Technology

Anyone who’s shopped for an electric vehicle knows that the range estimates provided by automakers and the EPA aren’t necessarily what you’ll see in the real world. A variety of factors impact the electric driving range, including temperature, weather, and how heavy the driver’s right foot is, among other things.

Every car manufacturer these days has its own high-tech infotainment system. One of my favorites has been Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ UConnect system. In recent years, it’s been considered one of the most reliable and intuitive systems on the market, making its way into vehicles from Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat, and Chrysler.

Volvo EV spin-off Polestar already has some production vehicles in the pipeline, including the Polestar One and Polestar Two. Now, we have a concept vehicle that looks towards the future of the brand. Like the Polestar Two, the Polestar Precept is a 5-door fastback.

For many years, Cadillac was the brand that embodied the latest in technology at General Motors. But in recent years, the feature gap between luxury cars and mass-market vehicles has narrowed due to consumer demand and expectations for tech.

Consumer electronics maker Sony turned up at CES 2020 with something absolutely nobody was expecting – their very own concept car, known as the Sony Vision-S. Sony built the handsome looking prototype vehicle as a testbed and demonstration platform for some of its many different technologies, from camera sensors to entertainment systems.

Ever since the first backup camera turned up on a production vehicle, the use of digital imaging to improve visibility and safety has increases, culminating with vehicles like the GMC Sierra HD, which can be equipped with up to 15 cameras.

The biggest issue with getting people to convert to purely electric vehicles is the charging process. It can take a very long time to juice up their battery packs, and sometimes it’s hard to find an available charging station when you need one.

About 2 years ago, General Motors asked the NHTSA for a temporary waiver on certain safety equipment that is required in modern autos. It wanted to field a fleet of around 2,500 Chevy Bolt autonomous cars for a ride-sharing program that had no controls inside for humans.

It seems like all the big truck makers are trying to set themselves apart with features that others don’t offer. One of the features that some OEMs are touting today are fancy tailgates that do more than just sit there.

The sideview mirrors that every car from the Yugo to the hottest Lamborghini use today are just that – mirrors. But times, they are a changin’. Lexus has announced that it’s new ES will offer an option to replace the mirrors with video cameras.

Not too long ago, the gang over at Consumer Reports took a couple of Tesla Model 3 cars and tested them on the track. They found that the Model 3 had the worst braking performance in its class, taking as much as the length of a full-size truck to stop from speed.

Have you ever seen the film Lost in Translation? The one where a completely washed-up Bill Murray goes to Tokyo in order to ride whatever fame he has left in his sad career by selling his image via Japanese whiskey commercials?

We are two years away from 2020, and despite what we thought when we were kids, we’re nowhere close to flying cars, or even Back to the Future-like hoverboards. The Cubs did win the World Series, so the future doesn’t seem that far-fetched any longer.

Gearheads love to talk about their engines, suspension systems, transmissions, tires, and even brakes. But there’s a far less sexy, but just as necessary component to all vehicles – and that’s its cooling system and coolant.

The future is now, people, and as consumers we play a crucial role in shaping it. Buyer interest in autonomous, electric, tech-filled, and connected cars is molding the roads automakers follow, with many vehicles looking like they’ve been pulled straight from the pages of a science fiction script.