If portable navigation pushed aside in-dash systems by being less expensive and able to move from car to car, then iPhone nav apps are using the same advantages to replace portables. And iPhone nav apps are also more convenient since a car owner only has to carry one device instead of two, and many offer features such as Internet-connected POI search and automatic mapping software updates.
But iPhone apps have their disadvantages: The screens are even smaller than those of portables and they take up lots of memory and drain an iPhone's battery much faster.
Mercedes-Benz today launched a new telematics system, called mbrace. The system is supplied by Hughes Telematics and replaces Tele Aid, which the automaker has offered for the last decade. It allows owners to keep track of their cars via apps for an iPhone, BlackBerry or other smart phone, as well as offers other app-friendly features.
The system is available on all new Mercedes vehicles and is free for the first six months after purchase. After this initial teaser time period it will cost $280 a year for the basic mbrace service and an extra $20 a month for an mbrace PLUS package that adds a live concierge service that can provide restaurant reservations and locate of other services, Point of Interest download and location-based weather and traffic reports.
But the breakthrough feature of mbrace is what Mercedes calls "connected services." Using a smart phone, owners can remotely lock and unlock their cars (as long as they don't leave the phone inside, of course), locate a vehicle on a map on the phone's screen or even take advantage of concierge services while away from the car.
With Volvo recently announcing HD Radio as a standard feature on all of the company's vehicles and BMW and Mercedes Benz already on board the HD Radio bandwagon, more cars are available with the technology than ever before. Now owners of the latest iPhone or iPod touch and any vehicle with an aux-in, iPod integration or Bluetooth wireless music streaming will be able to listen to HD Radio on the car's stock stereo system, thanks to a new app.
For several years Chrysler has been the only automaker offering satellite TV as an add-on option for its rear-seat entertainment systems, and now it will be the only automaker offering broadcast TV as well. The service will be provided by FLO TV, which was developed by Qualcomm, and offers around 20 channels, including CBS, NBC, Fox News, MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon.
Audiovox will supply the hardware for the Chrysler system, which will be available for through the company's Mopar parts division as a dealer-installed option. Audiovox introduced the product at the Consumer Electronics Show last January and recently announced that it will soon launch it nationwide through the Audiovox brand Advent's "expeditor" network, which works with car dealerships -- not just Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep dealers. Possibly at a price that could undercut Chrysler.
Autonet Mobile and General Motors last week announced a deal to bring on-the-road Internet to the rest of the domestic automaker's brands: Chevrolet, Buick and GMC. The pair previously made the service available on Cadillac vehicles last spring.
Positioned as a tool for business people on the go who need to stay connected, the service also makes a great backseat babysitter for the connected-tech generation. If rear-seat entertainment system with a built-in DVD player kept kids quiet a decade ago, as teens they probably now prefer texting friends on their iPhones.
In a move that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, Ford has partnered with electronics retail giant Best Buy to help car owners connect their mobile phones with the automaker's Sync system.
Best Buy will be offering the service through its Best Buy Mobile division, which sells mobile phones and wireless plans, as well as through the retailer's Geek Squad, which also offers car electronics installation -- and sells competing aftermarket products.
As Volvo's first dedicated crossover, the 2010 XC60 has helped the Swedish automaker move further away from its dowdy and outdated image of building only safe and sturdy but bland and boxy vehicles. With the XC60, Volvo has created a sexy and sporty crossover while bolstering the company's reputation for innovative safety technology and also offering the kind of cool gadgets that appeal to geeks as well as regular folks.
The T6 AWD version that we tested (sticker $44,240) had all the bells and whistles: premium audio, navigation, Bluetooth and safety and convenience features galore. But we found that the vehicle's tech experience can be very hit or miss.
Remotely start your car to get it nice and toasty in the winter or chill it in the heat of summer? There's an app for that.
Directed Electronics releases its free Viper SmartStart iPhone app today, which works with stand-alone Viper remote starter systems or can be added to most existing Viper alarm systems with remote start. It works with the iPhone or with an iPod touch via WiFi, allowing owners to crank the engine, lock and unlock the doors, pop the trunk or cause the horn or a siren to sound with the panic button.
Viper claims that unlike keychain remote start systems, the iPhone app has "unlimited range" as long as the SmartStart and iPhone have a signal. The system will be sold exclusively at Best Buy stores.
Any car lover who also cares about music knows that luxury automakers have significantly stepped up their audio offerings in the past few years. The result has been an unprecedented number of high-end automaker/audio-brand hook-ups.
Our inquisitive and competitive natures got us wondering which of these systems is best. So we rounded up six luxury cars with marquee-brand systems and listened to them over the course of several days. The feature High-End Stock Stereo Sound-Off highlights each system's strength and weakness and which ones we liked best.
Our reference for judging these systems? Decades of collective experience evaluating audio system and components for esteemed (and now mostly extinct) enthusiast publications such as Audio, Stereo Review, Car Audio and Electronics, Car Stereo Review, Mobile Entertainment and Sound & Vision. We also set up an in-office system composed of high-end home audio gear to use as a reference and give the Edmunds editorial staff a basis by which to evaluate the sound of stock car stereo systems.
The Infiniti FX35 isn't for everybody. Compared to more cookie-cutter crossovers, the FX35 -- with its rakish rear pillar and unorthodox exterior styling -- exudes the attitude that it can take you on a ride that other crossovers can't. Why else would Edmunds' staff of normally circumspect scribes have fallen for the FX35's higher-end sibling, the FX50, as evidenced by the many Long-Term Road Test blog posts.
While the FX35 we tech tested doesn't have the full complement of cool tech that our LT FX50 is laden with, it has plenty of bells and whistles to go along with its exterior bling and performance prowess. But all these extras don't come cheap and are packaged so that you can't cherry-pick what you want. Our test vehicle topped out at $46,955 after starting out at $40,950, with the extra $5k consisting of two pricey but extensive options packages.
Add to the growing list of car-specific iPhone apps DangerZones, which pinpoints the locations of over 200,000 traffic fatalities across the U.S. The developer of the app claims that it culls five years worth of motor vehicle fatality data to tip drivers off to trouble spots along their routes and commutes and also displays stats and graphics to communicate specific road risks, federal and state laws, the most dangerous days to drive and more.
The app uses Google Map technology and GPS to keep track of your current location and will display up to 1,000 DangerZones. Vehicle fatality data is also automatically updated as it becomes available.
You probably can't find two vehicles that are more alike than the 2010 Toyota Prius and 2010 Honda Insight -- and not based on looks alone. Some of the most cross-shopped competitors, when you look at the tech amenities of the two hybrid hatchbacks-- and how much they cost fully loaded with all the bells and whistles -- they start to stand apart. Way apart.
First there's the huge discrepancy in price; a fully loaded Prius V costs $32,720 compared to the top-of-the-line Insight EX with Navigation that goes for $23,770. So you would think that tech-wise you'd get much more for your money with the Prius. But that's not always the case, as we found in a recent feature story in which we compared the two cars' tech amenities side by side.
In bringing the Challenger back in full fire-breathing glory, Chrysler intentionally played on the car's past and the memories of muscle car enthusiasts by giving it a blatantly retro design. But not the in-cabin electronics.
If someone -- say, a car enthusiast we'll call '60s Muscle Car Man -- got stranded on a deserted island for 30 years, he would no doubt instantly recognize the 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8 we recently tech-tested. But he would probably have no idea what the screen in the dash is for. (If he guessed a mini TV, he would be partly correct.) Or why all the buttons on the steering wheel are there. Or even what he's supposed to do with the key fob.
But he would be amazed when he found out. And most modern admirers and potential buyer may be too.
Almost every car company these days offers premium branded stereo systems, or at least upgraded audio options. But how do you know if the promise of better sound is worth the extra dough?
The short answer is simple: Just listen and your ears will tell you. But first you have to know what to listen for and what to listen to. In a recent feature article titled Sound Advice, we detailed how we critically evaluate a stereo system and the criteria and music we use to do it.
But you don't need years of experience or specialized test tracks to decide if a car stereo system meets your own standards when shopping for a car. You just have to know how to listen critically.
Any parent will tell you how challenging a long road trip can be with kids. Fortunately, there's now all manner of electronic backseat babysitters to keep them entertained on an extended family drive: DVD-based rear-seat entertainment (RSE) systems, portable videogame consoles, iPods and even WiFi-connected computers.
But if you want live TV to help keep the kids from pinching or punching one another, there's still very few choices. Over-the-air reception is still spotty, with better service always on the horizon. And while some Chrysler vehicles with RSE systems also offer Sirius Backseat TV and the service can also be added through the aftermarket, it only provides three channels. Other aftermarket satellite TV systems for the car, such as TracVision A7 from KVH Industries, offer more channels but require a huge antenna that only fits large vehicles like SUVs or minivans.
RaySat's satellite TV service for the car, AT&T CruiseCast, hopes to fill the gap between these options by offering a system with an antenna small enough to fit on any vehicle and at a lower price than other sat TV systems.
On a recent extended-weekend road trip with the family, I found that CruiseCast worked well and kept the kids quiet and content on a 10-hour drive. But that calm in the car comes at a price.
Volvo is offering a 3-month trial subscription of the Sirius Everything package on certified pre-owned Volvos sold after today. That's half the trial time that the company's new 2010 vehicles will offer.
Families thinking of a CPO Volvo (and tired of listening to the whining) can use a $299 aftermarket kit to add Sirius' Backseat TV. The $6.99/mo. upgrade streams live Nickelodeon, Disney Channel and Cartoon Network to the kiddies while front seaters listen, gratefully, to more intelligent fare. Viva la difference.
TomTom was the first to announce a turn-by-turn navigation app for the new iPhone 3GS, with a company representative even appearing onstage at Apple's World Wide Developers Conference in June, where the latest version of the phone was unveiled. But by the time TomTom released its nav app yesterday, which also works with the original iPhone 3G and includes mapping for the U.S. and Canada, several others had already hit the street.
So why would you want to spend $99.99 on the TomTom app -- so far the most expensive -- as opposed to paying a little more for a portable nav? And how does it compare to other nav apps?
As we've grown accustomed to more technology in our cars - everything from Bluetooth phone and iPod control to GPS navigation, live traffic and backup cameras - the tricky part is a friendly interface to control all of it. Just ask BMW, which took years to sort out its iDrive interface.
Pioneer's new flagship AVIC-Z110BT navigation receiver ($1,799) provides easy in-car access to the features we use most. After several years of the aftermarket playing catch-up to impressive and ever more integrated technology offerings from the OEMs (Sync, anyone?), Pioneer has leapt ahead with a customizable touchscreen interface - similar to a Windows desktop - allowing you to show only the icons (and features) you use most often.
Telematics has been dominated by OnStar since the service first launched over a decade ago. And while other automakers, including BMW and Mercedes, offer their own telematics systems, OnStar has become the Kleenex or Xerox of the field and synonymous with telematics service.
Even if most car buyers have no idea what the term "telematics" means, when they think of features such as automatic crash notification, remote door unlocking and other off-board safety and convenience services, they think of OnStar, thanks to the GM-owned company's massive marketing efforts.
But OnStar is facing increasing competition. Ford launched its 911 Assist service in December 2008 by including it on all new Sync-equipped vehicles, and owners of most '08 and '09 Sync-equipped vehicles can get the service by having a dealer upgrade the system's software for a nominal fee.
Meanwhile, Lexus -- a former customer of OnStar with its Lexus Link telematics service, which will continue in "legacy" mode on models still in service -- recently launched its Enform with Safety Connect system on the new 2010 HS 250h hybrid and, like Ford, plans to eventually include it in all of its cars.
