Bill Ford Says Car Networks Are Coming

Posted on Aug 26, 2017 in Safety | 2 comments

At a speech before the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, Ford Motor Co.’s Executive Chairman Bill Ford (Henry’s great-grandson) made some notable remarks about how the future will need to accommodate 4 billion cars on the road by mid-century. (We already have about a billion.) While people around the world keep buying cars at a rapid pace, traffic jams are...

What Should Be Done About Teen Driver Deaths?

Posted on Jul 28, 2017 in Safety | Comments Off on What Should Be Done About Teen Driver Deaths?

“Lane ends. Merge right.” The sign gave plenty of notice that the two-lane arterial merged into a single lane ahead. The speed limit was 35 miles per hour. I travelled in the right lane, doing about 40. My girlfriend sat in the passenger seat. To my left, I could tell the driver of a car behind me wanted to pass before his lane ended. “No way.” I stepped on the...

Useless, Redundant and Dangerous Car Tech

Posted on Jun 20, 2017 in Safety | 4 comments

BMW’s iPhone MOG app *UPDATE: On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Transportation released voluntary anti-distraction guidelines for carmakers. These call for disabling all electronic devices that access the Web and social media or send text messages—any in-car technology that causes drivers to take their hands off the wheel or eyes off the road for more...

The 6 Best Ways to Beat Range Anxiety

Posted on May 19, 2017 in Safety | 2 comments

Range anxiety is treatable. While I’m not sold on the serious need for electric vehicles, I acknowledge that we’re likely to see more gas-less motor cars swishing through our cities in the coming years. I see three big problems with EVs: They have an extremely limited range (which varies according to many factors, including temperature, traffic conditions and...

Our Fuel Economy Standards and Tradeoffs

Posted on Apr 14, 2017 in Safety | 2 comments

Honda CRX: the next economy car? As fuel economy becomes a top concern of car buyers, confusion predominates over how it’s measured and how best to achieve it. I don’t know a way through this morass (who does?), but a return to some basic principles of physics in auto design might help. The EPA over time has developed a complex set of rules and testing...

LEDs: Lights of the Future or Just Another Driving Distraction?

Posted on Mar 15, 2017 in Safety | 1 comment

The image that started the LED revolution Audi changed the automotive world. It didn’t do it with a revolutionary new engine or by using a new lighter-than-steel chassis. It did it with light. A glaring, menacing light that etched its way into our psyches after emerging from a darkened room on an Audi R8. From the instant those LED strips lit up, the...

Keyless Entry: Convenience or Invitation to Hackers?

Posted on Feb 8, 2017 in Safety | Comments Off on Keyless Entry: Convenience or Invitation to Hackers?

The following thoughts are occasioned by a recent trip to Boston, during which I drove my nephew’s Mazda CX-9. Beautiful car, with all the goodies, including keyless entry and auto-start. My first thought was how hackable that thing was. Hacking keyless entry to unlock and start cars has become all the rage, even in Africa. A rash ofcar thefts in Rustenburg,...

Man Wins Lamborghini, Man Crashes Lamborghini

Posted on Jan 8, 2017 in Safety | 5 comments

Regular people shouldn’t have access to supercars. The reason supercars cost so much is so regular Joe Schmo can never afford to buy one. Ever. Because everyone knows that if Mr. Schmo ever got his foot into the accelerator pedal of a supercar, there’s a high likelihood that he’d kill himself. Or someone else. Or spin out, fall off a roadway and end up stranded...

Look Out for 100,000 Pounds of Cheese on U.S. Highways

Posted on Dec 13, 2016 in Safety | 1 comment

Can U.S. bridges handle 100,000-pound trucks? Cheese doesn’t often make it into the headlines on these pages. However, this cheese is different, because it has plans to hit the country’s highways. If that happens, “The entire country’s motoring public will be put in grave danger.” Those are the words of John Lannen, executive director of The Truck Safety...

Let’s Hear It for the Cellphone Ban!

Posted on Nov 9, 2016 in Safety | 1 comment

Yesterday, the NTSB recommended banning all cellphone use in cars. The proximate cause of this was the horrific crash in Missouri that tgriffith referred to below. The probable cause of the crash was “distraction likely due to a text messaging conversation…” Further NTSB details are here; more examples of what influenced the NTSB are here. We’ve written,...

Why All Mobile Phone Use Should Be Banned While Driving

Posted on Oct 7, 2016 in Safety | 3 comments

If there’s any lingering question as to why cell phones and driving should never be used in combination, the picture above should clear it up pretty quick. Between the bus and the big rig is what’s left of a pickup, which was being driven by a 19-year-old kid. Just prior to slamming into the semi, the young driver had sent or received 11 text messages in as...

Green Vehicle News, Some of It Important

Posted on Sep 26, 2016 in Safety | 1 comment

GM Permits Dealers to Sell Demo Volts This will free up 2,300 cars, increasing sales inventory to about 4,100 (up from 1,800). Since GM has increased production capacity over the summer, you folks struggling to find an available Volt (yes, all five of you) can now find one. In fact, there has been some pent-up demand, but don’t hold your breath that GM will...