Technology/Autonomous Vehicles

In the automotive world, most of today’s technologies were invented (or perfected) on racetracks. Direct injection, turbocharging and hybrid drivetrains were all installed in race cars by manufacturers to see if they could survive 6, 12 or even 24 hours of full-throttle abuse. This allowed them to collect data in …

The V8 as we know it is coming to an end: in a world where fuel efficiency is everything and where modern technology can make a turbocharged 4-cylinder engine develop as much power as a V8 did 5 years ago, we can expect this configuration to be phased out, just …

Each year at the Los Angeles Auto Show, a design competition is held. Contestants have to work with a theme, while simultaneously showcasing their respective brand’s design language. This year, there were two prizes awarded: the regular one judged by a panel of designers, and another one voted on by …

Nearly at the same time as Toyota unveiled their production-ready Mirai, Honda presented its FCV Concept, another fuel-cell vehicle. Under its new skin, the vehicle is basically a new-and-improved version of the FCEV concept that was seen in Los Angeles last year. According to Honda, the new version is up …

Volkswagen recently presented some future technologies that will go into their cars. One of them is a new version of their diesel engine. Using the engine that was unveiled in the European Passat as a base, the engineers then installed an electric supercharger like the one found on Volvo’s recently-unveiled …

One of the ideas presented at the Eurocities conference in Munich came from BMW. Their concept is a brilliant idea that, if implemented, would drastically increase the number of electric car chargers in congested cities. Instead of spending huge amounts of money equipping each street with its very own dedicated …

Every year Hyundai hosts the IDEA Festival, a convention where their engineers can submit new and original ideas. For 2014, ten teams brought their creations to the manufacturer’s Technology Center in Namyang, Korea. Here are some of the best: First of all is the Carry U, a small electric scooter …

At the last race of the DTM series on the Hockenheimring circuit in Germany, Audi surprised the fans with an all-new technology: a car that drives itself at high-speed on the track. The system was installed in an otherwise-stock RS 7 and features a lot of tech: first of all, …

Buyers who have the means to purchase a Bentley that costs as much as a house need the very best that money can buy: they don’t shop at Moores, only tailor-made suits from Saville Row will do; you will never see a Timex watch on their wrist, they NEED to …

Volvo recently decided to concentrate on making one specific type of engine: the four-cylinder. To make sure they could remain competitive with manufacturers who offer turbocharged six-cylinder and even V8 powerplants, they had to develop a slew of new technologies allowing them to offer as much power as the Germans.