The Truth About Cars » Technology

Will Virginia Tech Make The Blind To Drive?

Edward Niedermeyer — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:06:11 +0000

“What are you, blind?” It’s got to be one of the motorist’s most-used phrases, but it’s also clearly a rhetorical one. Of all the hardships that come with visual impairment, the inability to drive is surely one of the most frustrating, especially in car-centric cultures like the US. Nearly a decade ago the National Federation [...]

Supercritical Fuel Injection Development Promises More Efficient Combustion

David Holzman — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:34:59 +0000

It seems political forces are pushing us towards EVs long before EVs are ready for prime time. “California has enormous power over the future of vehicles in this country,” and California regulators want to dump carbon, Tom Baloga, of BMW of North America told a packed audience at a session on EVs at an MIT [...]

VW And Porsche To Set Up Major Research Center In Qatar

Bertel Schmitt — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:35:37 +0000

Volkswagen and Porsche will set up a research and development center in Qatar, reports Arabian Business. Yes, you did read right, Qatar. Qatar Holding has signed a memorandum of understanding with Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP), Volkswagen and Porsche. According to the MOU, research and development, testing and training facilities will be built [...]

Hyundai Turns Blue

Cammy Corrigan — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:34:06 +0000

Volkswagen’s range of BlueMotion cars are their flagship “Look at us! We’re bluegreen!” vehicles. They employ techniques like a remapped engine, longer gear ratios and better aerodynamics to wring the last bit of mpg out of an ICU. The Blue Oval of Ford has the EcoBoost systems which are engines with a turbocharger or direct injection. [...]

Volkswagen’s Elektroshock

Bertel Schmitt — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:24:19 +0000

Financial Times calls “Volkswagen a long-time sceptic about hybrid and electric cars.” However, the pink sheet announces that Wolfsburg “has officially shifted gears.” That VW had been a sceptic is an understatement. Despite green initiatives for public and political consumption, internally, they laughed about hybrids and electrics. Their private position was that the consumption and [...]

Braking News: Runaway Prius Saved By CHP – Video

Paul Niedermeyer — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:00:00 +0000

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Ask The Best And Brightest: Mandatory Brake Overrides?

Edward Niedermeyer — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:27:48 +0000

[video NSFW for language] In testimony before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Energy and Transportation, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said he was “looking at the possibility of recommending” mandatory brake override systems on all new vehicles sold in the US. Given the congressional hysteria about auto safety in the past few weeks (not to mention the [...]

The Eternal Quest To Explain The Unknown

Bertel Schmitt — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 13:26:26 +0000

A quiet Sunday. Time to fire up Google and put in “Toyota AND [cause OR reason].” We come up with ample explanations why Toyota is not called Toyoda. Or why Peiping turned into Peking, and then into Beijing. What about the causes of sudden acceleration? Let’s see what we find. (If you have other things [...]

Dr. Gilbert Explains His Research Into Toyota Electronics

Edward Niedermeyer — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:37:22 +0000

Key quote: “What I have done is, I have shown that in the fault detection strategy of the Toyota systems, there’s a window of opportunity where [an error] could occur and not be detected.”

NHTSA Has Electrical Engineers… But Where?

Edward Niedermeyer — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:13:41 +0000

Before Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood even took the stand before the House Energy Committee, the Washington Post [via TheCarConnection] reported that: NHTSA officials told investigators that the agency doesn’t employ any electrical engineers or software engineers. Down on the Potomac, zingers like that go over like an ounce of catnip in a phone booth full of rowdy [...]

New VW Polo GTI “Textbook Engine Downsizing” Yields 25% Reduction Of Fuel Consumption

Paul Niedermeyer — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:35:29 +0000

The benefits of gasoline engine downsizing has its latest poster child: the new Polo GTI. It’s a graphic example of why diesel market share in Europe is declining, especially in smaller cars: a 25% reduction on the European mileage standards, without any loss of performance. The GTI’s 1.4 liter TSI produces 177 hp (132kW), exactly [...]

Has ABC News Found The Ghost In Toyota’s Machine?

Edward Niedermeyer — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:39:09 +0000

Ever since Toyota’s recent problems hit “frenzy” level on our mainstream media monitoring system, speculation has been rampant that some mysterious electronic problem was at the root of the unintended acceleration scandal. We’ve been wary of jumping on the “ghost-in-the-machine” bandwagon, for a number of reasons, chief among which is the fact that it seems [...]

The Problem With Start-Stop Systems

Edward Niedermeyer — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:52:16 +0000

For an industry under ever-increasing pressure from government emissions standards, start-stop technology (which shuts off engines under idling conditions) seems like an easy route to improved fuel efficiency. Cheaper and less complicated than a true hybrid system, a number of automakers from BMW to Kia are proliferating start-stop technology across their product lines without hybrid-like [...]

