Safety

OnStar took a look at its call logs to find out which cities had the highest number of Good Samaritans. It turns out the cities with the worst traffic also had the most helpful drivers.

Los Angeles, Chicago, and the New York metro area had the highest number of Good Samaritan calls to the emergency response service in the U.S. last year. OnStar counts a Good Samaritan call when a subscriber contacts the telematics operator to report another motorist's situation requiring emergency assistance, including collisions, flat tires, or responds to an Amber Alert. Drivers in these areas may … Read more

Over the last decade, Subaru has been a follower, not a leader, in automotive technology. But in one swoop the company is giving its cars a set of advanced driver assistance features competitive with those from Mercedes-Benz and Audi.

Subaru's new EyeSight system, which will first be available on the 2013 Legacy and Outback, uses two cameras to monitor what is out in front of the car. These cameras use stereo processing to determine the distance of other cars or objects ahead. They also can recognize lane lines.

These sensors enable a whole raft of driver assistance features. Collision … Read more

After more than 15 years spreading beyond the U.S. into Canada and most recently China, OnStar is planning to expand its reach even further. The telematics company partnered with Telefonica, the world's third-largest mobile carrier, to make its emergency response and navigation technology available to countries that don't use CDMA networks.

Telefonica will help deliver OnStar's automatic crash notification, emergency services, turn-by-turn navigation, diagnostics, and remote mobile connectivity to consumers using its international GSM network. With 6 million global customers to date, the new partnership means that the GM subsidiary will be able to tap into … Read more

Dashboard cameras and black-box technology are great ways to cover your tush in the event of a fender bender. Whether an honest mistake or an intentional insurance scam, video evidence that an accident wasn't your fault can save you big bucks.

While the technology is fairly cheap, odds are that you've already got a GPS-enabled camera suction cupped to your windshield or dashboard on the back of your smartphone. Why not work with what you've got and take advantage of this hardware with a dashboard-DVR app like DailyRoads Voyager for Android?

Essentially, what this free Android app does is continuously record video of the road ahead using your phone's camera while also tracking vehicle speed, location, and G-forces using the onboard GPS receiver and accelerometer.… Read more

Production of the 2013 Infiniti JX, which offers the first backup collision intervention (BCI) system, is now in full swing in Nissan's Smyrna Vehicle Assembly Plant in Tennessee.

The 2013 JX gets 21 mpg and 20 mpg for the front-wheel-drive and intuitive all-wheel-drive models, respectively. The BCI system warns the driver if an obstacle is detected; the system gives visual and audible cues. It can also step in and automatically apply the brakes to help avoid a potential impact, Nissan said in a press release.

In another first, the seven-passenger JX offers a multimode middle-seat design that makes it … Read more

Ford's Virtual Test Track Experiment (Virttex) just got a major technology upgrade.

Virttex, developed in 2001, is a high-fidelity, motion-based simulator that features a dome on top of a hydraulic system to mimic vehicle movement, giving it a slight resemblance to a jellyfish.

The upgraded image rendering technologies will provide a high-res, digitally projected 360-degree horizontal field-of-view to test and measure driver acceleration, braking and steering performance as well as overall driver reactions in varying conditions. This will help Ford develop and test active safety and driver aid technologies that warn drivers of imminent collision, drowsiness and other potentially … Read more

Chrysler Group announced the recall of 9,688 Dodge Charger police vehicles built between 2011 and 2012, to change and relocate the ABS/ESC fuse and replace the headlamp jumper harness.

Some police vehicles were built with front headlamps that could experience a loss of low-beam operation as a result of an overheated bulb harness connector. Other vehicles may experience a loss of ABS/ESC as a result of an overheated power distribution module, Chrysler Group said in a press release.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Web site, "this could lead to loss of visibility and/… Read more

Nissan announced it is recalling 39,000 Versas due to a possible safety hazard on the automatic and continuously variable transmission cars.

According to the the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Web site, the cars can be shifted out of park without depressing the brake pedal.

Nissan will replace the shifter knob free of charge. Owners need to make an appointment at a Nissan-authorized dealer to fix the problem. Versa owners can contact Nissan at 1-800-647-7261 for more information.

Although there have been no crashes or injuries reported, federal safety regulations require that the brake must be applied before a … Read more

Last time, we took a look at how cars protect their passengers in the event of a crash. This week, we're taking a look at a few high-tech ways that modern vehicles can help prevent accidents in the first place.

Modern tech cars can be equipped with a host of driver aid systems that help make driving easier for your average commuter. From road-aware cruise control systems to self-aware headlight systems, cars are getting smarter every day.

Adaptive cruise control If the standard cruise control system was the first step toward vehicular autonomy, then adaptive cruise control system is … Read more