The Car Tech blog

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As 2009 rolls to a close, we look back at the cars we've reviewed over the last year to see which one should earn our Tech Car of the Year award. From our survey of the 100 or so cars we've reviewed, we're pleased to see that the adoption of cabin tech by automakers is becoming more prevalent and ever more sophisticated, with features such as hard-drive-based navigation with traffic reporting becoming common.

Among the cars we've seen, we picked out five that show the most innovative technology. These cars use technology to enhance the cabin and driving experience, and push the automotive technology envelope. Please vote for the car you think should be the 2009 Tech Car of the Year, and discuss it in the comments. The Car Tech staff jury members will place their own votes, and we will announce the winner on January 11, just before the Detroit auto show. Voting closes on January 4, 2010.

Nominees

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Audi's Quattro all-wheel-drive system, along with an active suspension system, makes the Q5 handle like a car, maintaining grip and composure during high-speed cornering. A new navigation system, powered by a Nvidia graphics chip, extensively renders urban areas in 3D.

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BMW spared no technology in its effort to make the X5 SUV worthy of an M badge. The result? The heaviest vehicle we've ever rotated through a turn. Throw in a navigation system with satellite imagery in the maps, and we've got a tech leader.

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Toyota may have turned the Prius into the iconic hybrid, but Ford's Fusion Hybrid is just a better all-around car. The hybrid system gives this midsize sedan excellent mileage, while letting it run under electric power at speeds up to 47 mph. Ford's cabin tech is anchored by Sync and Sirius Travel Link, and gets pushed up a step further with the driver-configurable ecology-oriented instrument cluster.

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The new Prius might have made this list of nominees, if it weren't for the all-new Lexus HS250h. This car uses Toyota's hybrid system to get excellent mileage while showing that a luxury car doesn't have to be a full-size sedan. It makes use of a number of driver aid technologies, and incorporates Lexus' newest cabin tech suite.

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Lincoln's new flagship sedan was a contender last year, and makes the list this year because of significant improvements. Along with its excellent Sync, Sirius Travel Link, and THX audio features, Lincoln gave it a high-tech engine in the form of the twin turbo direct injection V-6. Add to this adaptive cruise control and an automatic parking system that actually works, and the MKS shows up as a tech heavyweight.

Voting is now closed for the 2009 Tech Car of the Year.
View results

(Credit: Google)

One of the highlights of Android 2.0 has been the Google Maps Navigation app that delivers voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation on your phone for free. Until now, only Motorola Droid owners could take advantage of this sweet perk, but times they are a-changing.

On Monday, Google announced that its navigation app is now available for devices running Android 1.6 and higher, including the T-Mobile G1 and T-Mobile MyTouch 3G. While still in beta, the app provides voice-guided directions between two points, traffic information, and business searches.

This release also includes a new Layers feature that lets you overlay more information on the map, such as transit lines and Wikipedia articles about places, but it does not support the "Navigate to" voice command feature found on Android 2.0, so you'll have to input all your destinations using your phone's keyboard.

Google Maps Navigation for Android 1.6 is now available for download from the Android Market. Unlike other navigation apps or location-based services from the likes of TomTom, Garmin, and TeleNav, you don't have to pay a one-time fee or monthly subscription to use Google Maps Navigation. All you need is a data connection and you're good to go.

The big car audio companies chose to sit this round out. Fortunately, there was still a lot of cool tech at the 2009 SEMA Show.

(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CNET)

With the absence of the major car audio OEMs at the 2009 SEMA Show, it would be easy to assume that car tech has taken a backseat to tuning and muscle. However, the more compact electronics section allowed smaller companies with truly innovative products to shine. We found ourselves spending more time learning about cool products like the PowerSafe jumper cable, instead of rushing from booth to booth looking at amplifier after amplifier.

Award-winning tech at the 2009 SEMA Show

For example, On-Board Diagnostics (OBD-II) interfaces were a major part of the tech scene at SEMA. From add-on modules for your GPS device to standalone OBD-II devices to Wi-Fi dongles that transform your iPhone into a handheld diagnostics station, there were dozens of different devices that allowed users to listen in on what their vehicle used to only share with a mechanic. These devices allow tuners to search for more power, greenies to eke more miles out of a gallon, and regular consumers to feel more confident when they take their cars in for maintenance.

Other cool technologies that picked up awards were rearview camera interfaces, off-road iPod cradles, and a funny little device that actually makes all of those cupholders useful.

Check out our gallery of award-winning new products at the 2009 SEMA Show for more details and pics.

(Credit: Nissan)

Nissan has developed a mini robotic car that can move autonomously in groups while avoiding crashing into obstacles (including other cars).

The Eporo, Nissan says, is the first robot car designed to move in a group by sharing its position and other information. The aim is to incorporate the technology into passenger cars to reduce accidents and traffic jams.