While it isn't feasible for us to test the crash-notification aspects of telematics systems -- at least not with the press cars we drive -- we checked out the latest convenience services offered for Ford's Sync system and Lexus Enform that best compete with OnStar. And we found that while Ford takes a radically different approach, Lexus plays it safe but throws in a few unique features.
One of the goals of our recently created Car Audio and Electronics
Center is to help cover -- in plain English -- the explosive growth of safety, communication and entertainment technology in today's automobiles. Alerting consumers to the latest products, and distilling their technical features into clearly understandable language is the challenge as more opportunities become available to car owners.
One product that has been available for some time that can massively improve the sound quality of your car's stereo is the Stealthbox Subwoofer from JL Audio. The Stealthbox is designed to add high-quality bass to your car's audio system, with little sacrifice in terms of luggage/storage space or the looks of your car's interior.
Case in point -- and the rather organic looking structure to the right -- is the new Stealthbox for the 2009-2010 Honda Pilot.
Used to be that if you wanted the best possible sound system for your new car -- and the most for your money -- you took it to a car audio store, yanked out the crappy stock stereo and replaced it with higher quality aftermarket components. Even after automakers began offering premium branded stereo systems, the aftermarket still provided better performance and dollar-for-dollar value.
But times, vehicles, and listening habits have changed and a perfect storm of factors have made aftermarket car stereo start to go the way of the CRT computer monitor. Stock systems are highly integrated into the car's electronic architecture, making them difficult to extract. Preference on the part of consumers has shifted more to quantity over quality thanks to the iPod. And we've found that for the same amount of money you can now get a good -- if not better -- audio system from an automaker compared to what the aftermarket offers.
iPod integration and Bluetooth add-ons have sustained car stereo dealers in recent years, but adding safety technology to cars could be the next boom for the aftermarket. And a boon to consumers.
Products like Mobileye's new C2-170 Advanced Warning System (pictured above) offer safety features found mainly on higher-end cars, and at least one well-known car audio company is poised to move into the territory.
The latest and greatest automotive technology should help you do something you may normally do anyway, only more easily and safely. We are talking about having a nav system read directions to you out loud instead of glancing at a paper map or dialing a number by voice instead of punching it into a mobile phone while driving.
And, as we pointed out in a recent feature article, this also includes using a rearview camera to check that there's nothing behind you before backing up, instead of getting out of the car to make sure that the coast is clear or you have enough space.
OnStar has added another stolen vehicle service to its growing arsenal. Called Remote Engine Block, it allows OnStar to remotely send a a signal to a subscriber's vehicle to prevent it from restarting once the ignition is turned off.
The service will be available on select 2009 and 2010 GM vehicles in the U.S. and Canada, and adds another layer of protection to what OnStar calls its Stolen Vehicle Assistance suite of services, which also includes Stolen Vehicle Slowdown that allows law enforcement to request OnStar to remotely reduce a vehicle's speed to idle to avoid high-speed chases.
And it comes at a time when OnStar is being pursued by new competition.
Handing the car keys to an inexperienced teen driver is one of the most stressful moments of child-rearing for any parent or guardian. Watching a teenager drive out of sight for the first time is a rite of passage akin to the ancient practice of sending a kid out into the wilderness to face a whole new world of dangers.
But thanks to technology, parents and caregivers can now ride shotgun with teen drivers. And as we reported in a recent feature article, there's a way to track a teen's behind-the-wheel behavior for almost every budget. Or level of parental paranoia.
You may have heard of the recent digital TV transition, with the plug finally being pulled on the decades-old, over-the-air analog broadcast television standard. There hasn't been too much hue and cry over the switch being thrown, so it seems as far as TV is concerned, we're now fully committed down the digital path. Local audio broadcasting has begun a similar trek, via HD Radio.
For those interested in sound quality that puts satellite radio to shame with no monthly fee, check out Doug Newcomb's latest feature on HD-Radio: No Static and No Subscription. For some background on the piece, we added an HD-Radio tuner to an existing car stereo setup, and you can find more details on the install after the jump.
It's a moment in-dash and portable navigation suppliers have likely been dreading: AT&T announced yesterday that its AT&T Navigator application is now available on the Apple App Store for the iPhone 3G and new iPhone 3GS. The turn-by-turn app, which is supplied by TeleNav, is the first for the all-powerful iPhone and it could shake up an already shakey navigation market, as the service migrates more and more towards handheld devices.
New Jersey was one of the first states to outlaw handheld mobile phone use while driving, and now a state legislator wants to ban using a navigation system while a vehicle is in motion. According to the Daily Record, Democratic Assemblyman Harvey Smith of Jersey City has introduced a bill that would make it a violation for a driver to enter a destination into a navigation system while a car is in motion, other than via voice activation. The fine would be $100 for each infraction.
Of course, it's never a good idea to punch a destination into a nav system while driving, and many stock systems make you pull over to engage this function, while most portable systems issue some type of warning on a welcome screen. But using a handheld cell phone behind the wheel, especially for text messaging, isn't either. And it's taken passing laws in several states to deter some people.
Which is why Smith, who is also undersheriff in Hudson County, wants to do the same thing with GPS nav systems in the Garden State. And it leads one to wonder where it's going to stop.
Pioneer Electronics showed off its 2009 lineup of AVIC in-dash navigation receivers this past weekend in Long Beach, CA, and it appears the new lineup has something for every budget. In response to some extensive market research, Pioneer announced that there are three priorities driving consumer interest of in-car electronics: "How do I get there?" "How do I communicate?" "How do I listen to music?"
Hit the jump to see how Pioneer is answering those questions.
Live TV in the car has proven as elusive as easy downloading of feature-length films from the Internet. As with movie downloads, satellite TV for the car has been available for several years, but the technology is also cumbersome, expensive and not quite ready for the mainstream. AT&T's CruiseCast mobile satellite TV, which launched June 1 just in time for the summer driving season, is seeking to solve these three thorny issues -- and two out of three ain't bad.
Working with RaySat, CruiseCast has managed to shrink the size of a satellite antenna so that you don't have to own an SUV or minivan to have the surface area required to mount one. And it's gotten the price down some: $1,299 for the equipment and $28 a month for the service, which offers 42 channels of live satellite TV, including Discovery, ESPN Mobile, Disney and Fox News.
But it may prove difficult for CruiseCast to achieve widespread acceptance at a time when most families are scaling back financially -- and less expensive options may be just up the road.
Bluetooth is like any other technology: It's very cool when it works and very frustrating when it doesn't. And the wireless hands-free phone technology can be very frustrating in the way compatibility and functionality vary from vehicle to vehicle.
While we here at Edmunds are in the unique position of driving a different vehicle sometimes on a daily basis, Bluetooth compatibility issues also affect people who drive the same car every day for years -- and even those in the Bluetooth business -- as revealed in a recent Edmunds feature story titled Bluetooth Blues.
The executive director of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, the trade association that promotes and oversees the technology, has compatibility issues in his own vehicle, for example. But we also discovered that the Bluetooth SIG is working with automakers to smooth out some of these snags and we point out steps you can take to make sure that your new car and your phone get along.
Rear-seat entertainment and video-graphics applications in the car could go hi-res once HD hits the road. And we're starting to see elements of automotive HD come together.
You know that portable navigation system you recently bought? The one that tells you where you are, where you want to go and finds every Starbucks along the way? Except for the hundreds that are now closed? Chances are the Points of Interest (POI) database in your portable nav system is months old, which is why new connected portable nav systems make even the latest non-connected systems seem as outdated as those clunky old car phones.
Sure, if you're only want to get from Point A to Point B then almost any old nav system will do. But if you want dynamic, up-to-date POI info -- using Google search, for example -- then you'll want to check out our test of four new connected portable navigation systems from Alpine, Insignia/Best Buy, TeleNav and TomTom.
And they do much more than just help you find a caffeine fix.
OnStar announced last week that it will use the 3D aerial imagery provided by Microsoft Virtual Earth to better guide first responders to the scene of accidents in rural and hard-to-reach areas.
The latest highlights from Edmunds.com and its blogosphere.
Auto Observer GM Loses $6 Billion in the First Quarter General Motors posted a first quarter loss nearly double the amount of its losses in Q1 2008, but still less than analysts had predicted. GM executives remain confident that ther viability plan will help them become profitable again- something they haven't managed since 2004. With the June 1 restructuring plan deadline on the horizon, GM CEO Fritz Henderson is saying that bankruptcy is becoming a more probable scenario. Even if things do head south for GM, enthusiasts can breathe a collective sigh of relief in the fact that the Corvette is safe in GM's restructuring plans.
Edmunds.com Automaker vs. Aftermarket Tech: Which Offers Better Value? Many automakers these days are offering brand name stereo, navigation, and entertainment systems in their vehicles as "premium" upgrades over the factory equipment. But is it any good, and are you better served by buying an aftermarket system? Which is the better deal? Senior Technology Editor Doug Newcomb tests out a number of scenarios to answer all these questions.
Edmunds Daily Full-Size Truck Comparison: Chevy vs. Ford vs. Dodge vs. Toyota You may have read Inside Line's comparison test of the four best full size pickups, but we dug a little deeper into the results and looked at it from consumer's perspective. Which truck is best for the daily commute? Which is the best for the rugged outdoorsman? And which is the best for a wide range of activities? Check out our comparison test to see which truck fits your needs.
Automakers have been aggressively muscling in on the aftermarket's dominance in car electronics for about 10 years now. A watershed moment for me was when Lexus linked up with the high-end home-audio brand Mark Levinson in 2000: It was the first time I thought that the sound quality of an OEM system could be seriously compared to what was available from the aftermarket. But you could still get something better from the aftermarket for the same amount of money.
What a difference a decade makes. Not only have auto-audio brand hookups proliferated, but car companies have taken the lead on several tech fronts, such as with the seamless iPod and Bluetooth integration offered by Ford's Sync system -- for which the aftermarket still hasn't come up with a better or less expensive alternative. Talk about a reversal of roles.
And although the aftermarket will always be the place to go if you want the utmost quality, maximum flexibility and the latest features, we wondered whether automakers or the aftermarket now offer the best value for the average consumer. So we considered four categories in which the two camps compete -- audio, rear-seat entertainment, navigation and Bluetooth -- to determine whether you get more for your money from automakers or the aftermarket.
While not an apples-to-apples comparison, our analysis gives a good indication of what it will cost on average to go each route. And the results we found in a recent feature story are surprising.
It's not just automakers pulling the plug in these dark economic times. Upstart portable nav supplier Navigon announced yesterday that it is exiting the U.S. market.
According to GPS Business News, Navigon quickly climbed to the number four position in the U.S. market in the first quarter of 2008 -- after launching only months before in September 2007.
But with prices for the least expensive portable navigation systems hovering near the $100 mark, cash-starved consumers aren't eager to spend extra on upscale systems like those from Navigon, which offered larger screens and enhanced features such as lane guidance and lifetime traffic info.
If you own a Navigon unit, the German company claims that it will continue to provide support to U.S. customers, such as supplying map updates. And Navigon plans to stay put in the States in order to increase its business in the growing mobile-phone nav market. The company recently inked a deal in its homeland with T-Mobile to provide a nav app on the carrier's smartphones, and it hopes to extend that alliance here.
Infiniti already offers an alphabet soup of innovative accident-prevention technologies: Lane Departure Warning (LDW), Lane Departure Prevention (LDP) and Distance Control Assist (DCA). The luxury car company recently gave Edmunds the opportunity to try out the next two layers of its "Safety Shield" concept -- Side Collision Prevention (SCP) and Back-up Collision Prevention (BCP) -- at the Nissan Technical Center North America in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Better known as NTCNA, of course.