Jaguar Land Rover To Downsize To Two Platforms

Edward Niedermeyer — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:40:11 +0000

There are changes afoot at Tata Motors’ Jaguar/Land Rover division, since CEO David Smith departed the company and former Tata CEO Ravi Kant stepped in temporarily. Smith likely left over planned cuts to JLR’s UK production capacity, and now that former Opel boss Carl-Peter Forster and BMW exec Ralf Speth have taken the reigns [via [...]

Fiat Launches Two-Cylinder Engine For European 500

Edward Niedermeyer — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:03:12 +0000

As much grumbling as there is among US-based enthusiasts about increasing efficiency standards, Europe’s emissions requirements are yielding even stranger fruit than mere V6-powered Porsche Panameras. One such product of the conintental obsession with downsizing: Fiat’s new TwinAir engine, available this summer on European-spec Fiat 500s. The 900 cc turbocharged twin generates 85 horsepower while [...]

A Note From The Editor On Our Most Recent Review

Edward Niedermeyer — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:28:38 +0000

Today’s review of the Fiat Bravo is more than just a unique look at a European-market vehicle that will never be sold in the United States: it’s an(other) early look at the future of Chrysler. Sergio Marchionne has called the C and D segments “critical” for US-market success, and the C-Evo platform that lies beneath [...]

BMW and PSA Sign 4-Cylinder Cooperation Extension

Cammy Corrigan — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:29:56 +0000

With BMW feeling very small in a big fish’s pond, you’d think that BMW would be scrambling to make friends with bigger fish in order to survive. Well you’d be right. Canadian Business report that BMW have reaffirmed their co-operation with Peugeot-Citroen in order to develop an engine which will help both parties meet Europe’s [...]

IIHS: Hand-Held Cell Phone Bans Don’t Work

Edward Niedermeyer — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:56:17 +0000

The Highway Loss Data Institute, an affiliate of the Insurance Institutes For Highway Safety, reports that an audit of insurance claim filings shows no reduction in claim amounts in states with bans on cell phone use in cars. According to the report: HLDI researchers calculated monthly collision claims per 100 insured vehicle years (a vehicle year [...]

Toyota Scratches The Surface With New Clearcoat

Cammy Corrigan — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:47:01 +0000

Collisionrepairmag.com reports that AzkoNobel, a chemicals company from the Netherlands, has teamed up with Toyota to create Sikkens Autoclear LV, a scratch resistant, self healing clearcoat. The product has been approved by Toyota for use on the Lexus LS range as an aftermarket clearcoat to be used at Toyota dealerships and Toyota affiliated collision repair [...]

Denso Jumping Into Sync Wars

Edward Niedermeyer — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 20:00:24 +0000

Automotive News [sub] reports that supplier giant Denso, which is 23 percent owned by Toyota, will launch a competitor to Ford’s Sync system. The system, named Blue Harmony, will provide music, directions, e-mail, Internet radio, news headlines and other driver distractions through a touchscreen on the center of the instrument panel, according to Denso sources. [...]

Perennial Wankel Woes Holding Up New RX-7

Cammy Corrigan — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:02:42 +0000

A few weeks ago, I wrote about Mazda’s new RX-7, scheduled for release in 2011. Well, that now looks unlikely. In fact, Mazda have put the release date as unknown, ushering the wankel warrior into the dreaded category known as development hell. Autocar reports that the development of Mazda’s new RX-7 is plagued with problems. The [...]

Detroit’s Tech Wars

Cammy Corrigan — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:04:19 +0000

After registering a 33% increase in sales for December 2009 (albeit with a rumored 35 percent fleet mix), Ford aren’t letting the grass grow under their feet. industry.bnet.com reports that GM and Ford are to announce the updated versions of their in-car communications systems. Ford announced first that their “Sync” system is turning more towards [...]

Kia Uvo Syncs To Ford’s Level

Edward Niedermeyer — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:24:28 +0000

Amid the cries of shock around the blogosphere at the sudden death of the Kia Borrego, another tidbit of more consequential Kia news remains undercovered. And it’s actually bigger Ford news than anything else. Ford had deal with Microsoft for exclusive access to the technology underlying its Sync system. But with Ford’s 18 month term [...]

Mazda: EPA Test Keeps Stop-Start Out

Edward Niedermeyer — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:32:01 +0000

Idle-stop technology, which turns off a car’s engine instead of idling, is available from a number of automakers in the European and Japanese markets. Mazda claims nearly half of its Mazda3 compacts and Biante minivans sold in Japan are ordered with the $500 option, as consumers seek out fuel economy improvement without the cost of [...]

A Renaissance For The Automotive Steam Engine?

Paul Niedermeyer — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 03:08:41 +0000

The steamer is the granddaddy of all engines, dating back some 2,000 years. All of the earliest “cars” were steamers, and the golden age of steam cars in the teens and twenties resulted in some fabulously refined vehicles. The Stanley was very successful and set the world speed record in 1906 that was only broken [...]