Although a group of Eporos may look like a gang of cybernetic Jawa, Nissan says the cars' design was inspired by the way fish move in schools.

An evolution of the bumblebee-inspired BR23C robot car unveiled last year, the Eporo uses Nissan's collision avoidance technology to travel in groups. Check out BR23C trying to get away from a Japanese lady in this video.

Eporo can dodge obstacles just like fish.

(Credit: Nissan)

The automaker studied how large schools of fish can move without colliding. It says Eporo imitates three rules of fish movement: avoiding crashes, traveling side by side, and keeping close to other members of the school.

The robots use laser range finders and ultra-wideband radio to determine distance to obstacles. They also communicate with each other to form the most efficient group formation to maneuver through tight spots.

Eporo stands for "Episode O (Zero) Robot." That zinger of a mouthful means zero episodes, as in zero accidents and zero emissions.

Nissan intends to show off Eporo at the Ceatec trade show next week in Tokyo.

Searching for a Zipcar with the company's new iPhone app.

(Credit: Zipcar)

SAN FRANCISCO--It's like the ultimate yuppie geek convergence: there's finally an iPhone app for car-sharing company Zipcar. To put it in the most stereotypical of terms, you now no longer need a computer to book that Prius for your weekend Whole Foods run.

Apple gave a green light to the free download earlier this week, so Zipcar members can now use the app to find and book available cars using GPS-enabled maps, access account and car database information, contact the company's headquarters, and use a "virtual key fob" to lock and unlock their reserved cars. It's the first-ever mobile endeavor for Zipcar besides text-message alerts, something that may be surprising considering the company's outside-the-box, next-gen image.

"This is an entirely new channel of communication with members," Zipcar Chief Technology Officer Luke Schneider told CNET News in a meeting at the company's San Francisco office, adding that over a quarter of the company's 325,000 members (which it calls "Zipsters") own iPhones. Applications for more mobile platforms are tentatively on the way, he added, as another quarter of Zipcar members own non-iPhone smartphones. But he said the company hasn't decided which to develop next.

Zipcar, founded a decade ago in Cambridge, Mass., is designed as an alternative to car ownership and rental. You pay by the hour, gas and insurance are included, and cars are scattered in parking spaces across cities and university towns (the places where living without a car is most feasible) so that once you've booked a vehicle, you can show up and unlock it with your membership card. Schneider came on board when the company merged with a rival, Flexcar, about two years ago.

With its iPhone app, Schneider said, Zipcar hopes to achieve a twofold goal: first, making the membership experience easier by allowing for mobile reservations and database information; and two, attracting new customers by letting them toy with the app even if they aren't already members. Load up the "virtual key fob" without logging in or having a reservation, and a pop-up message will appear saying, in quirky Zipster fashion, "You do not have a current reservation, but you can make fun sounds anyway." In other words, you can push the horn-honking button until your friends want to wring your neck. It's about "the experience" of the Zipcar brand, Schneider explained.

For the company's management, the mobile app can also fine-tune some of the data that Schneider says they're "constantly obsessed" with: which car models are in demand at which times of the day and year, which locations seem over- or under-served, and so forth. It doesn't collect any sensitive personal data, he assured me.

I had a chance to test drive the new iPhone app on Wednesday, when I picked up a Zipcar to drive to Mountain View for the TechStars Investor Day event. The app is extremely well-designed, and making a reservation is a no-brainer. It's overall terrific branding for Zipcar: newcomers will certainly get the idea that this is a company that's tech-savvy, rooted in convenience, and has a sense of humor.

And Zipcar needs to keep up that image, now that the car-sharing trend is catching on with rivals from both the nonprofit space (like the Bay Area's City Car Share) and the mainstays of the rental car industry.

The Zipcar iPhone app's 'virtual key fob' is cute, but more gimmicky than convenient.

(Credit: Zipcar)

"Zipcar established a category that didn't exist yet," Schneider said of competition in the market. "It validates the space when bigger competitors come in."

My gripe with the app, unfortunately, is with the nifty part that everybody's talking about. The unlock-by-iPhone feature is more of a fun toy than a utility; it simply isn't as convenient as it should be. First, you've got to load up the app and let it log you in--which takes a few seconds, enough time for me to fish around in my wallet and find my "Zipcard," the ID card that also locks and unlocks reserved cars. Then, upon hitting the lock or unlock button, the app has to communicate with Zipcar via data connection--not a short-range signal like an automatic door opener--and sometimes that can take another second or two. (Once, in fact, it just didn't seem to want to work.) Typically, I just got impatient and dug out my card.

Additionally, the app won't replace the credit-card-sized "Zipcard." They'll still need to use the card, not the iPhone interface, to unlock a car when they initially pick it up.