Infiniti unveiled the two new technologies on its Essence concept at this year's Geneva Auto Show, but we got a chance to experience them firsthand in what the company calls its All-Around Collision-Free Prototype, a specially equipped FX50. While not yet scheduled to appear on production vehicles, SCP and BCP will eventually fill in a couple of gaps in Infiniti's Safety Shield and further help drivers avoid hitting other vehicles --- and pedestrians.
Automakers, suppliers, industry analysts and government officials from around the world converged on Detroit's Cobo Hall last week for the First International Summit on the State of the Connected Vehicle. The "ubiquitous connectivity" for cars envisioned by those in attendance is ambitious, complex, expensive and a bit creepy. But it's coming and will change the way we drive.
A writer at the tech blog Gear Live received a survey that indicates that OnStar could add Twitter feeds as a feature of the company's telematics service. The survey included the following:
"While in your vehicle, you can use OnStar to submit and retrieve tweets (messages) via your Twitter account. Using OnStar's Voice-Activated Hands-Free Calling system, and having your voice converted into text, you can provide updates which would appear in the "What are you doing?" section of your Twitter homepage. It is also possible to listen to a tweet that was sent to you by someone else after it has been converted into voice. You can send and receive tweets without having to type or read anything."
Does this mean that Twitter will soon come to the dashboard of GM cars? And is that a good thing? As Gear Live points out, maybe it would be if you're trying to find a pizza joint.
Or if you want to follow Edmunds EIC Karl Brauer's Tweets on Cars while behind the wheel.
Most navigation system suppliers provide map updates for a fee, of course. Now portable nav powerhouse TomTom is offering a Map Update Service for the U.S. market so that owners of the company's devices can affordably access one year of quarterly map updates for as low as $39.80 per year or $9.95 per map release, depending on the TomTom model and the age of the map the device is currently using.
The map updates can be downloaded via TomTom's HOME desktop software, and subscribers are automatically alerted when updates are available. TomTom claims that the service will make new maps available every quarter for the length of a subscription, and that each update will incorporate all changes validated by Tele Atlas, TomTom's mapping-software arm.
Map Update Service adds to TomTom's strong suite of software refreshes, including Map Share Technology that lets users make updates to the maps on their own device as well as obtain corrections made by other users, and the company's 30 Day Latest Map Guarantee that gives users free access to a new map if it becomes available within 30 days of first use of the device.
Hi, meet Bryn MacKinnon and Brent Romans, two editors at Edmunds.com. Each Wednesday in the Idle Chat Lounge (read: an oversized Ziggy beach towel on the grass in Brent's backyard), they pontificate on a topic that's kinda about cars.
Today's Idle Chat Topic: In our 2009 Audi A4 test drive published last week, Associate Editor Josh Sadlier described the car's optional navigation system as having an "absurdly stilted female voice" that evoked "images of alien landings." In its never-ending quest for automotive betterment, Idle Chat asks: What celebrity navigation voice would you want in the A4 instead?
Mr. Romans:
My initial reaction would be to have somebody fun, like Julie Kavner as Marge Simpson (she'd "mhrmm" every time you miss a turn) or John Madden ("Boom -- You're here!"). But I suspect that they'd get just as annoying as alien computer lady. So I'm going to have to go with Don LaFontaine
, the man who voiced thousands of movie trailers over a four-decade career. With Don navigating, every destination would be exciting as a Hollywood blockbuster. Alas, Don passed away last year, but in a world
where Audi has the technology to create alien computer lady, I'm sure we can parse Mr. LaFontaine's voice into the A4.
Ms. MacKinnon:
Brent, it's too hard to choose! I want Andy Garcia for sultry night drives, Steven Wright for deadpan hilarity, and Ernie and Bert when I have the kid in the car. And that's just for starters. So I demand that Audi give me unlimited options, because who knows what kind of mood I'm going to be in at any given moment? Incidentally, for a few years now, TomTom's has had a handful of celebrity voices available for purchase for use with its portable nav systems, but I'm not sure how long I could take the turn-by-turn stylings of Mr. T
.
Who would you pick to be the A4's celebrity voice navigator?
The USB interface has been quickly adopted by automakers as a way to connect devices such as iPods via systems like Ford's Sync or for directly accessing digital music and even pictures, as with Chrysler's uconnect tunes. Now a high-speed version is on the horizon that will transfer data at much faster rates.
But it also brings to fore the familiar auto-industry conundrum of keeping pace with the fast-moving consumer-electronics industry. And, of course, the costs involved with doing so.
The USB Implementers Forum has introduced SuperSpeed USB, which transfers data at 5 gigabits per second, as opposed to 480 megabits/second for High Speed USBs now widely in use -- or about 10 times faster. The new USB 3.0 standard should be available by the first quarter of 2010.
This comes as automakers have widely implemented USB 2.0 interfaces into cars, which market research firm iSuppli predicts will be available in a third of all 2009 U.S. vehicles, up 16 percent from 2008. According to SAE International Automotive Engineering Online, with the introduction of SuperSpeed USB, automakers will have to decide whether to begin designing the new standard into vehicles now, which is more costly, or stick with version 2.0 and add USB 3.0 as consumers start to create demand for it.
And risk being caught behind the technology curve.
Chrysler has become a symbol of a lot of what's wrong with the domestic auto industry, and the company is the odds-on favorite as the first of the Detroit Three to go belly-up. Chrysler's minivans have never gotten much love either and are often thought of as the butt of a joke.
But the company -- and its minivans -- are on the cutting edge tech-wise. The '09 Dodge Grand Caravan, for example, features some of the latest and greatest in-car technology available, including satellite TV and Rear Cross Path detection. The Caravan's rear-seat entertainment and uconnect Bluetooth hands-free phone systems are among the best in the business, and the vehicle can be equipped with Swivel 'n Go seating with a retractable table that folds out of the floor.
Backup cameras have been a boon to the those driving bulky vehicles with blind spots, and if some safety advocates have their way, the technology could become a standard feature
. But even without government intervention, backup cameras are finding their way into more vehicles besides SUVs and minivans.
A backup camera system makes perfect sense for the '09 Ford F-150, not only because the vehicle is so large, but it also makes lining up a trailer hitch a cinch. While I didn't get a chance to tow a boat or other fun toy, the backup camera did help me keep from taking out a couple of cars.
About this time of year, drivers living in northern climes are getting tired of trudging out on sub-freezing days to scrape ice and snow from their windshields. Even if your car has remote start or you go out before you leave to crank the engine and get the defroster going, it still takes time -- and freezing hands -- before you can see where you're going. Just ask Flikr user Endlisnis, whose car is shown above.
But Scientific American reports that a group of researchers in Lebanon, New Hampshire has come up with technology that electronically zaps ice off frozen surfaces in seconds without any scraping. Ice Engineering's Ice Interface Control Technology uses a quick jolt of electricity to immediately melt ice where it clings to an object and the company claims that once the bond is broken ice simply slides away.
The technology has been used on a cable bridge in Sweden since 2005 and it's being installed on a 107,639-square-foot glass dome over a shopping mall being built in Moscow.
But it makes us wonder what a large chunk of ice falling off the windshield might do to a car's paint job.
When I first started testing in-vehicle navigation systems over a decade ago, I always had to chuckle (and ignore) when a nav system would try to lead me down a road near my home that was a well-known shortcut before being washed out in a flood and never repaired -- more than 15 years before.
When I visited NAVTEQ a few years later, I was very impressed by the company's map-making operation and was told that their maps are constantly updated with input from field teams as well as tips sent in by users. Although I knew it was a bit of a setup, I asked my hosts if they could plot a route from my home address to a random point of interest.
Sure enough, the route went through washed-out Webb Trail in LA's Topanga Canyon, and I pointed out as politely as possible that the road didn't go through and was told that the maps would be updated ASAP. It took awhile, but after a year or so nav systems stopped trying to send me down a steep dead-end street that now ends in someone's yard. And I always felt sorry for the poor souls who didn't know any better, since trying to navigate the canyon's narrow side roads is tough enough.
While mapping errors will always occur -- along with floods, street closures and such -- at least now, in the era of crowdsourcing, updates can be made much more quickly with input directly from drivers. As Wired reports, the two main navigation mapping companies are increasingly relying on input from users to keep their databases up to date, and the trend will only continue as navigation maps become more accurate.
We've all seen the videos of crash-test dummies
being subjected to simulated auto accidents so that we can drive safer cars. But Ford has come up with a novel way to test its new Adaptive Cruise Control with Collision Warning with Brake Support
, a system that sounds a warning when adaptive cruise in engaged and the driver gets too close to a car in front and that also pre-loads the brakes for quicker stopping.
But it involves a lot of hot air. For blowing up balloons, that is.
In-dash navigation systems have been losing ground to portables
for several years since they almost always cost hundreds of dollars more. And because of the auto industry's long product development cycles, the technology and features of an automaker's in-dash system can be several years behind the times compared to a much cheaper portable available from the aftermarket.
But Harman and Mercedes hope to close that gap by developing a "hybrid" system that's a cross between a portable and in-dash system. Buried in a Harman International quarterly report released last week was a two-sentence description of the new system at the bottom of page three:
"Harman was selected by Mercedes-Benz to supply a hybrid mid-level navigation system combining the benefits of a conventional Portable Navigation Device with the complete functionality of a fully integrated in-dash infotainment system. The Company will supply this innovative system solution for eight Mercedes models starting in the latter half of 2010."
While this doesn't likely signal a return to the glory days of aftermarket car audio, it does mean that car shoppers could get more bang for their buck and more choices.
Live TV is one of the few remaining and pervasive consumer-electronics technologies that hasn't made it into the car. Analog TV has been available for decades, although the reception has always been spotty.
In recent years, several mobile satellite TV systems have hit the market from KVH, Sirius and, most recently, AT&T and Raysat. But they've either been too bulky, expensive or both. At the recent 2009 Consumer Electronics Show, Audiovox showed a new system called Flo TV that's less expensive and uses technology originally designed for mobile phones to send live television to an in-car receiver, but it also comes with a monthly fee.
It's a tragic number, and safety advocates have urged for years that it can be significantly reduced through the use of technology. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) released a study
this week that evaluates the rate of "backover deaths" and other non-traffic fatalities, and it found that 221 people were killed in 2007 by vehicles that were backing up and 14,000 were injured.
Ninety-nine of those deaths and 2,000 of the injuries involved children 14 and under, according to the NHTSA, and most of the accidents occurred in a driveway or parking lot.
In these economically tough times, consumers are looking closely at every cent they spend. So it may seem counter-intuitive to think that you can actually save money by spending it.
But that's the premise behind a recent Edmunds feature story that examines whether car owners can shave a few dollars off of their yearly driving costs by subscribing to a telematics system such as OnStar.
Our video team has put together two short but informative videos from the floor of the Detroit Auto Show about the highly anticipated 2010 Honda Insight and the FT-EV concept vehicle from Toyota. Senior Automotive Editor Brian Moody gets the scoop on how Honda has made its hybrid motor more advanced, yet less expensive. In the second video, Moody interviews Toyota's Bill Reinert, national manager of advanced technology vehicles, and learns that the lessons gathered from this concept will carry over into a full production electrical vehicle in 2012. Get the full story
at the Edmunds Green Car Advisor.
For Hummer, a brand on the opposite end of the fuel economy spectrum, 2008 has not been a kind year. After suffering the worst decline of all GM brands -- down 50.9 percent from 2007 -- Hummer recently announced that it is halting production of its H2 model. With Hummer suffering its lowest sales year since 2002, the 200 layoffs that quickly ensued surprised no one. Check out the Edmunds Green Car Advisor for more information.
