Three filings from General Motors with US Patent and Trademark Office detail new devices designed to alter airflow around and through a car. These patents were initially discovered and published by Corvette Blogger...
Ever fought over the road trip playlist with your family? Kia wants to make that a thing of the past with its Separated Sound Zone technology. The new Separated Sound Zone (SSZ) setup works by isolating individual audio fields, with speakers scattered around the cabin to reduce or amplify certain frequencies and cut any 'overlap' between the sound zones...
The current crop of semi-autonomous driver assists aren't proper substitutes for hands-on attention, according to a new study from the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). According to the non-profit's research, current semi-autonomous systems like lane-keeping assist and adaptive cruise control displayed behaviours ranging from "the irksome, such as too-cautious braking, to the dangerous"...
Hydrogen made in a CSIRO laboratory has been used to power a car for the first time, with chief executive Larry Marshall today taking a ride in a car powered by the lab-produced fuel. According to the organisation, the process "will pave the way for bulk hydrogen to be transported in the form of ammonia, using existing infrastructure, and then reconverted back to hydrogen at the point of use"...
Toyota says that it has a “responsibility to make a stand” as Australia’s market leader and drastically cut the CO2 emissions of its local vehicle range — with or without the sort of government-enforced regulations already entrenched in Europe, the US and much of Asia...
Ferrari has introduced a new low-temperature paint process, designed to deliver better uniformity across components and a lower environmental impact. Developed in partnership with PPG Industries, the new paint finish is called 'Low Cure' clear coats. It relies on a specially formulated clear coat, which allows Ferrari to bake the paint at 100 degrees instead of 150 degrees...
Earnings details weren't the only news to come out of Tesla yesterday. We also learned the Model S, Model X and Model 3 will get something called 'Party & Camper mode' at some point in the near future, allowing intrepid owners to leverage the battery capacity of their cars for outdoorsy pursuits. In typical Tesla fashion, the new function was announced by Elon Musk on Twitter...
Michelin is working on technology that could see the end of 'new tyres' as we know them today, by instead using 3D printers to bring worn-out rubber back to life. The idea forms part of the company's holistic 'Visionary Concept' with several innovative technologies including an airless wheel/tyre package, tyres made of wood, and 3D printing...
French tyre maker Michelin is currently developing a tyre capable of cracking a mind-blowing 482km/h (300mph), which would allow street-legal hyper-cars like the Bugatti Chiron and Koenigsegg Agera RS to exceed higher straight-line speeds than what they have officially recorded to date (431km/h and 447.2km/h respectively)...
Uber has decided to close its self-driving truck department, and concentrate its autonomous vehicle efforts in passenger car sphere. "We recently took the important step of returning to public roads in Pittsburgh, and as we look to continue that momentum, we believe having our entire team’s energy and expertise focused on this effort is the best path forward,” Eric Meyhofer, head of Uber Advanced Technologies Group, said in an internal email sent to employees and seen by Techcrunch...
A tweet from Elon Musk has suggested a KITT-style voice assistant could appear in future Teslas, supplementing the in-dash (or on-dash, in the case of the Model 3) touchscreens. Asked by a Model 3 Performance owner whether his car will get "K.I.T.T like AI... any time soon?", Musk replied with a simple "Yes"...
Even though the range-topping Ranger Raptor misses out on autonomous emergency braking, Ford's team responsible for developing the model locally says driver safety is top of its priorities list. After exclusively revealing it won't offer autonomous emergency braking on the Ranger Raptor last week, Ford has confirmed it's working on the technology, but faced technical challenges too steep to climb by the model's launch...
Car manufacturers aren't the only ones working on autonomous technology apace. Along with Google and Uber, traditional automotive suppliers are beavering away on their own technology, extending the reach of the systems they already offer. Bosch is one of those suppliers...
We've all felt it happening. You're driving along when, all of a sudden, your eyes get heavy and sleepiness starts to kick in. Along with lack of sleep, it turns out vibrations of a certain frequency could be the cause. Speaking on the CarAdvice podcast, RMIT Professor Stephen Robertson said a "narrow range of vibrations that come through the driver's seat can cause drowsiness within 15 to 30 minutes, which is incredibly quick"...
Tesla customers have driven over 1.2 billion miles (1.9b kilometre) with the company's semi-autonomous Autopilot systems engaged, a new report says. First covered by Electrek, a team from MIT Human-Centered AI has produced (and is still updating a report) estimating the distance covered by Tesla vehicles operating with Autopilot turned on...
Ferrari has patented a new hybrid four-cylinder powertrain with an electric turbocharger. AutoGuide found the intriguing patent filing from Ferrari at the European Patent Office. The filing describes a new engine featuring a turbine in the exhaust duct, but instead of directly driving a compressor, it powers an electric generator which then stores the energy...
Autonomous cars are being put through their paces off the road and on public streets – even at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Now, the tyre development team at Bridgestone is looking to use the technology for road-noise testing in Japan from next year, in search of more precise and efficient tests...
Autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection is one of the must-have safety features in modern cars, but it's not infallible. Whether it's false positives caused by reflective signs or systems failing during demonstrations, semi-autonomous safety assists can be fooled...
Motion sickness is an absolute pain, especially if you're tackling long drives with children in the car. Citroen, a company known for its left-field solutions to engineering problems, has decided to take on the issue with a funky set of glasses...
Mini Australia has become the first manufacturer to offer wireless Apple CarPlay as standard in Australia, with the launch of the updated 2018 'LCI' Hatch and Convertible ranges. Fitted from the base Cooper grade, the Mini Connected Services package includes various wireless and connected functions for the vehicle's infotainment system, including integration for wireless Apple CarPlay – which debuted over at parent company BMW, though it remains a cost option on all cars equipped with iDrive 6...