But that's a security regulation more than anything else, Schneider told me: "We don't want you to be stranded if your battery's run out."

(Credit: Toyota)

In a move sure to make the members of MADD happy (see what I did there?), Toyota has announced that it's testing a mouthpiece-free breathalyzer to keep those with high alcohol levels off the road.

(Credit: Toyota)

Similar to Volvo's drunk-driving tool, drivers blow into the handheld device, which analyzes their breath without them having to put the product in their mouths.

A mounted digital camera records which face goes with which reading so an inebriated driver can't try to push a false reading from a volunteer's less-boozy breath.

If the level is too high (no word yet on what "too high" means), the ignition is disabled until a lower reading is achieved. That means Amy Winehouse won't be tooling around your neighborhood anytime soon.

While I respect the motivation behind the technology, I'm worried about false positives. I rinse with mouthwash before leaving the house every day, but what if my car won't turn on because of the traces of alcohol on my breath from my Scope? I'd have to wait until I could get a clear reading, and I really don't have time for that. Maybe I could start keeping mouthwash in the glove compartment. Or buy a Honda instead.

The Alpine iDA-X305 is a good example of a car stereo that can be found for significantly less than MSRP.

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET)

Looking to save a few bucks on that portable navigation device or epic stereo system for your car? Well, we have a few tips to help you keep more money in your wallet.

Don't be afraid to look at the outgoing models.
In most cases, the newest of the new GPS devices only offer incremental advantages over the models they replace. Meanwhile, the cost of the outgoing models often drops drastically as retailers attempt to clear out their stock to make room for the new. If the difference in feature set is worth the difference in price, you could rake in big savings.

Don't worry too much about the maps not being the most up to date out of the box. Most manufacturers have some sort of a new map guarantee that will allow you to download a free map update within 30 to 60 days of purchase.

Make sure it will fit.
Before you plunk down your hard-earned cash on a car stereo component, make sure that it is compatible with your vehicle. Check to see if your vehicle supports the standard DIN size (most do), or if it can accommodate a double DIN receiver. This is even more important when dealing with speaker components, which vary wildly in size from vehicle to vehicle.

Don't overdo it.
Before you go stuffing two 15-inch subs and a 1,200 watt amp into your Chevrolet Aveo, stop and seek the advice of a professional. Maybe your vehicle, your musical tastes, and your wallet would benefit from smaller speakers and a slightly less powerful amp.

MSRP is just a suggestion.
This is especially true in the world of car audio. It's not uncommon to see a car audio reciever retail at up to 25 percent off of the MSRP. Savings on speakers, amps, and other components is oftentimes greater. This can often add up to hundreds of dollars in savings.

Don't forget to account for installation.
You've picked all of your car audio components and come in just under budget, but when you get to the counter you're suddenly hit with a barrage of installation fees, mounting kits, and accessories. Fear not. You can often save a few bucks on installation simply by asking for a deal. Don't be afraid to haggle.

Enterprising DIYers can save even more money by skipping the expensive labor costs and by shopping for their wiring and mounting kits online.

Take security seriously.
This last one isn't technically a shopping tip, but one of the best ways to save money on car tech is to make sure that it actually stays in the car. Having to buy a new window or repair a broken lock on top of replacing your stereo or GPS device once it's stolen is the ultimate example of adding insult to injury.

Look for stereos with detachable faceplates for security and make sure your speaker and amp installations don't attract a lot of the wrong kind of attention. Don't leave GPS devices exposed when away from the vehicle and definitely don't leave the cradle and charger stuck to the windshield overnight.

Monday, we told you about a breakthrough in robotics that allows killer machines to be powered by compressed air. Now we've got this amazing video of a motorcycle that uses the same power source. The so-called Air Bike was created by engineering students in India as a prototype for a solution to the country's prevalent smog problem.

Sure, it only goes 11 mph now, but as a proof-of-concept vehicle it's pretty cool. I could imagine a smaller vehicle (bike? moped?) with the same gear that could go much faster as a final product, if it gets that far.

The only problem I see is that compressing air takes energy, and often air compressors are powered by the same gasoline that this cycle is meant to eliminate the need for. If they can find a way to use electric compressors only, then this concept is definitely worth pursuing.

(Via Newlaunches.com)

We've given a lot of pixels to electric cars recently, especially the hot Tesla Roadster. But there's one electric car that can dust the Tesla and all the others off the line. It's a 1972 Datsun.

Meet the White Zombie from Plasma Boy Racing. John Wayland of Portland, Ore., made the unassuming small car in his garage as a project, and now the custom-made electric powerhouse is taking the drag strips by storm. In the video above, it toasts a bad-ass-looking Corvette, much to the 'vette owner's chagrin.

We're not sure how practical a car like this would be, as it has to be recharged after each heat, but man it looks like it'd be fun to drive.