But Chrysler could get a tech leg up on Ford and other competitors following the recently announced alliance with Fiat if the Italian automaker's Blue&Me system gets imported from across the pond and implemented in Pentastar cars. Like Ford's popular Sync system, Blue&Me was developed in conjunction with Microsoft and offers easy and inexpensive integration and voice activation of Bluetooth mobile phones and portable music players like the iPod.
And in the same way that Ford is adding on to Sync and leveraging technology to sell cars in vehicle segments ranging from econo boxes to luxury boats, Fiat has upgraded Blue&Me with features such as eco:Drive, which allows drivers to monitor and adjust their fuel economy and carbon footprint.
If Blue&Me does make it to these shores and into Chrysler vehicles, it would not only increase the company's tech appeal but also boost the green cred of its cars. Maybe we'll find out more following this past weekend's visit of Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne to Chrysler's HQ in Auburn Hills, MI.
We expect to see some pretty wild concepts at auto shows, both inside and out. But two dashboards caught our attention from the 2009 Detroit Auto Show last week. Chrysler showed a dashboard in its 200C EV Concept that borrows touch-screen technology from Apple's iPhone, while Lincoln's C concept featured a future version of Ford Sync.
And it's not just the futuristic look of the dashes that are cool, but also what they could do if they ever make it into a production vehicle.
And they said it was going to be a slow show. Try telling that to the people in the above picture trying to thread their way through the crowd at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last weekend.
Attendance was definitely down this year, and in my 20 years of attending CES I can't ever recall seeing more cabs than people waiting for rides at the end of the day. But it's still the place to be if you want to see the latest tech.
And while it's always been the event of the season for the car audio aftermarket as well as the growing crop of navigation and Bluetooth suppliers, CES has also become an increasingly important venue for automakers to show off their latest car tech, as indicated by the posts below.
Telematics systems such as OnStar
can automatically report where a car accident has occurred, how many airbags have deployed, the direction of impact and even whether a vehicle has rolled over. Now BMW Assist
has added a "Risk of Severe Injury" algorithm to its Automatic Collision Notification
service to paint a more accurate picture for first-responders as to what they may encounter at the accident scene and how to best prepare for the worst.
BMW jointly developed the algorithm with the William Lehman Injury Research Center in Miami to better predict the likelihood of severe injury to the car's occupants in a crash. BMW claims the new algorithm allows BMW Assist operators to estimate the the probability of injury to occupants as well as the extent of the injuries and transmit the info to authorities.
As with OnStar, BMW Assist reports information from sensors in a vehicle to determine the type of collision and monitor the status of safety systems such as airbags and seat belts and whether there was a front-seat passenger.
The new feature will be available on all 2009 and later model BMW vehicles, with the exception of the X3.
To paraphrase the famous line of rock critic-turned-manager Jon Landau after seeing Bruce Springsteen perform for the first time: I've seen the future of in-car electronics, and its name is Sync.
At his keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show on Thursday evening, Ford president and CEO Alan Mulally revealed further upgrades to the award-winning and game-changing Sync platform, as well as the auto company's ambitious vision of what the car cockpit of the future will look like. This was on the heels of announcing the latest Sync upgrades at CES the day before: the ability to download directions, real-time traffic info and personalized information such as news and sports scores, all without a subscription or additional hardware.
You'll find highlights of Mulally's keynote -- including a look at Ford's version of a configurable dashboard, a futuristic in-car avatar that can do everything from managing a driver's schedule to reading email and articles from the Internet -- as well as our exclusive interview with the Ford CEO after the jump.
In Las Vegas yesterday on the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show
, Toyota introduced a new telematics system that will be available on both Toyota and Lexus vehicles -- and will replace the Lexus Link
system serviced by OnStar
-- while Ford announced upgrades to its popular Microsoft-powered Sync
system, including real-time traffic, turn-by-turn directions and customized weather reports, sports score and other info.
The Toyota-brand system is called Safety Connect, while the Lexus version is termed Enform. Both will be available in late summer of 2009 on select vehicles with a monthly subscription following a one-year free trial period. The new enhancements to Sync will be available later this year on select 2010 Ford and Lincoln vehicles and will be rolled out to the entire line in 2011. The new services are free for the first three years on new vehicles and use the vehicle owner's mobile phone or device to download info to the vehicle rather than relying on on-board electronics.
This is likely to be the first ripple in what promises to be a new wave of telematics services -- if cost-conscious consumers are willing to pay the monthly subs that many of the systems require.
Live TV in the car is one of those emerging technologies that has always been just down the road.
Over-the-air broadcasts are spotty in a moving vehicle. And while satellite TV for the car has been available for several years now, it usually requires a large antenna, although AT&T introduced its CruiseCast service late last year that uses an antenna with a much smaller footprint. But it's still expensive. And Sirius Backseat TV is available in some Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles, but only offers three channels.
Now, through its Jensen brand, Audiovox plans to bring live TV into the vehicle through a partnership with Qualcomm via the company's MediaFLOFLO TV mobile entertainment platform designed to deliver video and audio content to AT&T and Verizon mobile phones. At its press conference today on the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Audiovox announced that, starting later this year, it will be possible to view all of the content offered through FLO TV -- including live sports, news and channels such as MSNBC, Comedy Central and MTV -- on both OEM and aftermarket rear-seat entertainment systems.
An Audiovox PR representative informed us that the system's CES debut was pushed forward -- hence the fuzzy picture taken at the press conference -- but that it will be available in the third quarter of 2009. An Audiovox executive announced at the press conference that the receiver for the system will be priced under $500. FLO TV currently offers ten channels for $15 per month and is available in 68 markets.
Tech geeks and gadget freaks as well as much of the mainstream media will be tuned in to what happens in Las Vegas this week. The 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) officially opens on Thursday, although it traditionally kicks off the day before, with major CE brands like Sony, Panasonic and Samsung holding press conferences from almost dawn to dusk.
Yours truly will be traveling to Sin City today to check out all the latest car tech. And while I'm reluctant to reveal just how long I've been making the annual trek to Vegas right on the heels of the holidays (so much for those New Year's resolutions), let's just say if my first CES was a newborn I'd be well into paying college tuition by now.
Besides knowing how to beat hour-long cab lines, slip into SRO sessions and the quickest route between the North and South Halls of the sprawling Las Vegas Convention Center, attending CES for as many years as I have gives you a certain perspective -- and the incentive to develop a strategy on what to see and what to skip before the madness begins.
With that in mind, here are four of the car tech trends I'm anticipating we'll see at CES 2009. Check this space throughout the week for blog posts and the main Edmunds site for our wrap-up coverage to find out if I've nailed it or not.
Imagine buying a car and later deciding that you want GPS navigation. Instead of going back to the dealer to trade in your vehicle for one with an expensive in-dash system, buying and installing an aftermarket system or popping for a portable nav, you simply punch a button and order the service for the day, the week, the month or longer. Hughes Telematics plans to offer this and other "virtual accessories" when it launches later this year in Chrysler and Mercedes-Benz vehicles.
The company is also working with automakers and suppliers to standardize accessory connections in vehicles and take the confusion out of the equation for the consumer. "What we're trying to do for telematics is what USB has done for computers -- create a universal platform," Hughes Telematics VP of marketing Kevin Link told Edmunds.
Ford continues its "aggressive technology onslaught" with the introduction of Active Park Assist (APA), which promises to make parallel parking as easy as pressing a button. APA, which will be available as an option on the 2010 Lincoln MKS sedan and new MKT crossover, employs ultrasonic sensors at the front and rear of a vehicle along with Electric Power Assisted Steering (EPAS) to properly position the vehicle, calculate the correct steering angle and guide it into a parallel-parking spot.
Unlike the Advanced Parking Guidance System offered on Lexus LS vehicles, APA isn't based on a back-up camera and Ford claims it requires less driver input. The company also says APA has less chance of picking a spot that's too tight and that it works in downhill situations as well.
Ford recently announced that they would offer a backup camera on 75% of their vehicles by the end of 2009. I am a big fan of rear view cameras, and I consider them a must-have safety feature.
Until recently, most consumers could only get them as part of a pricey navigation system, with the camera using the screen of the navigation system to display the rear camera's image. That is now changing as we are seeing more vehicles with integrated information screens in the dash and the expanded availability of screens built into the rear view mirror, like what Ford is offering. These types of installations, which don't require expensive optional navigations systems, reduce the cost of this invaluable safety feature down to as little as a few hundred dollars.
Consumer Reports did a very revealing study showing that even a typical car (never mind an SUV or pickup truck) has a sizeable rear blind spot, which only a camera can eliminate. I am glad to see the more car buyers will be able to benefit from this safety feature.
You're driving along on hard-packed snow, you hit the brakes and ... nothing happens. It's then that you get that sickening feeling as if you're falling and you don't know when you're going to hit the ground.
I had that feeling recently when I was driving over Vail Pass in Colorado, elevation 10,660 feet. I was in a 2009 Infiniti FX50 AWD which did not have snow tires. It's a long story as to why I was driving through Colorado in December in such a vehicle, but the point is that having the right tires for the right situation is essential.
In my case, I had left plenty of room between my Infiniti and the car in front and I was back on grippy pavement before I hit anything. But it did make me think how important it is to know how your tires perform.
Growing up in New England, I spent a lot of time in vacant parking lots spinning around in the snow to learn how handle the conditions. In the FX on my recent trip, well aware of my lack of grip, I took to some snowy abandoned side roads and did some test braking. It gave me some idea of the distance I needed to stop this heavy SUV. I also visited Tirerack.com and read reviews from other drivers who used these tires. Another good resource is reading Edmunds' Snow/Ice Winter Tires forum.
And finally, if you're looking for a good primer on the subject, try our story How to Choose Tires and Wheels. Start with the right tires and when a blizzard strikes, you'll be ready for the elements.
We told you earlier about our Holiday Gift Guide for Car Lovers; now here's another list for those on a budget: Top 10 Stocking Stuffers Under $50. These car-themed gifts can be ordered online, which means you can probably get overnight shipping and still get them (more or less) in time for the holidays. Besides, who wants to brave the crowds and cold that blanket much of the country right now?
I'm partial to the computer mice, above. They come in Challenger, Charger, Corvette, GT40, Mustang, Viper and new Camaro. (Pick your color!) You can even get black-and-white police and highway-patrol versions. PCs and Mac compatible, they feature 800-dpi resolution for precise movement and have working headlights. At $44.95, they're more or less compatible with the price of other mice. Now there's a gift you know will get used.
City-folks should definitely check out the Parking Meter Alarm Keychain. The gift's recipient will thank you profusely the first time this neat little gadget foils the meter reader.
Many of these gifts are so affordable you could buy them for yourself, as well. Happy holidays from all of us at Edmunds!
A coalition of consumer groups and other agencies is preparing to put further pressure on the government to curb mobile phone use behind the wheel in 2009 and plans to step up educational campaigns about the dangers of talking and texting while driving -- hoping to make it a social stigma akin to driving drunk.
Additionally, the National Safety Council, a potent force behind the enactment of seatbelt laws, is expected to make an announcement in January on how the U.S. should approach cell-phone use behind the wheel, while an alliance of consumer and safety advocates and the insurance industry plans to push for tougher laws and more education on phone-related driver distraction, according to a recent article in RCR Wireless News.
The 2009 Lincoln MKS has been described as a Hail Mary for Ford's beleaguered luxury brand, which is why the car received such radical sheet-metal styling (for Lincoln, at least) and Ford's top tech amenities. Whether the exterior design hits the mark is a matter of opinion, but the MKS definitely scores high on in-cabin technology.
A recent study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) concludes that rear-vision cameras not only lead to fewer accidents when backing up, but that drivers also don't stare at the screen in the dash instead of looking over their shoulder, as some believe.
