The Truth About Cars » Gizmology

The Cost Of Additional Porsche (Li-ion) Lightness: $132/lb.

Paul Niedermeyer — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:54:20 +0000

Never one to shy away from expensive options, Porsche has announced that beginning in January 2010, a lithium-ion starter battery will be optional in the 911 GT3, GT 3 RS, and Boxster Spyder. Porsche is the first automaker to offer a li-ion SLI (starting, lighting ignition) battery, and given its cost, €1,904 (US$2,900), it may [...]

Anything To Forget You’re In A Chrysler

Edward Niedermeyer — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:50:45 +0000

Adding Lightness, Reducing Compromise

Edward Niedermeyer — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:28:30 +0000

Reading a long-term test of a stripped-and-slammed Renaultsport Mégane R26.R in evo Magazine, I couldn’t help but chuckle. In true enthusiast style, the author simultaneously bemoans the disappearance of such factory-racer hot-hatches and attempts to argue that they’re not really that impractical. Between the picture of the author’s bicycle sharing hatch space with a bright [...]

The Incredible Drifting Robot

Edward Niedermeyer — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:06:41 +0000

Stanford University bring us a little closer to the day when cars will come with a pre-programmed Nurburgring (or, in this case, Pikes Peak) lap time. [Hat Tip: Robstar]

Onstar Scares Edmunds

Edward Niedermeyer — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:19:04 +0000

Edmunds Editor-in-Chief Karl Brauer apparently shares our ambivalence about GM’s in-car nanny, Onstar. And not for paranoid reasons either. He explains: See, I like to think of myself as relatively self-sufficient. Sure, I’ll ask for help but I have to really need it first. However, on a semi-regular basis, when I’m in an OnStar-equipped car I find [...]

Ask The Best And Brightest: Is Onstar Worth The Spying?

Edward Niedermeyer — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:58:43 +0000

GM’s Onstar EV Lab recently invited Autobloggreen in for a preview of some of the Volt’s unique Onstar options. The upshot is that the GM-exclusive system will reach new levels of invasiveness, monitoring battery charge and temperature levels, as well as providing charging information. But beyond these Volt-related systems, ABG also reveals that Onstar monitored [...]

Car Not Exactly Like An iPod? There’s Some Pap For That

Edward Niedermeyer — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 18:16:46 +0000

Michael Copeland at Fortune has his priorities straight. “In my rusted jalopy, a 1991 Volvo 240 sedan, I have installed the future,” he boasts. His use of the “f-word” tells you he’s not talking about a V8, forced induction or any other fossil fuel-sucking upgrade. What then? An EV conversion? That would be too interesting. [...]

Ford Researching GPS Vehicle Tracking, Safety Features

Edward Niedermeyer — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:00:21 +0000

Ford has announced that research conducted jointly with Auburn University shows the promise of GPS in enhancing active safety features like stability control. According to Ford’s press release: Researchers have found potential for a GPS satellite to act as an early warning system that detects when a vehicle is about to lose control and communicate with [...]

The Evolution Of Internal Combustion: Thermal Energy Management

Edward Niedermeyer — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:06:44 +0000

With so much attention focused on next-next-gen, alt-energy auto technology, we enjoy highlighting the incremental changes that are making good old internal combustion engines more efficient. The latest evolution to show up on our radar screen is BMW’s development of a host of measures [via Green Car Congress] which it hopes will someday reduce the [...]

Do You Have The Right To Repair?

Dustin Stockton — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:15:21 +0000

Growing up my family owned a Jeep Wagoneer that consistently broke down towing our boat. My frugal parents couldn’t afford to have it repaired by a mechanic so my Pop dutifully bought the repair manual and spent his days off cursing under the hood in our driveway. He eventually grew so frustrated that he dropped [...]

Is Ford Out of Sync?

Edward Niedermeyer — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:45:14 +0000

The Detroit News is reporting that Ford is in a legal battle to control key patents related to its Sync hands-free information system. John Berry, who was let go by Ford in July, developed Sync’s cell phone connectivity system, which allows features like 911 Assist, Vehicle Health Reports and Traffic, and Directions and Information Services. [...]

The Truth About Blind Spots

Edward Niedermeyer — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:49:09 +0000

For $1,595, Ford will sell you a Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) which uses radar to detect vehicles approaching your “blind spot.” But, as Christopher Jensen points out at the New York Times, blind spots don’t have to exist in the first place. Summarizing an SAE paper on blind spot safety, he explains how to [...]

