Cars

710 articles on Cars

• Protect Your Kid's Ears This Fourth of July
  When you think of Independence Day, you may think of cookouts, family fun and fireworks. However, it's important to keep in mind that fireworks can be dangerous and should be treated with care.
  07.02.12

• BMW and Toyota Join Forces for EV Tech, New Sports Car
  BMW chairman Norbert Reithofer and Toyota president Akio Toyoda took to the stage today in the German automaker's hometown to announce a strategic partnership between the two car companies, with plans to jointly develop fuel cell technology, electric vehicle architectures and an all-new sports car. To the casual observer, this may come across as one of ...
  06.29.12

• How Ford Calculates Driver Workload to Dial Back Distractions
  Just when traffic begins bunching up or you¿re forced to make an evasive maneuver, the phone rings. But even with Bluetooth hands-free, it may not be the best time to take the call and take your mind off of driving. To make cars more proactive in this process, Ford researchers are working on using input from the vehicle, advanced safety systems and the driver¿s body to preempt phone calls or other electronic distractions.
  06.27.12

• Learning to Let the Car Drive
  In anticipation of autonomous vehicles hitting the road ¿ and with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) such as adaptive cruise control and collision avoidance already taking some control from drivers ¿ the federal government and General Motors worked with the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) to conduct a study of driver behavior when they aren¿t actively driving.
  06.25.12

• A Start Up Trek - Now Official Part 2
  I'd like to finish the process of registering a new business. I started this discussion two weeks ago but only covered how I decided on which organizational format (Limited Liability Company or LLC) and IRS filing format (subchapter S). I planned on a second part that would cover licenses and other filings which I'll talk about today. I was going to cover it last week but when my planned location fell through I found myself behind on these filings. In fact, I still haven't finished some of these filings, because I am still working on a new location. So like last time take anything you read here as my experiences for my situation. If you start a business you'll find differences based on the kind of business and where you're located.
  06.25.12

• Two Tons, But No Fun
  Ford's new Taurus SHO is a lumbering beast of a full-size sedan that's been whipped into a relatively nimble corner-carver. But, oh wow, is it boring to drive.
  06.22.12

• Human-Powered Helicopter Hovers for Nearly a Minute
  One of the oldest prizes in aviation is one step closer to being claimed after a team from the University of Maryland flew a human-powered helicopter for 50 seconds yesterday. The students managed the tenuous indoor flight with the Gamera II, beating the team's previous record of 11 seconds set last summer.
  06.22.12

• From Pedals to Propellers, Czech Flying Bike Takes Shape
  Forget about sharing the road. A bunch of Czech engineers and hobbyists have proposed a flying bicycle that can float above the pavement thanks to a quartet of battery-powered propellers.
  06.22.12

• Special Ops Commander Sacked After Tiltrotor Crash
  The head of an Air Force secretive tiltrotor squadron has reportedly been fired following the near-fatal crash of one of the unit's aircraft last week.
  06.21.12

• Charge On The Go With myCharge Portable Power Bank 6000
  It's a problem when you have one device running low on batteries, but it's even more difficult when you have two or three all in need of a little juice. I've run into this on road trips with my family. We've each got a gadget but the car only has two outlets so that means a spiderweb of wires and splitters. It also means we're all searching for outlets at hotel stops and then trying not to leave anything behind the next day. The myCharge Portable Power Bank 6000 is an easy solution to this problem.
  06.21.12

• Study Shows In-Car Technology Is a Pain-Point For Consumers
  J.D. Power and Associates has put out its 2012 U.S. Initial Quality Study (IQS), and besides Lexus, Jaguar, Porsche, Cadillac and Honda taking the top spots in the annual list, the real story is the level of consumer dissatisfaction with the latest technology fitted to their vehicles. While the study has seen an improvement of 5 ...
  06.21.12

• It's an Airplane, It's a Jet Ski, It's the Electric FlyNano
  The newest electric airplane to make its first flight is squarely aimed at recreational fliers, even those without a pilot's license. The FlyNano turned some heads at last year's Aero Friedrichshafen aviation trade show in Germany thanks to its interesting design. The FlyNano is a miniature electric flying boat, making it essentially an airborne jet ski.
  06.21.12

• Brace for the Apocalypse! Surviving the Worst in an Inland Lifeboat
  First things first. Before worrying about food storage or access to clean water during a major disaster, you need to make sure you get through the first wave safely. But never fear: When the next big tsunami hits, a water-ready modular bunker called the STATIM pod aims to float you above the flooding.
  06.20.12

• Eruption Update for June 19, 2012: Nevado del Ruiz and Popocatépetl
  I thought I'd post a brief update on the action at two Latin American volcanoes as a break from working on this lovely NSF proposal. Nevado del Ruiz, Colombia Quite a few reports have come out of Colombia talking of the continued ash emissions from Ruiz. However, the activity is mostly on the same level as it ...
  06.19.12