For its On-Road Study of Drivers' Use of Rearview Video Systems (ORSDURVS), NHTSA observed 37 drivers who owned a 2007 Honda Odyssey minivan as their primary vehicle for at least six months. The test group consisted of people 25 to 60 years old and included 12 drivers of Odysseys equipped with a rearview-camera (RV) system, 13 drivers of vehicles with an RV system and a rear parking-sensor system (RPS) and 12 drivers of vehicles with no backing aids.
Participants were told that the purpose of the study was to assess how drivers learn to use the features and functions of a vehicle. They visited a research lab so that video cameras and other data-recording devices could be installed in their vehicles and to take a brief backing-up test drive.
Participants then drove their vehicles for four weeks while their backing maneuvers were recorded during daily driving. Later they returned to the lab to have the recording equipment removed and take another test drive identical to the first, except that when backing out of a garage bay, an unexpected obstacle appeared behind the vehicle.
With Hanukkah starting this weekend, which is also the last weekend before Christmas and Kwanzaa, you might be in a bit of a mad dash for holiday gifts that won't break your budget - like I am. If your list of giftees includes a car lover or just someone who could use a good car-related accessory, check out our Holiday Gift Guide for Car Lovers. You'll find lots of car-themed or car-related gifts, all for less than $30, like the Griffin iTrip Auto Universal Plus (pictured above). It's perfect for loved ones who own an iPod or MP3 player, but whose cars lack an auxiliary jack. They just plug it into their music player's headphone jack, tune into an available FM frequency on their car's radio and enjoy listening to their music through their car's speakers. It'll even charge up their player via the USB plug and their car's powerpoint/cigarette lighter. See more about the iTrip and lots of other fun gift ideas here.
Acura has dropped touch screens in favor of its Interface Dial on all 2009 models. But most manufacturers are going the opposite direction by increasingly adding touch-screen interfaces to control audio, navigation, communication and even climate control functions.
And it's not just in the U.S. that touch screens are proliferating. TRG reports that Mazda and Porsche added the technology for the first time in MY '09 European vehicles, while VW expanded it to 10 of its cars over there. Overall, Germany saw a slight increase in vehicles available with touch screens: 23.6 percent in MY '09 vehicles vs. 20.6 in MY '08.
As a fan of touch screens, I'm glad to hear that Acura, which is normally on the cutting edge of car tech, is in the minority and is leading a lone retreat away from touch screens.
There's an urban legend that states NASA spent $11 million to develop a pen that would work in the zero-gravity environment of space, whereas the Russians just used a pencil. While the validity of that legend would yield a "Busted" tag on Mythbusters, the moral of the story rings true: sometimes a simpler solution is just as effective or better as a more complex, expensive one.
Take blind spot warning technology. There are numerous variations from numerous manufacturers now, but generally, some sort of sensor detects another vehicle in your blind spot then alerts you. This is normally accomplished with a light in the mirror and sometimes an audible beeping. In a Volvo XC90 it costs $695.
The 2009 Ford Edge uses a pencil instead. It features as standard equipment blind spot mirrors encased within the large rearview side mirrors. While setting your mirrors correctly and being aware of your surroundings should eliminate the need for either solution (and craning your neck to double check), the Edge's integrated blind spot mirror is much better than a flashing light and a beep. First, it provides you with a lot more information -- you can see the car riding in your blind spot rather than seeing a little light and craning your neck to check. When I got out of the Edge and drove something else, I missed the added information the blind spot mirrors constantly provided.
Similar mirrors are available on cars in Europe (on the Audi A4, for instance) and the Edge will soon be joined by other Ford products with this feature. It's a simpler, cheaper and better solution to more complicated, expensive systems.
Teetering on the brink of collapse and groveling before congress for money, it seems unlikely that the Detroit Three will ever again regain supremacy in the automotive world. But according to some of their biggest rivals, the race to become the dominant car company of the future is still wide open because no one has quite figured out how to make the car of the future. Or, more specifically, do it so that it's affordable and profitable.
A Reuters story quotes Honda executive vice president Koichi Kondo as saying, "the game is still open" as automakers shift to alternative energy and power systems and the industry's century-old way of doing business and building cars becomes as outdated as hand-cranked engines.
"So far, the majority of cars still run on internal combustion engines," Kondo told Reuters in a recent interview. "Sure, there's all kinds of hype about electric vehicles and hybrids and fuel-cell cars, but no one has the breakthrough technology to bring them into the mainstream."
Mass producing an alternative-fuel vehicle like the Chevy Volt is where domestics have a chance to get back on top and turn a profit, although coming from behind -- and not having cash on hand to pour into R&D -- puts the Detroit Three at a huge disadvantage.
A new AAA study
finds that two-thirds of Americans think that using a phone hands-free behind the wheel is safer than using a handheld phone. But the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety
says that scientific research proves otherwise.
AAA contends that studies analyzing cell phone records of drivers involved in crashes show that using a cell phone while driving -- hands-free or not -- increases the chance of being involved in a crash by a factor of four.
"Too many Americans are driving with the false sense of security that hands-free devices are somehow safer, which could be a deadly mistake," said AAA Foundation President and CEO Peter Kissinger. "Evidence shows that using a hands-free phone while driving impairs your reaction time to critical events and increases your crash risk about the same as if you were using a hand-held phone."
As we've said before, no phone call is so important that it's worth risking life and limb to make or take.
So either pull over and talk or hang up and drive.
Over the holiday weekend, I had a chance to further test Autonet Mobile's in-car Internet service in locations ranging from downtown New York City to rural New England, while crawling in rush-hour traffic to driving down the interstate at maximum speed. As reported in a recent feature story, and after testing the system mainly in slow Southern California traffic, the Autonet service works well for general Web surfing and email access. But when called on to do more download heavy lifting, it slows.
While cruising along Interstate 91 in Vermont, I was able to check email from the passenger seat, just as if I was at my desk. But when I handed my laptop to the kids in the backseat and they went on several sites to play games and watch videos, I kept hearing, "Is there any way to make it go faster?"
Back in the olden days, like the early '90s, taking a family holiday road trip used to mean endless rounds of I Spy or Punch Buggy and the constant refrain of "Are we there yet?" But driving a 2008 BMW X6 xDrive 5.0
to visit in-laws for Thanksgiving, I had plenty of time --and peace and quiet -- to ponder just how far car tech has come in just over a decade.
While I listened to satellite radio, my daughter watched videos on an iPod, my son listened to music on an MP3 player and my wife checked email and surfed the Web on a laptop using a portable Autonet Mobile wireless router plugged into the cigarette lighter. And any time one of the kids asked "How much longer?" on the four-hour-plus drive, I simply told them to check the navigation system display, which showed our estimated time of arrival.
But the best part was when everyone got bored of their respective electronic diversion several hours into the trip and we played several rounds of 20 Questions.
Here's to hoping you have safe and happy holiday weekend, especially if you'll be on the road.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reported today that a record 72 vehicles for the 2009 model year received top ratings for protecting occupants in a crash -- more than double the number named "top safety picks" for the 2008 model year. A similar report included only 13 top-rated vehicles for the 2007 model year.
With an exponential number of vehicles getting passing grades, the IIHS is considering ways to make its tests more difficult. But even if more cars lose in the coming years as the tests grow more stringent, drivers and occupants will win since cars across the board become safer.
The "Tec" in the model designation of the Mercedes-Benz ML320 BlueTec
refers to the 3.0-liter V6 "clean" diesel powerplant that Mercedes claims can go over 600 miles on a single tank of fuel, as well as the AdBlue
exhaust-injection technology that reduces nitrogen-oxide emissions by up to 80 percent. Our test vehicle (sticker price $58,885) was outfitted with such an ample amount of in-cabin tech that the model name could also refer to all of the electronic goodies available on this eco-sensitive crossover.
But like the trade-off in acceleration and the higher price relative to its sibling ML350, the ML320 BlueTec comes up a bit short in some of its technology offerings.
My wife called me at work last week in a mild panic. Our 2003 Honda Odyssey had suddenly and simultaneously displayed a check-engine light and a traction control malfunction. And it immediately started stumbling up the moderate hill that lies between the kids' school and our home in still-smoky Yorba Linda.
Great.
Tracy had checked the oil and other vital fluids before calling me, and everything checkable had checked-out just fine. I headed home.
I plugged in my trusty Scan Gauge II into the OBD port to see if I could read and reset any codes. Only one came up: P0365. A quick check of the internet showed that the cam angle sensor on bank #1 was the culprit. I tried to clear the code using the reset function on the Scan Gauge, but it turned back on immediately.
Time to head to our local dealer. At least it's all downhill and only a mile away.
After seeing the same code and removing the plastic engine cover for a better look, the technician called me over to show me what was wrong: Rats (or mice) had chewed through the wiring harness, disabling the cam sensor.
Last week, the newly formed Sirius XM Satellite Radio unveiled new channels and revamped line-ups for its two outlets, and how satisfied you are with the shuffle largely depends on the status of your favorite channels. And the fact that Sirius XM gave subscribers such short notice of the changes.
While both services have their advantages and disadvantages, I've always preferred XM, mainly because they don't play the same songs over and over, which is my biggest gripe with Sirius. But I prefer Sirius's rich rock channel lineup. My favorites emerged from the shake-up relatively unscathed, although I'm bummed that XM Cafe got axed in favor of the lamer Sirius channel The Spectrum, and I hate to see Sirius Left of Center go away.
So how did your favorite channels fare, and what do you think of the way Sirius XM handled the situation?
(The Chevrolet Volt is shown to Edmunds.com editors in Santa Monica. Photos by Jon Barrett.)
On the way to the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show the folks from GM brought the latest version of the Chevrolet Volt. It was exciting to see it in the flesh and it drew a nice crowd of specators. I'd been worried about what the production model would look like based on photos, but it was suitably sleek and futuristic.
We recently sampled the Audi Q7 TDI. And loved it. There's plenty of power (diesels provide a lot of low-end grunt, so the Q7 has a lot of "pick-up") and yet fuel mileage is over 50 percent better than the comparably-performing V8 Q7. The problem is, you can't buy one...yet.
If you enjoy carrying your iPod or mobile phone into the car and having it connect to the vehicle so that you can easily call up a favorite tune or call a best friend, a recent study
claims you should thank a tech geek. And it also predicts that, thanks to these early-adopters, we can expect in-car technology to proliferate.
A study by the Consumer Electronics Association titled The Technology Enthusiast Driver Population - Driving the Future of In-Vehicle Technologies claims that gadget guys and gals "are the catalysts for the mainstream emergence of in-vehicle technologies" and that "their interest in these technologies reveals opportunities for manufacturers to meet the needs of the larger consumer populations." The study also says this group is especially interested in cutting-edge tech such as voice-activated wireless communications.
But you don't have to wear a pocket protector to appreciate technology like Ford's Sync, which allows easily integrating a Bluetooth phone and MP3 player into a vehicle and controlling it by voice commands -- without reading through a novel-size manual or having an electrical engineering degree.
More and more "redesigned" or "all-new" cars these days are riding on old platforms. Take the "new" 2010 Ford Fusion, for example. It looks different inside and out, and its powertrains have been revised. But underneath, it's basically the same car as the 2009 model, which means it's based on a stretched previous-generation Mazda 6 platform.
Ford has been at the forefront of this phenomenon, which I like to call the "ABP" (All But Platform) design movement. To wit, the Focus was redesigned for 2008 but hasn't changed platforms since 2000; the Lincoln MKS is new for 2009 but rides on a previous-generation Volvo S80 chassis; and even the sexy new 2009 Jaguar XF shares its underpinnings with the defunct Lincoln LS, the MKS' predecessor at the top of Lincoln's lineup.
