especially -- all those Teslas on Autopilot and nearly all the kinks have been worked out of having cars drive themselves. Still, it won’t be allowed to happen because people are going to die, mainly because of idiot drivers.

Continue reading →

Nothing in life is certain except death, taxes, and an article appearing daily in the news either slating or praising millennials. Millennials, or Generation Y, are the group of people who were born between 1981 and 1996.  Opinions of millennials range from those claiming that they are everything wrong with our changing society, others that they are saving it. Millennials are arguably the most influential generation of consumers today, making smart, considered decisions all the time.

One such decision is their method of transport. Reports suggest that millennials are buying fewer cars than older generations, with 43 percent of them saying that having a car was a hassle. Cars used to be the ultimate status symbol, so why are so many millennials avoiding them? Is it sustainable living? The rise of Uber and Lyft? Are they holding on for connected cars? Or do they simply just not want to drive?

Continue reading →

Though you may have not noticed their arrival, autonomous vehicles are already here. While we currently experience automation’s convenience on a smaller scale -- like self-parking and lane-keeping capabilities -- fully-autonomous vehicles are projected to offer so much more. For example, fully-autonomous vehicles offer a potential for a 90 percent decrease in traffic fatalities. When you consider a stat like that, it’s no wonder many vehicle manufacturers and government officials are pushing for fully-driverless capabilities.

But a fully-autonomous future won’t become a reality on the efforts of vehicle development and manufacturing alone. Infrastructure updates, particularly in major U.S. cities, will be needed to accommodate these vehicles. As it stands, only six percent of these cities have a long-term infrastructure plan in place for autonomous vehicles to operate efficiently and safely. To create a safer tomorrow, infrastructure design needs to be addressed today.

Continue reading →

As far as I'm concerned, wireless charging is one of the greatest inventions of the last decade. OK, true, there is still a wire involved since the charger plugs into the AC outlet, but it is just so elegant to not need to plug a cable into your phone. Convenience aside, this will also reduce wear and tear on the port, potentially causing your device to last longer.

Case-maker X-Doria has a new wireless charger, but it is not designed for your home -- unless you live in your car, that is. Yes, the "Defense Helix Car Mount," as it is called, is designed for your vehicle. Not only does it charge your phone (both 7.5W and 10W), but it props it up on your dashboard too.

Continue reading →

Regardless of whether you’re completely lost or getting your kicks on Route 66, music has always been a staple of driving. Thanks to more modern technologies, like GPS, getting lost is harder to do than it was in the days of our parents.

Also, in this current generation, music has become easier than turning a dial and trying to tune in whatever radio station happens to be in the area you're passing through. Now we have our phones, SiriusXM and other options.

Continue reading →

Volkswagen recently revealed that it is exploring using an innovative form of distributed-ledger (i.e., blockchain) technology called the IOTA "Tangle" to deliver software updates to its autonomous cars.  The technology may be available to customers as early as Spring 2019. It’s just the latest in a seemingly unending stream of news about connected cars, a broad term that encompasses everything from cars with built-in GPS systems to fully autonomous, AI-driven semi trucks in the emergent IoT space.

While the topics of conversation are spanning everything from legislation to programming ethics, not enough air-time has been devoted to discussing exactly how the arrival of this new technology will change the charter for the IT teams who will be tasked with supporting the future of transportation.

Continue reading →

Whatever happened to baby steps?

Last week a 49 year-old Arizona woman was hit and killed by an Uber self-driving car as she tried to walk her bicycle across a road. This first-ever fatal accident involving a self-driving vehicle and a pedestrian has caused both rethinking and finger-pointing in the emerging industry, with Uber temporarily halting tests while it figures out what went wrong and Google’s Waymo division claiming that its self-driving technology would have handled the same incident without injury. Maybe, but I think the more important question is whether these companies are even striving for the correct goal with their cars? I fear that they are over-reaching and simply trying to do too much too soon.

Continue reading →

New data-driven services, strong light-weight materials and a rapidly built out infrastructure for EVs (Electric Vehicles) are trends impacting the automotive industry throughout 2018.

Stefan Issing, the Global Industry Director for Automotive at IFS, presents his industry predictions for the year ahead.

Continue reading →

Streaming media sticks have become an in-thing these days, with big releases from major players like Amazon and Roku. They plug into an HDMI port on any TV and bring you all sorts of entertainment goodness. The one drawback is that they aren't exactly mobile.

Now one company aims to change that, giving you all of your media on the go and just in time for a big travel season.

Continue reading →