The Car Tech blog

Flashing headlights is your Constitutionally protected right

No good deed goes unpunished, as they say. A man who tried to warn others of a speed trap by flashing his vehicle's headlights at motorists was ticketed by police. But a Florida judge ruled this week that flashing headlights is free speech protected by the First Amendment, according to an article in the Orlando Sentinel.

Ryan Kintner was ticketed last year for warning motorists of a speed trap waiting for them down the road. The Lake Mary, Fla., resident was at home when he noticed a police officer with a radar gun near his house, and decided to more

Text message sender off the hook in car accident lawsuit

A New Jersey judge ruled today that a person sending a text message cannot be held liable for an ensuing car accident caused when the recipient replied to it, a CBS New York article reported.

Shannon Colonna was recently named in a lawsuit brought by two motorcyclists injured in a distracted-driving accident in 2009. David and Linda Kubert each lost part of their left legs when a truck driven by Kyle Best struck their motorcycle. Best pleaded guilty to using a handheld cell phone while driving, careless driving, and failure to maintain a lane, and was sentenced to $775 in more

The real prize for GM's EcoCar2 challenge? A job offer

In each of the three years of EcoCar2 Challenge, General Motors will give away approximately $100,000 in prizes to the students participating in the alternative fuels vehicle competition. But for some students, the real prize will be a steady paycheck.

Headliners GM and the Department of Energy, along with 25 suppliers, sponsor EcoCar2, a three-year alternative fuels vehicle competition, as a way to encourage college students to enter the automotive industry. It provides a chance for young engineers to apply the theoretical education they gain in the classroom in the lab, giving them an advantage when it comes to more

How can I spruce up my subpar stock stereo? (Roadside Assistance)

There are quite a few reasons why one would want to remove a stock stereo system from a car. Like most things with moving parts -- in this case, speakers -- components wear out, which results in degradation of sound quality over time. Sometimes, a nearly new stock stereo just isn't loud enough or clear enough for the driver's tastes and needs a good overhaul.

That's why in this week's Roadside Assistance, I'll be helping two readers replace the worn, outdated, and underpowered components of their stock stereo systems and avoid some of the pitfalls more

Ann Arbor to use V2V tech to prevent car crashes

Until supposedly safer autonomous vehicles become the norm, it's still up to the drivers to prevent car crashes. However, a few thousand drivers in Michigan will be getting a little electronic assist in staying out of harm's way.

The University of Michigan is conducting a pilot program to test a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications device that could help drivers avoid accidents, reported AnnArbor.com. This technology could prevent up to 81 percent of all vehicle crashes, according to the Department of Transportation (DOT). The school's Transportation and Research Institute is seeking 3,000 drivers in the Ann Arbor, more

From Nuance, Siri in your next car

If you find yourself with Siri envy but don't want to pony up the $600 for a phone, you may be able to get that same level of convenience and computerized companionship in your car.

Nuance's technology powers Apple's voice-recognition system, and the company is making its natural language command platform available to automotive manufacturers with Dragon Drive. Vehicles equipped with Dragon Drive will enable drivers to use spoken commands to get the system to perform a range of tasks, including open-ended conversational text messaging, getting directions to restaurants, or finding traffic information.

The benefit of Dragon more

Volkswagen tries to conquer the world with tech

California is not known as a carmaking state, but every carmaker is here. And few have been in Silicon Valley longer than Volkswagen Group with its Electronics Research Lab. There they try to crack the code on loading cars up with social media, connected navigation, portable integration, and more without distracting you to death.

I spent a day with wide-ranging access to the VW lab, in conversation with its director, Peter Oel. I came away with the impression that VW, like the rest of the industry, feels the tech cat is out of the bag and we aren't going back to a day when our cars are digital ghettos. That's also because carmakers know that high-touch technology is a key way they'll clobber their competitors, but they also keep their eye on the rear view as the government makes more and more noises that sound like distraction regulation.

The first time you get into a hybrid car, it can be quite eerie.

Not merely because of the peculiar sanctimoniousness of its owner, but because when it comes to a halt, there seems to be no engine sound. At first, you think it's stalled. Then you realize that cannot be. So your innards have to train themselves for this odd sensation.

However, it seems conclusive now that this little lamb's silence is proving to be somewhat injurious.

As a very fine analysis in Slate tells me, at speeds under 35 mph, hybrids and electric cars are 37 more

CoPilot GPS review: You can argue with free

When heavy hitters such as Microsoft and Google can offer iPhone navigation apps with turn-by-turn guidance for free, smaller companies find it tough to compete. ALK Technologies makes a play for continued relevance with its free CoPilot GPS iPhone app, building on the company's previous CoPilot Live Premium apps.

Free always sounds good, and CoPilot GPS makes its case against Google Maps and Microsoft Bing by offering downloadable maps. As part of the setup process, CoPilot GPS presents a list of maps for different regions you can download. With this very thoughtful approach, you can load up the U.more

Mitsubishi builds i-Miev Evo electric car for Pikes Peak

Mitsubishi Evos, performance-modified versions of the Lancer model, became legendary on the offroad rally circuit for their exceptional handling. Now Mitsubishi takes the Evo designation into the future with the first i-Miev Evolution, a performance version of its pod-like i-Miev electric city car.

Mitsubishi built the i-Miev Evo for the annual Pikes Peak Hill Climb, a race featuring 156 turns over 12.42 miles with a 4,700 foot ascent. The company says it started with a stock i-Miev, but the specs show heavy modification. Along with a completely new, carbon fiber body, the i-Miev Evo gets three 80 kilowatt more