The Blue Oval folks aren't alone, though. In general, there seems to be a trend toward "tweaking" or "refining" platforms rather than redoing them from scratch, as well as a tendency to milk every last drop out of existing platforms.
And you know what? That's not necessarily a bad thing.
Ever sit in gridlock and hear one of those "eye in the sky" traffic reports or get "real time" traffic info on your navigation system telling you that all is well on that stretch of roadway? If only they could see you and everyone around you creeping along in stop and go traffic.
The idea isn't new: Dash Express introduced a Internet-connected portable navigation system last March that also relied on crowd-sourced traffic info, only to pull the plug on the $299.99 device and $12.99 a month service last week.
Participation in the Mobile Millennium project is free to Bay Area residents, and you don't need to own a Nokia phone, although it does require a device with GPS capability, an unlimited data plan and the ability to run Java applications. In return, participants receive real-time traffic and incident reports on major roadways.
And as with the Dash system, the more users that join, the more comprehensive the traffic picture becomes.
The mobile electronics aftermarket usually gets most of the attention at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas when it comes to in-car tech, but a private demo of Ford Work Solutions yesterday shows why the balance of power in bringing innovation into the passenger cabin is shifting to the OEMs.
FWS is a suite of technologies specifically geared to contractors and will be offered on the 2009 F-150 and 2009 Super Duty pickups, 2009 E-Series vans and 2010 Transit Connect commercial vehicles. The centerpiece of the system is an in-dash computer made by Magneti Marelli. It offers Internet connectivity via the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network and allows remote access to an office or home computer, and it's powered by Microsoft Auto software and runs word processing and spread sheet programs.
The computer has 2 GB of memory, a built-in Garmin GPS navigation system, USB and SD card slots and a stylus for use with its 6.5-inch touchscreen. It also comes with a wireless keyboard with a built-in touchpad mouse and an optional wireless Bluetooth printer can be added. The system also includes Bluetooth hands-free phone capability.
Other elements of FWS include Tool Link, which uses RFID tags to keep track of equipment, and Crew Chief, a telematics system that allows a contractor to keep tabs on a fleet of vehicles, including their location, maintenance and mileage.
While Ford is pitching the system as a way for contractors to save money by working more efficiently (no more returning to the office to print out an invoice, check inventory or retrieve a tool), the big question is whether the technology's timing is ill-fated due to the current economic climate, particularly with contractor and builders feeling the brunt of the housing downturn.
FSW will debut in January on the 2009 F-150, with a cost of $1,195 for the in-dash computer and $49.95 a month for the Sprint mobile broadband service with unlimited data and $25 a month with a 25 MB cap. Tool Link runs $1,120 for 50 RFID tags, while Crew Chief will cost $380 with a $19.95 a month service charge.
We've heard of making diesel out of plants, what about cutting out the middleman and letting the plants make it themselves? Sounds crazy, right? But an American researcher has found just that.
Professor of plant sciences at Montana State University Gary Stroebel, Ph.D., has discovered a microorganism in Patagonia that naturally creates a combination of hydrocarbon compounds remarkably similar to that of diesel fuel. It's the first organism ever discovered that does this.
The organism is called Gliocladium roseum (see photo above), and it is a fungus that lives in ulmo trees in the rain forests of Northern Patagonia. It consumes the cellulose of the tree (or any cellulose you might feed it) and turns it into what Dr. Stroebel calls "myco-diesel." ("Myco" means fungus and "diesel" means, well, diesel.) The fungus' output is a combination of many of the compounds that are found in the diesel fuel we put into our cars and trucks. They're still working out how this new discovery can be used to create fuel, but it's an exciting breakthrough in the search for crude oil-free fuel technology.
Dr. Stroebel says knowing something like this does exist encourages him and his colleagues to search for more organisms that perform similar functions. His discovery appears in the latest issue of the journal Microbiology.
One thing that was apparent while walking through the North Hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center on day one of the SEMA Show
yesterday was that the mobile electronics aftermarket continues to deliver more for less money. Some examples:
Dual's XHD7714 CD radio has a built-in HD Radio tuner, Bluetooth on board and comes with an iPod-integration cable. All for under $200.
NextBase was showing a portable rear seat entertainment system that comes with two 8.5-inch monitors, each with a built-in DVD player for around $450. What I really liked about the system is that you can move it from car to car and use it when traveling, say, on a plane.
Ego showed its new Look Bluetooth hands-free kit ($350) that not only allows voice dialing of numbers and names from an address book, but with an adapter you can also control an iPod from the Look's 2.2-inch color screen.
Only in consumer electronics can you get more every year for less money. And it gives hope that the mobile electronics aftermarket can not only survive but thrive.
Aftermarket mobile electronics sales have been steadily declining in the past few years, but a recent New York Times article suggests that the downturn in the economy could lead to an upturn for the beleaguered industry. Sales of new vehicles have dipped to their lowest level in decades, but aftermarket mobile electronics retailers say their business is on the upswing, the article claims.
It also suggests that this trend is being driven by consumers who are putting off trading in their cars and are instead spending money to upgrade their factory stereos with iPod integration, add Bluetooth hands-free capability for mobile phones and purchase portable navigation systems. "People are keeping their cars and choosing to put some money into it," Jim Grant, a store manager for the Car Tunes chain in the Detroit area, said in the article.
The aftermarket has always been able to respond more quickly and usually with less expensive offerings than automakers, although technology like Ford's Sync system has changed the playing field in recent years and stock stereo systems have gotten better and better.
There's no better place to gauge the health and breadth of both the aftermarket and automaker's electronic offerings than at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas this week, where the two industries converge to show off their newest gadgets. I'll be covering the show all week, so be sure to check back here and on Inside Line's Straightline blog for all the latest and greatest news.
Honda released details, photos and pricing on the redesigned 2009 Element yesterday. While the bummer is the slightly tweaked version gets a big bump in price, the good news is the boxy vehicle borrows some of its tech treats from its siblings.
These include Honda's voice-activated Satellite-Linked Navigation System on EX and SC models with an auto tranny. The option also comes with a backup camera and USB audio interface, and behind the motorized 6.5-inch nav screen is a slot for a single-CD player as well as for an adapter that holds a CompactFlash memory card that can be loaded with MP3 and WMA music files.
If you look really closely at the photo above you can see an aux input in the "three-bin tray" dash storage compartment on the passenger side. But that's not the only -- or even the best -- way to plug in an iPod, since the USB port allows directly patching in the player using the cable supplied by Apple. We've seen (and liked) similar setups in the '09 Honda CRV and '09 Honda Fit.
According to our sister site Inside Line, the top-of-the-line 2009 Honda Element 4WD EX with navigation and a five-speed automatic transmission starts at $25,855, including the destination charge, while the '08 version started at $23,860, representing a $1,995 price difference. The 2009 Honda Element is available now.
Starting next year, 500 lucky customers in California, New York and New Jersey can lease an electric MINI. With a range of 150 miles and a top speed of 95 mph, the MINI E eschews a gas engine (and the two rear seats) for a series of over 5,000 small lithium-ion batteries and an electric motor. These batteries offer up a capacity of 35 kilowatt hours and are used to power the 204 hp electric motor. This powertrain is saddled with an extra 400lbs over that of a gas MINI Cooper, resulting in a 0-60 performance of 8.5 seconds. Faster than a gas Cooper, but slower than the turbocharged Cooper S.
Before you decide to camp out for your place in line, be aware that the monthly lease payment will be a not-so-mini $850 and the lease term is for only 12 months.
Included in the payment is maintenance, a charging station (in your secure garage) and any electricity you use charging the batteries. The question of insurance coverage could not be answered, but it may also be included in the monthly payment. However, even if it doesn't include insurance, the high payment is partially mitigated by the fact that you won't have to be paying for any gas.
My take? I like it! I believe the future power source for automobiles is electricity. From both an economic and environmental standpoint, the world can no longer afford to power our vehicles by internal combustion engines. It will still take years, if not decades, for electric vehicles to become mainstream. However, we have to start somewhere. As they say, how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. The MINI E will be one such bite.
Attention hypermilers: Ford's new SmartGauge with EcoGuide instrument cluster for the 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids is the latest way to ensure you get the most out of every drop of fuel. Color LCD screens on either side of an analog speedometer in the SmartGauge can be configured to show info such as fuel and battery-power levels and average and instant mpg.
And to let you know just how green you're driving, "growing leaves and vines track and reward the driver's efficiency."
The torrent of bad news in the auto industry seems endless these days. But one bright spot on the horizon -- and currently in dealers' showrooms -- is technology innovations. Both in terms of R&D dollars being invested by automakers and dollars being spent by car buyers, tech is a silver lining in the dark cloud currently hovering over almost every carmaker.
A recent column in AutoWeek points out that spending in R&D by automakers grew globally to $79 billion in 2007, an 8 percent increase over the previous year. And during a panel at last week's SAE Convergence 2008 in Detroit titled Car Makers Speak, engineers from beleaguered domestic automakers Ford, GM and Chrysler indicated that their companies are not pulling back on investing in technology.
Though acknowledging the tough tasks and times ahead, Chris Thibodeau, GM's director of global technology engineering for electrical/electronic products, said, "We cannot turn away from developing technology in this downturn." While fellow panelists from Ford, Chrysler, BMW and Honda cagily answered questions while trying not to tip their hands at what's coming down the road from their respective companies tech-wise, all concurred that electronic content in cars will continue to rise.
And that software will play an increasingly important role in car design.
Jay Kavanagh and I have a huge lead going into day three, but we're not letting up. The coasting non-trick we employed in our Audi Q7 TDI diesel during day 1 and day 2 won't help on today's mostly flat route from Monterey to rally's end in Santa Monica, so we're going to employ a tactic so basic that we think everyone else will overlook it.
We're not going to drive the suggested route down the beautiful but sinuous Route 1 at all, because frequent turns, rolling clogs behind tourists and the lack of passing lanes on the narrow two-lane will make it hard to drive economically. Oh sure, speeds might be low and seemingly thrifty, but frequent on-again off-again throttle applications will drink more diesel than a steady cruise.
Sirius XM Radio Inc. CEO Mel Karmazin delivered the keynote address at SAE's Convergence 2008 here in Detroit yesterday, in what was billed as his first public appearance in Motown since the XM and Sirius merger in July. We never even realized he's been away for so long, and he told the audience that it could be much longer before we see receivers that allow the two services to be unified in new cars.
In a Q&A session Karmazin revealed that installing receivers in new vehicles that can tune in both services could take as long as 15 years due to chip requirements and the lead-time needs of automakers.
We're betting that the car audio aftermarket will shorten that by at least 14 years, if not less. And you can now buy aftermarket radios that tune in both services, although you still have to buy separate receivers.
Team Edmunds, as the driving combo of Jay Kavanagh and me has come to be called, pulled out a big lead in the first day of leg 4 of Audi's diesel-powered fuel economy competition, the Audi Mileage Marathon. We managed to coax 28.6 mpg out of a laden TDI diesel V6-powered Audi Q7 7-passenger SUV on a day that consisted of a lot of climbing, descending and re-climbing on our way to a 7,500 ft high perch at Mammoth Lakes, California.
At the end of today's route we'll end up at sea level in Monterey, California. Jay and I are confident that the fact that we're destined to lose well over a mile of elevation should help us smash the 30 mpg barrier. Before the real downhill starts, however, we must first burn a bit of fuel climbing up and over the 9,945 ft summit at Tioga pass, the eastern gateway into Yosemite National Park.
The roads in this remote section of the park are narrow and sinuous. Long lines of cars can get bottled-up for miles behind tourist rent-a-cars that are crawling along at a bicycle's pace while they ogle the view all around them. We're not going hyper-fast, but we do want to avoid the brakes and preserve as much momentum through the turns as possible so we can avoid unnecessary dabs of throttle. Getting around such rolling roadblocks cleanly yet promptly is advantageous.
