Automotive Technology

[Apollyon]

For all you car enthusiasts out there, are there any new, exciting, and promising technologies on the horizon? What can we look forward to in the near future? These are the various technologies that I am aware of at the moment both existing, and forthcoming. I would love to hear about new ones.

1. Night vision
2. Active noise cancellation
3. Hybrid
4. Black box (for vehicle collison and insurance purposes)
5. GPS
6. A machine vision system tracking the driver's eyes to determine drowsiness and level or alertness.
7. Satellite television tracking antenna and receiver
8. Linux based hard drive car mp3 player (from Phatbox)

The list goes on and on, but those are the ones I can come up with at the top of my head. Let me know if you guys find anything else of interest.

[awong]

Phatbox is pretty cool, I think its an accessory option on many new VW's now.
TV in a car...no, to dangerous for the drive, for a large van, suv maybe.
black box...I still don't trust that. Its having big brother monitor me when I drive. I like that in my other cars they are purely mechnical and use no computers. They actually made for OBD2 cars that you plug in this device in the port and it makes noise when you are speeding. For teenagers, blah. I never got a speeding ticket and no accidents. Plus my other car has no port. haha
I am still holding out for a diesel electric hybrid. If its possible.
Noise? what noise, too little noise bugs me, too much gets annoying. I need some engine noise. especially enough to hear a car idle and accelerate when I shift.

I do see more cars using SMG, DSG style transmissions, electronic clutch with paddle shifter. I still pefer the old way of shifting

I think though I am very old fashioned on cars...some of this new techonogly is great. but how much is too much. And how much can the regular battery take. Not to mention excess weight = slower and less efficient engine b/c its lugging a heavier car. I like my car light and efficient( Not to mention decently quick)

[blue-kun]

From what I heard from my sister (mechanical engineering major), automotive makers are already working on active noise cancellation, in the form of active vibration damping. A small device is attached to engines and other sources of noise, and vibrates in the opposite phase of the noise source in order to cancel it out.

Eugene

[Apollyon]

Have any of you guys ever sat in a car that utilizes active noise cancellation now? I think the vehicles that have it are Cadillacs. Also I'd like to see what a HUD (heads up display) looks like. I'm not too fond of North American cars, but these are the only ones that have these features that I am aware of.

[Apollyon]

OK, this is REALLY scary. Just found this on slashdot.org

Driver Calls Police For Help When Cruise Control Gets Stuck At 120 MPH

POSTED: 7:29 am EDT October 5, 2004
PARIS -- A motorist in France went a little faster than he wanted when he claimed his cruise control got stuck, leaving him barreling down a busy highway at 120 mph and forcing police to help clear a route.

The Le Parisien newspaper quoted Hicham Dequiedt saying he was overtaking a truck when his Renault Vel Satis started to accelerate with a life of its own. He couldn't cut the ignition, he said, because his car has a magnetic card instead of a key.

"It was impossible to slow down! Stomping on the brakes proved pointless, nothing worked. I avoided one car after another by flashing my lights at them," the 29-year-old was quoted as saying.

Dequiedt managed, however, to alert police on his mobile phone. Messages warning other motorists of the danger were flashed up on screens that straddle the highway and over a traffic radio station, Le Parisien said.

Finally, as he was bearing down on a toll booth, Dequiedt said he finally managed to bring the car to a halt -- having raced down some 125 miles of highway between Vierzon and Riom in central France.

"I stomped on the brakes as hard as I could and the car finally stopped," he said.

[awong]

apollyon, that is why I am wary of new technology in cars. Too many things that will fail. I wonder if that guy's car was drive by wire and it failed. Of maybe the throttle cable snapped

[blue-kun]

I tried a similar thing while I was driving on I-5 the other day -- depressing the + button on my CC all the way. My car ('04 Saturn ION3) was actually smart enough to disengage the CC mode after it hit a certain speed. :D

I'm unsure about `performance cars' though... I wouldn't be surprised if their owners wanted the CC to work at a speed as high as they desired. :D

Eugene

[awong]

I have a VW/Audi, something is always leaking or failing, but my CC has always worked and that item fails so easily I guess I got lucky there. I've hit 90 in CC. 105 mph total...

[DijabutiA]

Auto Tech? Variable Nozzle Turbo technology. They currently have VNT turbo's on big diesels; they use vanes inside the turbo inlet to change the amount of exhaust flowing into the turbo to optimize for the current amount of exhaust flow entering into the turbo. In English, no turbo lag while retaining top end.