Category: Car Tech

The day we've all dreamed of is finally here. A new flying car has just received approval from the FAA, officially bringing the world one step closer to Jetsonian utopia. The Terrafugia Transition is a two-seat, "light sport" aircraft that can fly for up to 460 miles at 115 mph, and carry up to 450 pounds. It only needs a 1,700-foot runway to take off, and, with electrically powered folding ...

Texting while driving is one of the undeniable scourges of the road, and some studies have even suggested it's more dangerous than driving while intoxicated. We've seen various attempts to thwart or discourage drivers from firing off SMS missives or placing calls -- ranging from high-tech, GPS-equipped systems that intercept calls based on your movement, to silly thumb socks that make typing on a ...

California legislators might soon turn motorists' license plates into mobile digital ads, a measure proposed by Senator Curren Price that could help the state's cash-strapped economy. The AP reports that California could soon become the first state to use electronic license plates that flash ads when a car is stopped at a red light. These plates, developed by San Francisco startup Smart Plate, ...

It doesn't take a 'Desperate Housewives' enthusiast to know that in certain suburbs, status reigns supreme. Whether it manifests itself in luxury vehicles, expansive home additions, or silicon-infused body parts, it's nearly impossible to live in Pleasantville and not maintain appearances. And now, homeowners across the country have begun latching onto the latest must-have item: luxury lawnmowers. ...

Judging by past experiments, Volkswagen believes autonomous features are the future of the automotive industry. According to Engadget, the auto manufacturer's 2011 Phaeton has a dash-mounted camera that reads street signs and adjusts to lessen glare from oncoming headlights. Once a street sign has been read, the information (e.g., traffic information, speed limit) is displayed on the car's ...

The fastest electric motorcycle ever built is set to hit the track today in one of the world's toughest races. According to Popular Science, the MotoCzysz E1pc can reach 140 mph, thanks to its 10 built-in batteries. It has 10 times the battery capacity of a Toyota Prius and 2.5 times the torque of a Ducati 1198 motorcycle. The bike will need every bit of that power during the Isle of Man TT, ...

Real-time traffic updates delivered to your GPS or cell phone are not particularly new. But, as Scientific American points out, there is a major limitation to these systems. Namely, most drivers are already on the road, and often already stuck in traffic, when they receive these alerts. This is because they're little more than live traffic reports and cannot predict what traffic may look like in ...

With hopes of preventing traffic accidents, IBM's latest patent could actually take control of your engine. As scary as that sounds, according to Engadget, the patent application is for a stoplight system that tells a car when to stop and go by sending remote signals to its engine. When you roll up to a red light, IBM would send a "stop-engine notification" to your vehicle. We're assuming there ...

The bright red, double-decker Routemaster bus has long been an iconic symbol of the city of London, and Londoners were introduced to a new generation of green Routemasters this week that hopes to retain the original's distinct charms. Fast Company reports the original Routemaster was phased out of service in 2005, but London Mayor Boris Johnson pledged to bring in back. The sleekly redesigned ...

Share As cars are increasingly equipped to wirelessly access the Internet, the potential for security breaches grows. According to The New York Times, computer security researchers from the University of Washington and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have proven in a study that it's possible to remotely control many of a car's functions by hacking its computer. The researchers ...

We're super excited for New York Design Week, but we'd be even more excited if the city were getting its very own robot "octopus" to mark the occasion. That's what London will get for its London Design Festival in September, when design outfit Kram/Weisshaar will install a six-armed robot called 'Outrace,' borrowed from the Audi production line, in Trafalgar Square. (And yes, we're aware that ...

Based on observations made during our daily commute, people have trouble parallel parking. But, thanks to a project between Volkswagen and Stanford University, humans might not have to worry about squeezing into those small spots anymore. Our friends at Autoblog report that engineers have developed a car that can autonomously reverse power slide into a parking space. Originally part of the ...

Share Copenhagen residents could find love in a totally new and unexpected place: the city bus. According to The City Fix, transportation company Arriva has installed red "love seats" on about 100 buses that circulate through the Danish city. This stunt, which began May 3rd and will last two weeks, has a dual purpose. First, these seats are really meant to help folks make a love connection during ...

Share Rather than dodge bumps in the road, GenShock drivers could use them to power their cars. According to Technology Review, Massachusetts-based Levant Power has developed a shock technology that absorbs bumps and generates electricity. Much like a typical shock-absorber, a car hits a bump and a piston moves through oil to soften the jarring sensation. But the GenShock also has a small ...

When's the last time you actually sat in your room or office and listened to FM radio? Be honest. Thanks to Internet radio services like Pandora, it's probably been quite a while. According to The New York Times, drivers, too, could inch further and further from traditional radio as automakers and car stereo manufacturers partner with mobile devices and Internet radio. The obvious draw here is ...