What makes this all the more critical is the fact that today's long downhill stretches are ideal for our secret tactic--a tactic that also happens to be today's strategy for smart car drivers: coast downhill in "D" instead of "N".
"Huh?" You say.
Contrary to popular belief, coasting a modern vehicle in Neutral consumes more fuel than coasting in Drive. In Neutral, the engine is decoupled from the road, so fuel must be burned to keep the engine running at idle speed and allow it to power accessories such as the power steering, air-conditioning and alternator. In contrast, coasting downhill in Drive consumes no fuel because the engine computer shuts off the fuel injectors in an attempt to limit descent speed via engine braking. The road itself is driving the crankshaft via the still-engaged transmission, so the power steering, air-conditioning and alternator get a free ride. Yes, you can coast down the long grades into places like Death Valley with the A/C on and still not burn any fuel.
Everybody else has failed to understand this fact and has been coasting in "N" throughout the competition. But we're not about to point out their mistake. They probably wouldn't believe us, anyway; everyone turns into big fat liars around the dinner table at competitive events like this.
The end-of-day score sheet demonstrates the validity of our strategy with a double whammy. Team Edmunds not only posts a best day 2 fuel economy result of 31.5 mpg, we manage to achieve this at 47 mph, the day's fastest average speed. Out of a Q7 field of 7 competitors, here are the top three results from day 2:
1st: Q7 #3 31.5 mpg @ 47 mph, 191 points
2nd: Q7 #4 30.6 mpg @ 45 mph, 174 points
3rd: Q7 #2 30.2 mpg @ 45 mph, 167 points
With a virtually insurmountable lead in the points so far, the final day of the competition promises to be little more than a formality. Day 3's roads are mostly flat and level as we travel along the coast back to Santa Monica to a finish at the same elevation, so our downhill coasting tactic won't be of much help. But we have something else up our sleeve--something so basic we think everyone else will overlook it.
At SAE's Convergence 2008 in Detroit today, QNX introduced a digital instrument cluster that can be reconfigured depending on the demands of the car and the driver. Advantages of the technology include layering of information as cars become more complex and more info has to fit within the same space in the dash. It also allows information that's important to a particular driver to be more prominent.
Dual-function dash displays are not new. Many cars feature small multifunction instrument-panel displays, and the large LCD screen used in the IP of Mercedes S-Class vehicles doubles as a monitor for a night-vision system. But QNX claims that its digital cluster can be reconfigured "on the fly" to include displays for safety features such as lane-departure warning as well as provide info for mobile phones, iPods and other portable devices connected to a car.
The technology could also make it easier on older drivers by enlarging gauges such as the speedometer, and performance-oriented drivers could make the tach larger if they choose.
Click here to check out a video demonstration of the QNX digital instrument panel in action.
iPhone 3G and latest-generation iPod owners with dead batteries caused by incompatibility with car accessories can rejoice: Scosche has introduced a pass-through connector that solves the problem and gets juice to the iPhone 3G, fourth-gen nano and second-gen touch.
The Scosche PassPORT fits between an iPod or iPhone and the female connector of an iPod-compatible car stereo and provides charging in applications that otherwise don't support it.
The charging problem surfaced with the introduction of the iPhone 3G and the latest iPods, and is due to Apple's decision to switch from a FireWire to USB charging protocol in 2005. Up until the latest-gen products, Apple supported both FireWire 12-volt charging and USB 5-volt charging on its 30-pin connector. But the company's decision to support only USB charging moving forward means that many car accessories won't charge the latest iPod products.
Apple's response to consumers has been to buy new accessories. But with Scosche's PassPORT now available at Apple Stores for $29.99, it's a much less expensive prospect than, say, buying a new car stereo. Or a new car.
Well, technically this is Day 12 of Audi's cross-country diesel-powered adventure. New York, New York was the starting place fo a convoy of over twenty diesel-powered Audi products, ranging from the TT sports coupe to the A3 and A4 sedan, some Q5 SUVs and our designated mount for the final 4-day push from Las Vegas to Santa Monica, California, the soon-to-be-released US-spec Audi Q7 3.0-liter TDI SUV--a 50-state clean diesel.
Yes, you're right; Vegas to LA should only require 4 hours. But they don't want this fuel economy competition to be easy, so they're sending us the long way.
Everyone knows that talking on a mobile phone or text messaging behind the wheel is a dangerous distraction
. But when the phone rings or a text arrives, it's tempting to reach for the phone. Now Nationwide Insurance
has teamed with Aegis Mobility
to give drivers incentive not
to reach for the phone while driving by offering policyholders a discount when they sign up to use a technology that manages their mobile communications.
Aegis Mobility's DriveAssist
software blocks incoming and outgoing calls, text messages and Internet access from a phone while the user is driving and will be offered next year through wireless carriers, according to Aegis. DriveAssist works like a normal voice mailbox, informing callers that the person they're trying to reach is driving and can't answer the phone or receive text messages, and it allows callers to leave a message, send an audible alert or request a callback. It also allows 911 calls and has an override feature for passengers.
Click here
for a video demonstration of how DriveAssist works.
The all-new 2009 Mazda6 has retained most of its zoom-zoom from its predecessor while adding more room and muscle to compete with the big boys in the market segment: Honda Accord, Nissan Altima and Toyota Camry. And the mid-size sedan has gained a bit of a tech advantage with some of its new gadgets.
While Ford's game-changing Sync technology (unfortunately) hasn't migrated over to Mazda, the automaker did decide to be an early adopter by adding cutting-edge features such as Bluetooth wireless music streaming and blind-spot monitoring on higher trim levels. And most models come with a "smart key" that can be programmed in a variety of ways depending on the bells and whistles that are added to the car.
But the big question is whether it's enough to win over those thousands of Accord, Altima and Camry buyers.
If you own an iPod -- and who doesn't these days -- chances are your next new vehicle will offer some way to integrate the popular portable media player (PMP) into the factory audio system. A recent study by iSuppli predicts that 58 percent of new vehicles sold in 2009 will have some form of iPod connectivity, and it's the first time that more than half of new cars will have the capability. This compares to 39 percent of cars with iPod integration in 2008.
Of course, iPod integration can mean anything from a simple aux-in jack to Ford's Sync system with voice control -- and everything in between. But more automakers are finally catching on that people increasingly want to bring their PMPs along for the ride, and almost 75 percent of those are iPods.
After all, no automakers offer Zune-specific integration.
U.S. Congressman Ed Markey
(D-Mass) has introduced the Radio All Digital Receiver Act
to require radios designed to receive both satellite radio and analog AM/FM signals to also receive digital HD Radio
broadcasts.
"Millions of Americans today rely on local broadcast radio for news, public safety bulletins, sports, weather, traffic, and other information," Markey said in a press release
. "As the broadcast radio industry migrates to digital broadcasting technology, this legislation will ensure that consumers are able to readily receive free service through consumer electronics systems that are otherwise receiving satellite digital audio radio and traditional AM or FM stations."
Plus, the slow adoption of HD Radio compared to satellite by automakers has terrestrial radio broadcasters looking for any type of leverage they can get.
Parents can rest a little easier when handing the car keys to their teenagers thanks to Ford's new MyKey
feature, which allows programming a key to limit top speed and control the volume of the stereo system, as well as remind the driver to fasten the seatbelt. The technology will debut next year as standard equipment on the 2010 Ford Focus
coupe and is set to become standard on other Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles.
The MyKey system allows parents to program a car's keys to set a top speed of 80 mph, activate speed-alert chimes at 45, 55 and 65 mph and limit the audio system's volume to 44 percent of its maximum.
In other words, it takes much of the joy out of teen joy-riding. But it may also save lives and gas.
Chevy revealed its new Cruze compact sedan at a preview to the Paris Auto Show yesterday. The"global" small car is a replacement for the Cobalt and will be the first vehicle to use GM's revamped Delta 2 platform.
While the exterior features a swooping roof line and two-tier grille, the center stack has an innovative flying-V design that houses infotainment and HVAC display and controls and sets the interior apart. According to Chevy, the setup "eliminates traditional framing of these interfaces, resulting in a contemporary, flush and harmonious relationship between control heads and outlying surfaces."
That's why Toyota has announced the world's first rear curtain airbag to help protect backseat passengers in the tiny iQ, which is set to debut at the Paris Auto Show.
Typically, automakers build crumple zones into the structure of a car to help absorb and alleviate the force of impact from entering the passenger cabin. But that's not always possible with small cars like the iQ. According to Toyota, the rear curtain airbag system will double the rear head protection of passengers in the backseat of iQ.
And it'll probably make the driver feel a bit more comfortable when a Hummer is seen bearing down on the iQ through the back window.
It's one thing to look at a one-dimensional map and know how much distance you'll cover in a trip, estimate the amount of fuel it will take and gauge what the road will be like along the way. And many people have GPS navigation systems to provide some of that info, and a fuel calculator is just a few clicks away on the Internet.
But with specially equipped airplanes acquiring data to create 3D road-geometry maps, the resulting terrain profiles could be used to tailor a vehicle's powertrain control for increased fuel efficiency. That's why Auburn University, Eaton Corporation and Intermap Technologies are working together to determine whether knowledge of road grades and other road-geometry factors could offer fuel-economy gains for commercial trucks.
And whether the technology could eventually make passenger cars more fuel efficient and safer as well.
"It's all about perception," noted Jim Gill, Head of Product and Technology Marketing for VW. We were at the introduction of the 2009 VW Jetta TDI
'Clean Diesel' in Santa Monica, California last week. Gill was talking about how different age groups perceive diesel.
More specifically, he mentioned that VW is marketing the Jetta TDI to a demographic that's 35 and younger. Why? Because they don't have a memory of "bad diesel", they're environmentally hip, they want a car with go--the TDI has lots of torque-- and they can afford it. The starting price for the Jetta TDI is $21,990.
The story is that clean diesel provides approximately 30% more fuel economy, 25% less greenhouse gas emissions and about 50% more torque. (For example, the 2009 Jetta TDI packs 263 lbs-fit of torque.)
Mention diesel to a jaded baby boomer and they'll probably snort a stream of negatives;
It smells like sulfur. Clean diesel low sulfur fuel has 97% less sulfur than other diesel fuel.
It's dirty. The dirty, smelly, smoke associated with old diesel engines was the result of unburned or partially burned fuel. Advanced emission-capturing technology reduces the amount of C0 2 drastically. What comes out of tailpipes from clean diesels is clean.
It's noisy. Pilot injection quiets down the engine and provides more torque then equivalent gas-based engines.
"We're not starting from scratch," Gill added. VW is celebrating its 32nd anniversary of diesel power. And clean diesel is a brand new game.
To note, the cost of diesel can run up to .58 cent more than gas. However, the pay back comes in fuel economy. For example, EPA estimates for the new Jetta TDI are 29 city and 40 hwy; the AMCI real world tests came in at 38 city/44 hwy.
In the final analysis, while the 2009 Jetta TDI costs a couple of thousand more than its gas version, you'll get a $1300 tax credit.
Plus, the folks at VW say that the resale value on diesels is more than 80%.
The only question is: What took so long? California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation yesterday banning drivers from sending, writing or reading messages on handheld devices starting January 1, 2009. This follows a law that took effect in the car-crazy Golden State on July 1 of this year that outlaws using a handheld phone while driving.
The Los Angeles Times reports that the Govenator signed the text-messaging ban as part of a deadline to act on more than 800 bills passed by the state legislature. The new law imposes a $20 fine for a first offense and a $50 for subsequent violations. "Banning electronic text messaging while driving will keep drivers' hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road, making our roadways a safer place for all Californians," Schwarzenegger said in a statement.