• China's Biggest Challenge Is Aerospace
  Aerospace has long been an American bulwark. In most years Boeing is the nation¿s leading exporter. America has more airports, builds more airplanes, trains more pilots, and arranges more of its economy around aviation than any other country, by far. China would very much like a piece of this¿to have Boeings, NASAs, Cessnas, and fully fledged GPS systems of its own.
  06.18.12

• A Start Up Trek - Crossroads
  So the slow progress may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. I'm getting a crash course in business, which has been much more fun than it would have if I wasn't motivated by starting a business. I'm slowly learning how to implement my idea much better than if I had just bought the equipment and hung out a sign, which was my original plan. And I got to make a running joke about money market accounts, which has to be a first in the annuals of human history. As I develop a more thought out and serious implementation of my MindGear idea my next challenge will be to do all this and stay within budget. I wish I had planned for a larger reserve.
  06.18.12

• Video: Secret Space Plane Shatters Orbital Record as Chinese Rival Looms
  The second copy of the Air Force's X-37B robotic space plane landed at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California early Saturday morning, ending a record-breaking 469-day orbital mission. It's an indisputable triumph for the U.S. military and space industry. Much less certain is the X-37's future. Budget cuts, labor woes and the looming specter of a Chinese rival could blunt the diminutive robo-shuttle's orbital edge.
  06.16.12

• Review: 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid Is a Pleasant Populist
  Until I passed the radar-equipped eye of the local constabulary, nobody had noticed the Toyota Camry I was driving. "Do you know how fast you were going?" the officer predictably asked. I was dumbfounded -- before I'd been pulled over, the drive had been a total blur. Outside of speed traps, the Camry beats Buster Bluth ...
  06.15.12

• The Pleasant Populist
  Toyota's latest Camry hybrid is a competent cruiser with a big back seat and unobtrusive technology on the dash and under the hood, but the sedan has a few shortcomings that keep it from being a pantheon of practicality.
  06.15.12

• EcoCAR 2 Challenges Students To Build Road-Ready Hybrids
  One of the most important student car design competitions has returned. EcoCAR 2: Plugging In to the Future features new schools, new cars and a whole new focus. Unlike other student-built car projects, the three-year engineering and design challenge gives college teams an existing vehicle and tasks them with retrofitting it with an innovative and reliable ...
  06.14.12

• Special Ops Tiltrotor Down in Florida: Second Crash in 3 Months
  The U.S. military's most controversial aircraft has crashed -- again. An Osprey tiltrotor belonging to Air Force Special Operations Command went down over Florida Wednesday evening, injuring five people aboard and likely destroying the aircraft. It's the second crash in three months for the controversial V-22 tiltrotor.
  06.14.12

• Why Technical Studies Will Broaden Your Career Options
  Fourteen years ago, as a high school freshman, I had to choose between three options, which already way too early started shaping my life a little bit. In the French education system, I was given the choice between Scientific path, Literature path and Economics path. Already at that time, it was common knowledge that picking the scientific option was likely to give you more flexibility in choosing a college few years later. I suppose my parents and I did not question the common knowledge and I am now glad we did not.
  06.14.12

• BMW Opens Flagship i Store in London, Updates i3 EV
  BMW is diversifying its product portfolio beyond the blue and white crest and the ever-expanding Mini brand, with the introduction of its new i line of vehicles: the i3 city car and the i8 hybrid grand tourer. And with a new brand comes a new marketing tact, beginning with the opening of the flagship BMW ...
  06.13.12

• From Baja to BC In a Nissan Leaf EV
  Tony Williams is embarking on a journey up North America's west coast with nothing but a Nissan Leaf and a map of EV charging stations. Williams, who runs the LoveMyLeaf.com enthusiast website, is departing today from Tijuana, Mexico and heading up the coast to San Diego. With eight overnight stops in California, Oregon and Washington planned ...
  06.12.12

• Review: 2013 BMW M6 Convertible
  BMW fanboys ritually enrapture themselves over the small blue, purple, and red "M" badge that designates the brand's hulkier strains. But these are divisive times for the Bayerische Motoren Werkes' in-house performance shop. The 7,104 "M" cars which made their way into U.S. driveways last year are but a sliver of the nearly quarter-million vehicles sold ...
  06.11.12

• M Plein Air
  The M6 is all grown up, with a big, sophisticated drivetrain, copious bells and whistles, all the pesky baggage that comes with middle age.
  06.11.12

• A Start Up Trek - Now Official
  I've left off a lot of stuff off here, so maybe this needs to be a two - parter. Oh, and here is the bad news. It looks like the deal will fall through for the space I was going to rent. That's unfortunate after all that work laying out the store, but its also an opportunity to find an even better space. I've gotten more than a few e-mails from Huntsvillians following this series, and those e-mails telling me they waiting for MindGear to open always seem to come when I'm worn down from all this effort. Let me ask all of you to e-mail me what parts of town you'd like to see MindGear open. I've been looking around the Research Park area but this is a good opportunity to find out if I'm in the right area. I'll be working with a corporate real estate agent this week I hope to hear from you soon. Thanks!
  06.11.12