Posts tagged Cars at Switched

Posts with tag cars

Giant Moscow Billboard Is Peppered with Real Cars

by Will Safer, posted Apr 1st 2008 at 4:05PM

This isn't so much a technology story as a super-sized, impress you with the audacity story. A giant billboard in Moscow, stretching up and across approximately 1.5 ACRES (no, not a typo), features real BMWs affixed sideways to appear as though they are racing across the advertisement's expanse.

In the Western World, we know they do things big in Texas, but this enormous ad tops anything we've seen of this type.

Stuck to the side of the billboard are a BMW Z4 M Coupe, an M3, an M5, and an M6. The headlights are on, although no one is behind the wheel.

There have been some other creative billboards mounted highways and famous byways. Just take a gander at the bright and creative ads all over New York's Times Square or London's Piccadilly Circus.

From Autoblog. (Image from English Russia.)

Related links:

New Smart Brake Lights Could Improve Safety

by Tim Stevens, posted Mar 27th 2008 at 11:01AM

Smart Brake Lights Change Color for Safety

Getting rear ended sucks. Chances are it's happened to you, and maybe you've even done it to someone else. Quite often these fender-benders are caused when someone stops suddenly. If you happen to be paying attention close enough that you can stop in time to avoid the person in front of you, there's a good chance the person behind you wasn't, meaning you get creamed.

To improve auto safety in these kinds of situations, some students at Virginia Tech have developed a brake light system that could help make hard-stopping cars stand out from the steady red glow of the other cars, alerting absent-minded drivers that they need to get on the brakes.

The system uses a row of multi-colored LEDs to indicate the severity of the braking that a given driver is applying. Gentle pressure results in a yellow glow, while firm pressure means flashing red. In the luxury German car segment, it's already not uncommon to find cars that will automatically flash the hazard lights during a quick, panic stop. But, this hasn't exactly trickled down to the more economical autos out there.

Until then, keep your head up, put down the cell phone, and keep your eyes on the road.

From Engadget

Related Links:

Cell Phone + Car Crash = $5.2 Million Settlement

by Tim Stevens, posted Mar 25th 2008 at 4:02PM

Some states, like New York, have banned hand-held cell phone use while driving outright. Others are just relying on existing laws or passing new ones that, in more general terms, prohibit drivers from doing anything distracting while driving. Back in 2006 Georgia had no specific law against hand-held cell phone use, but that didn't stop a woman from recently being awarded a $5.2 million settlement in the state after tragically losing her arm in a traffic accident that year.

The woman was traveling on the highway at 77 miles-per-hour when she was rear-ended by an employee of International Paper Co. Her car rolled and her arm was wedged between the car and the pavement. It ultimately had to be amputated below the shoulder.

Georgia has since passed a law specifically banning hand-held cell phone use, but whether or not it's illegal in your state is something drivers should consider before making that call on the road.

From textually.org

Related Links:

Civilian Arrested for Using Fake Lights and Sirens to Bypass Traffic

by Alon Avdi, posted Dec 3rd 2007 at 2:35PM

Some people will go to any length to avoid sitting helplessly in traffic, even if it means breaking the law by pretending to be Johnny Law. The News Tribune reports that a 25 year-old man was taken into custody last week after using flashing lights on his car to impersonate the police and bypass heavy traffic. Driving a late-model Ford Mustang with flashing blue lights affixed to the front grill and around the rear bumper, the man was arrested by the Washington State Patrol after witnesses called the police to report the suspicious vehicle. Highway patrolmen finally caught up to the impersonator (who was first spotted weaving through traffic on Interstate 5) on Highway 512 in Tacoma, where he told troopers the lights were "just for show."

Police proceeded to check the vehicle, where they found a switch near the driver's leg that triggered the lights, flashing them in arbitrary patterns. They also uncovered what they termed a "control head" between the driver's seat and center console that set off a siren-like tone emitter linked to a speaker near the front of the car. Apparently this wasn't the first time that the man had pulled the trick, as records indicate a November 19th 911 call to police reporting a car with flashing blue lights.

The moral of the story is don't put your fake police lights on your bumper, put them on top of your car. Just kidding -- we'd rather have you stuck in traffic than be in the slammer for what the wise men call stupid smart people tricks.

From The News Tribune

Related Links:

10 Super Fast, Super Green Cars

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Aug 27th 2007 at 5:36PM

Wired has compiled a list and photo gallery of 10 Earth-friendly roadsters meant to shake off the reputation alternative fueled vehicles have for being slow, and, frankly, kind of lame (even if some of Wired's picks are wildly impractical, overpriced or downright ridiculous, as is the FM4-Human Car pictured above).

From a highly-aerodynamic solar powered car to a modified Prius to a glorified go-cart powered only by gravity, the vehicles on the list cover all of the alt-fuel bases. Be sure to check out the rest of this comprehensive middle finger to Big Oil, including our favorite, a drool-inducing electric beast named after scientist Nikola Telsa.

From Wired

Related Links:

Sarah's Emergency Room: think Doctor Dash Sony feels your pain, prepares more PAIN GH: Aerosmith compatibility poll results are ... inconclusive	Googleholic for July 8, 2008 Edit this page: Useless but fun bookmarklet lets you edit any web site Yoozila: Google's Hot Cousin?
Apple's retail chief on iPhone activations Hands-on with iPhone 3G, more unboxing photos iPhone App News Roundup: July 8, 2008	Sir John Templeton, best contrarian investor of the 20th Century, dies at 95 Alcoa shares higher after not-as-bad-as-expected earnings Canadian rock band Nickelback latest music act to join Live Nation
New Banjo Kazooie videos and screens Halo 3 Series 2 figures now available You like Sin City's visual effects? So did Ubisoft	Super Aguri assets to be auctioned GM shrinks Volt's gas tank, range drops from 600 to 360 miles Feds' new crash-test program to go into effect in 2010
Crysis Warhead to be sold for $29.99 GCube Ventures hopes to fund game related start-up companies Gamers: go vote!	Elton Brand Spurns California, Verbally Commits to Philly Olympic Swimming, Gymnastics Will Start Early in China, Live in Prime Time on NBC Young Whippersnapper Joe Paterno Will Turn Around PSU Any Day Now

Giant Moscow Billboard Is Peppered with Real Cars

New Smart Brake Lights Could Improve Safety

Cell Phone + Car Crash = $5.2 Million Settlement

Civilian Arrested for Using Fake Lights and Sirens to Bypass Traffic

10 Super Fast, Super Green Cars

Breaking news Feed

Featured stories Feed

AOL Tech Network

Resources

Categories

cnet reviews

downloads

Features

Hot Topics

Latest Reviews from CNET.com

Top Product Reviews

Weblogs, Inc. Network