No reason was given for why the text-messaging law wasn't enacted simultaneously with the handheld-phone law. But the LA Times referenced the tragic collision on September 12 in Chatsworth, California between a Metrolink passenger train and a freight train that killed 25 people and injured 135. Investigators are looking into whether text messaging by the train's engineer was a factor in the crash, and the California Public Utilities Commission has banned some railroad workers from text-messaging and using cell phones on moving trains.
And if you have to text and drive, solutions from automakers are available that allow you to do it more safely than fumbling with a phone.
Soccer moms and dads rejoice: Driving and parking the Honda Odyssey minivan just got a lot easier -- in Japan, at least -- with the company's development of a multi-view camera system designed to reduce blind spots, allow for easier parking and safer driving at three-way intersections with restricted visibility and on narrow roads.
The system displays images on an in-dash navigation screen from four wide-angle cameras positioned on each side of the vehicle. It also gives a virtual bird's-eye view of the vehicle to provide an overhead perspective, as well as projection lines that show a vehicle's potential trajectory based on steering angle and reference lines that calculates the distance between the vehicle and obstacles.
The system will be available in the all-new Odyssey minivan that's scheduled to go on sale in Japan next month.
While such cameras and parking aids have their critics (like, perhaps the auto-body industry), it's a feature that car buyers want and apparently are willing to pay for.
These days, every drop of fuel saved is much more than a penny earned, especially in Europe where gas and diesel prices are much higher than in the U.S. So while automatically timing a car's acceleration and deceleration with traffic lights may seem like tech-overkill or even Big Brother-like, Audi's "Travolution" Project that the company is testing in its hometown of Ingolstadt, Germany promises to not only conserve fuel but also help relieve traffic congestion and reduce CO2 emissions.
Audi is working with traffic-management experts in Ingolstadt to improve synchronization and phasing of traffic light networks by creating a communications link with cars. Modules built into traffic lights send signals to specially equipped vehicles in the vicinity, alerting them to the time remaining until the lights' next green phase. The car's onboard system then calculates the speed the driver needs to maintain in order to pass through the light during this green phase and displays the info in an Audi equipped with a Multi Media Interface display.
It could also serve another purpose not listed by Audi in its press release: safety.
If you're thinking about buying a BMW M3
, you're probably more concerned with 0-60 acceleration times and suspension tuning than navigation features and iPod integration. But the four-door version of BMW's venerable 3 Series road rocket probably fits a more pragmatic demographic than the coupe. And in the same way that two extra doors provide an opening to rationalize the M3's almost impractical high performance ("Look, honey, we can get the kids in and out easily"), the car's ample electronic amenities provide an extra layer of tasteful tech icing on top of this heaping slice of track-car cake.
True to BMW style, you won't find many superfluous bells and whistles on the 2008 M3 Sedan
, and compared to some other cars in its class the M3's on-board tech at first glance can seem downright dull. But the car's entertainment, communication and other electronic gadgets are designed to augment the visceral thrill of piloting this 414-horsepower buttoned-down beast, never distract from it.
Even before going into orbit
or on the air at the start of this decade, automakers began lining up behind one or the other competing satellite radio companies. And later Sirius
began signing up celebrities to fat contracts to counter XM
's subscription lead.
But now that the two companies have officially merged
and as the dust settles in the great satellite radio war, it looks like the biggest winners could be consumers, while the biggest losers could be stockholders, such as Sirius star Howard Stern
.
It was a bittersweet moment when I walked to the mailbox yesterday and found the latest -- and last -- issue of Car Audio and Electronics magazine. Even though I'd heard over a month ago that the mag would cease publication with the November 2008 issue, holding it in my hands and knowing it was the end of the line had a more palpable impact.
Sure, it had a lot to do with me spending nearly half of my professional journalism career at the magazine, but it also signaled the end of an era.
The aftermarket car audio industry has been experiencing tough times lately. And so have magazines and print media as a whole. But these are just the latest squalls in what has been a perfect storm of factors that have led to the shuttering of what was once an industry-leading and trend-setting magazine, which at its peak in the mid-90s had a circulation of close to 150,000 and an annual directory issue that eclipsed 350 pages. Circulation dwindled to around 35,000 in recent years.
So what caused this and why, just as it was celebrating its 20th anniversary.? And does the car audio aftermarket face a similar fate?
MINI has always taken a different approach to design, and the center-dash display/controller the company is showing in its Crossover Concept as a preview before the 2008 Paris Motor Show is typical of the company's round peg in a square-hole persona. Shaped like a globe, it houses entertainment, communication, navigation and vehicle functions. Plus, it provides separate screen views for the driver and front-seat passenger, and the speedo wraps around its circumference.
According to MINI's press release on the Crossover Concept, "This three-dimensional layout allows more consistent integration of functions and the appropriate presentation of information and entertainment options. In addition to the vertical and horizontal display features currently available, the new instrument adds a further, three-dimensional element with displays stratified on various levels and highlighted to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the driver's and front passenger's requirements."
And it just plain looks cool. Check out more pics and info from MINI after the jump.
By now you have probably seen the leaked
Chevrolet Volt pictures. While there is a question as to whether they were leaked deliberately or not, there can be no debate as to the less than stellar reaction that people have had to the final production sheetmetal.
GM has been teasing the public with pictures of the Volt concept since the 2007 NAIAS. That concept looked the part of a futuristic vehicle that promised a unique propulsion system. It looked unlike anything on the road today. It looked special.
It looked like something that people might actually want to drop $40K on. Can GM really be surprised that most people are underwhelmed by the production version?
Yes, the realities of full-scale production necessitate certain design compromises in sheet metal. Yes, the need to carry actual humans in comfort required that the hopelessly chopped greenhouse be expanded upwards. However, the end result is a vehicle that does little to distinguish itself, visually, from the economy-minded Chevrolet Cruze (seen here in red) that is set to debut around the same time as the Volt.
Toyota was on to something when they offered up their first hybrid as a unique stand-alone model. The result is that most people identify "hybrid" with the Prius. This goes a long way toward explaining why it is more popular than its conventionally-styled hybrid counterparts like the Civic and Camry. Most Prius owners like the fact that other drivers know they are driving something different. It is part of the appeal and helps explain why you have famous
people driving a glorified economy car. It is no wonder that Honda's new Insight
hybrid shares design cues with the Prius (yes, aerodynamics play a part too).
So it appears that, from a styling aspect, GM has dropped the ball with the Volt. One can only hope that GM follows through with the rest of what they have been promising with the Volt. Namely, an electric-only range of 40 miles, the ability to plug it in to recharge the batteries and making the electric motor, gas motor and batteries all play nice with each other. If they can deliver a Volt with those abilities, we might be able to get over its looks.
You know what a pain it is to enter a wordy address into a GPS navigation system. Or to even pull over to key in the info.
Dial Directions' new navigation app claims it takes the hassle out of getting where you're going by automatically sending a destination to a nav system with just a quick phone call.
After scoring a huge success with its Microsoft-powered Sync system that safely and near seamlessly integrates portable music players and mobile phones into the vehicle, Ford is hoping to maintain its tech edge -- and may rely on ads targeted at drivers to support its efforts. The number-two of the struggling Detroit 3 recently created a new autonomous division assembled from some of Ford's top engineering and marketing talents and the company will soon be rolling out new -- and free --- Sync features such as 911 Assist and Vehicle Health Reports to take on GM's OnStar and other subscription-based telematics services
Ford's new Connected Services group has already filed for more than a dozen patents and are "geeked" and "ready to go," director Doug VanDagens recently told the Detroit Free Press.
Democrats, republicans. Red states, blue states. Creationists, evolutionists. Red Sox, Yankees. We are truly a divided country.
Two weeks ago we posted a blog asking if you thought Prius drivers are "eco-snobs" and got a lot of heated comments.
Now we've upped the stakes. In Green Car Observer we have a polarizing article about a Prius being torched and a web site that posts pictures of people giving the finger to Hummers. Even "The Mechanic" (an alias or pen name, depending how you look at it) posted a piece called "I Hate Hybrids." The title pretty much says it all -- he hates hybrids.
Why can't we just let other people drive what they want without getting all cheesed off about it? What is it about what other people drive that demands hateful comments, name calling, obscene gesturing, vandalism and acts of extreme violence?
Chrysler may be going through tough times and trailing in last place among the ailing Detroit 3, but that hasn't slowed the company's in-cabin tech advances. It's the first and only automaker -- domestic or import -- to offer satellite TV and now in-car Internet.
And although these two technologies weren't installed on our 2009 Dodge Journey R/T AWD test vehicle (sticker $34,385), the mid-size crossover did offer some of Chrysler's best -- and worst -- tech features.
The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) has cited the results of a study to prove what we already know from the millions of portable navigation systems hanging from windshields across the country: Most people prefer a portable to an in-dash nav system. According to results from a Morpace Inc. Omnibus Field Study conducted in July 2008 and reported by Mobile Electronics magazine, 25% of respondents said they currently own a vehicle nav system, and 75% said they prefer portables over in-dash systems, and even over mobile phone-based nav.
The main reason for the preference for portables is also obvious: They can be moved from car to car. Many experts have predicted that in-dash nav will soon go the way of the "car phone" and embedded systems have been shown to increase the depreciation of a vehicle. But others see in-car nav bouncing back with the addition of social networking and location-based services -- and by providing such info in a safer manner than portables.
The SEMA survey also finds that 39% of respondents plan to purchase a navigation system in the future. If you're in that group, which will it be and which do you prefer -- in-dash or portable -- and why?
Microsoft has introduced a wireless technology specifically designed for in-car internet
, dubbed "ViFi." Developed in conjunction with the University of Washington and the University of Massachusetts, Microsoft's ViFi is intended to solve one of the primary problems in providing a robust WiFi connection in a moving car -- and promises to do it less expensively than existing cellular-based solutions.
One of the roadblocks to WiFi-based in-car connectivity occurs during "hand-offs" between networks as the vehicle travels between signal "base stations." The signal can drop off during such hand-offs, making a steady WiFi connection spotty at best. But Microsoft's ViFi connects to multiple base stations, with the strongest one serving as the "anchor" and others as "auxiliary" backups. So if the connection on the anchor station is lost, a backup is ready to take its place and pass packets of data along for an uninterrupted connection.
Need the perfect soundtrack for that end-of-summer Labor Day weekend road trip? Harmon/Kardon's Amplified Journey website will not only calculate your route and give you directions, but it will also create a playlist you can download to your iPod that matches your time on the road and customizes the tunes based on your route.
You enter your starting and ending points then select one of 15 music genres and Amplified Journey will cull a playlist based on driving directions, landmarks you'll pass, and bands from places along the way. When I entered Los Angeles to San Francisco and selected rock, within a few seconds Amplified Journey came up with 85 songs for the 384 miles and almost six hours of driving, although it was heavy on obscure bands.
And while perennial LA punks Bad Religion and So Cal neo-ska band Goldfinger made sense for kicking off the trip, I couldn't understand what The Pogues "Red Roses for Me" has to do with being stuck on the San Fernando Valley's 170 Freeway.
Subscribe to the Edmunds Automotive Network Newsletter and enter the $500 Gas Card Sweepstakes. Sign up now and enter for your chance to win a $500 Gas Card!Official Rules
If portable navigation pushed aside in-dash systems by being less expensive and able to move from car to car, then iPhone nav apps are using the same advantages to replace portables. And iPhone nav apps are also more convenient since a car owner only has to carry one device instead of two, and many offer features such as Internet-connected POI search and automatic mapping software updates. 