Eggsalad: New Automotive Power Outlet Needed

Robert Farago — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:46:43 +0000

TTAC Commentator eggsalad writes: In the 1950’s, everyone smoked. Car manufacturers installed electric cigarette lighters in every car. Not long after, a Very Smart Person took advantage of this universality and designed the Cigarette Lighter Plug. It was a brilliant way to get 12 volt power to all manner of accessories, from CB radios to cell [...]

Big Brother Eyes Pay-Per-Mile

Edward Niedermeyer — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:49:01 +0000

Electronic monitoring of motorists is gaining legitimacy, as the federal government explores a pay-per-mile road tax and California mulls pay-per-mile insurance. But will the possibility of improved efficiency and use-based taxation convince drivers to accept on-board electronic spies? Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood has already expressed his fondness for pay-per-mile road taxation, and the Chicago [...]

MT Fans Mustang Suspension Flames

Edward Niedermeyer — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:11:03 +0000

Motor Trend’s Angus MacKenzie recently got some seat time in the new Shelby GT500, and calls it “a pretty impressive piece — fast, loud, and blessed with the best steering ever in an American Car.” “But,” writes MacKenzie, “the thing that annoys me most about the GT500 — about the whole 2010 Mustang range, for [...]

MINI with a Big Mouth

Bertel Schmitt — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:03:23 +0000

In my many years as a ghostwriter for a leading exec of Volkswagen, there was one joke that was always shot down. Early VW navigation systems gave you the voice prompt “die Route wird berechnet.” Which translates to “the route is being calculated.” It could also be understood as “I’ll charge you for the whip.” [...]

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Car, iPhone Today

Stein X Leikanger — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 10:54:08 +0000

You’re a ZipCar customer. You have an iPhone in your pocket, and would like to know where the nearest available car is. You open the ZipCar application. The map shows you a wide selection of cars. You specify the type, the selection shows those. You touch the screen and reserve a car. As you get to where it’s parked, you [...]

New Toyota Prius Not iPod/iPhone/USB Compatible

Robert Farago — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:11:43 +0000

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot indeed. How could Toyota Prius, The Next Generation, not offer direct access to Apple’s technophile (technophobe?) gizmo? No USB paradise by the dashboard lights? True story, brought to you by PriusChat (motto: “Press our buttons”). “The USB integration won’t be available out of the factory until September, and it will only come with [...]

BMW Developing Navigation Nanny That Learns

Martin Schwoerer — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:44:33 +0000

Ford: Distract Smarter, Not Harder

Edward Niedermeyer — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 19:44:10 +0000

Ford has released a study (via PR Newswire) that shows its proprietary (for now) SYNC system reducing the amount of time spent looking away from the road while performing tasks that probably shouldn’t be done while driving anyway. Want to find a new song on your iPod while doing 65 on the freeway? Ford says [...]

Turbohybrid Beats The Battery. Sort Of.

Edward Niedermeyer — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 22:59:16 +0000

The vocabulary used to classify hybrid drivetrains has been lagging considerably behind new developments, as Wikipedia’s article on the matter proves. The old parallel, serial, mild and plug-in hybrid categories do little to illuminate public understanding of the underlying technology, and much to confuse it. Enter the BYD Dual-Mode, VW “Twindrive” and, now, the AVL [...]

Have A Car? Have An iPhone?

Edward Niedermeyer — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 21:12:20 +0000

If you answered yes to both questions, chances are you’re feeling relatively isolated from the economic pressures of the recession. Congratulations! Now go treat yourself to one of these iPhone applications compiled by CarType. Thanks to the power of Steve Jobs you can now shop for car insurance, look up the lowest gas prices in [...]

Reasons to be Cheerful, Part One

Robert Farago — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 14:15:54 +0000

“The front suspension is operated by a wireless remote control unit by the driver. It enables the car’s front suspension to rise by 55mm enabling it to negotiate obstacles such as car park ramps, speed humps, high kerbs etc. without expensive damage to the front spoiler or underside of the car. If the [...]

Obama Gets 8mpg

Robert Farago — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 03:14:12 +0000

AT&T To Launch In-Car Satellite TV

Robert Farago — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 04:10:51 +0000

Kids rule, telecoms drool. In this case, AT&T figures pester power will entice car owners to stump-up $1299 and $28 a month for an in-car satellite TV system. That and installation charges for a roof-mounted antenna pod thingie that will do for automotive aerodynamics what the Olsen twins did for the food pyramid. AT&T calls the [...]