Ford Developing Advanced Headlights that Point Out Hazardous Road Conditions, People and More

Driving at night, particularly on unlit roads, can be a nerve-wracking experience. Ford is developing new lighting technologies that will enable drivers to more easily identify potential hazards, including pedestrians, cyclists and animals.

Ford’s Camera-Based Advanced Front Lighting System can widen the beam at junctions and roundabouts to better illuminate hazards that are not in the direction of travel. New Spot Lighting technology helps draw the driver’s attention to pedestrians, cyclists and even large animals in the vehicle’s path or even just off the road.

“Many people who drive at night have had to quickly react to someone or something suddenly appearing in the road – as if from nowhere. Ford’s Camera-Based Advanced Front Lighting System and Spot Lighting help ensure the driver is quickly alerted to people or animals that could present a danger,” said Ken Washington, vice president, Ford Research and Advanced Engineering.
 

Camera-Based Advanced Front Lighting System builds upon Ford’s Adaptive Front Lighting System and Traffic Sign Recognition, which are already available in Ford vehicles, to provide drivers with improved visibility at roundabouts, stop, and give way or yield signs.

The system also uses GPS information to better illuminate bends and dips on a chosen route. Where GPS information is not available the technology uses a forward-facing video camera mounted in the rear-view mirror base to detect lane markings and predict the road’s curvature, using the information to illuminate the area more effectively.

In a further evolutionary step, in those instances, the camera stores the information in the navigation system. When next the driver uses the same road again, the headlights adapt to the course of the road automatically to better light the way.

Camera-Based Advanced Front Lighting System was developed at Ford’s European Research and Innovation Centre in Aachen, Germany, and Ford expects the technology to be available for customers in the near term.

Spot Lighting – currently in the pre-development phase with Ford engineers in Aachen – uses an infra-red camera in the front grille to simultaneously locate and track up to eight people and bigger animals, including larger dogs, at a range of up to 120 metres.

The system can spotlight two hazards for the driver with a spot and a stripe on the road surface, illuminated by two special LED lamps next to the fog lights. The highlighted objects are displayed on the screen inside the car, marked in a red or yellow frame, according to the proximity of the object and the level of danger presented.

“Camera-Based Advanced Front Lighting can help make it easier for the driver to travel at night in unfamiliar surroundings, and to more easily see unexpected hazards. At roundabouts, for example, our system helps the driver to clearly see the exits – and check if cyclists and pedestrians are crossing the road,” said Michael Koherr, research engineer, Lighting Systems, Ford of Europe. “Spot Lighting makes potential hazards in the road ahead more easily visible to the driver – whether that is a pedestrian, a cyclist, or even a large animal.”

Road safety reports show that on unlit roads there is a significantly increased likelihood of accidents, and that such accidents could involve personal injuries, or fatalities. Ford is a leading innovator in lighting technology. Systems currently available on Ford vehicles include:

•     Dynamic LED Headlights which combines full-LED headlamps offering daylight-mimicking light clarity with Ford’s Adaptive Front Lighting System. The system adjusts the headlight beam angle and intensity to match the driving environment. It can choose one of seven settings according to vehicle speed, ambient light conditions, steering angle, distance to the vehicle in front and windscreen wiper activation
•     Glare-Free Highbeam technology for the adaptive LED headlamps. The system detects vehicles ahead and fades out light that could dazzle oncoming drivers, while retaining maximum illumination for other areas
•     Auto High Beam Control detects oncoming vehicles and automatically switches to dipped beam, before switching back to high beam once it detects the vehicle has passed.

Driving at night, particularly on unlit roads, can be a nerve-wracking experience. Ford is developing new lighting technologies that will enable drivers to more easily identify potential hazards, including pedestrians, cyclists and animals.

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New 2015 Dodge Charger: Quickest, Fastest and Most Powerful Sedan in the World

The Dodge brand is bringing its A-game for its 100th anniversary, significantly updating both the iconic Challenger muscle car, and giving the Charger four-door sedan a full-body makeover, offering an impressive lineup of expanded powertrains for 2015.

For 2015, Dodge Charger is totally updated, features a standard across the lineup new state-of-the-art eight-speed automatic transmission and several new models, including the all-new Charger SRT Hellcat, SRT 392 and R/T Scat Pack models, all of which highlight the added performance to the new 2015 Dodge Charger lineup.

New for 2015, the Chrysler Group’s TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic transmission is standard on every Dodge Charger model, everything from the SE, SXT, R/T, R/T Scat Pack, SRT 392 and the SRT Hellcat. The 2015 Charger also offers a full range of fuel-efficient and powerful engine options, including the award-winning 3.6-liter V-6 Pentastar engine, which delivers up to 31 miles per gallon (mpg) on SE and SXT models; the legendary 370-horsepower 5.7-liter HEMI® V-8 on the R/T; the 6.4-liter HEMI V-8, which punches out a best-in-class, naturally aspirated 485 horsepower and 475 lb.-ft. of torque in the SRT 392 and R/T Scat Pack models and the new 6.2-liter supercharged HEMI Hellcat V-8 engine. The Charger Hellcat delivers ultimate performance with 707 horsepower, 650 lb.-ft. of torque, a top speed of 204 miles per hour, National Hot Rod Association (NHRA)-certified, quarter-mile elapsed time of 11.0 seconds on street tires, making it the quickest, fastest and most powerful sedan in the world.
 

“Our Dodge designers have re-sculpted nearly every single body panel of the Dodge Charger for 2015, giving it a sleek, nimble appearance,” said Tim Kuniskis, President and CEO — Dodge Brand, Chrysler Group LLC. “The Charger’s all-new exterior design combined with its standard new TorqueFlite eight-speed transmissions, and our extensive lineup of performance-driven powertrains, highlight the latest technology under the hood and behind the wheel that builds on the brand’s promise to deliver American performance machines with world-class power, efficiency, technology, authentic materials and standout styling for our customers.”

The 2015 Dodge Charger lineup includes the following models: SE, SE AWD, SXT, SXT AWD, R/T, R/T Road & Track, R/T Scat Pack, SRT 392 and SRT Hellcat.

The Dodge Charger is built at the Brampton, Ontario, Assembly Plant in Canada. Production is slated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2014. Production of the 2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2015.

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Use Technology to Track Your Maintenance

Manually keeping up with your car maintenance can be very tedious. Here are a few apps you can try to make that process a little easier.

Road Trip (iOS) is probably one of the most robust mileage and maintenance tracking apps for iOS available. Tracking fill-ups and mileage is super-fast, as is adding maintenance history, expenses, and reminders for future work. The app has a tire log to track summer and winter wear on your tires, and supports other vehicles like boats and motorcycles. You can track as many vehicles as you like, too. The lite version gives you a taste, but the full version will set you back $5 for the iPhone or the iPad (it's not a universal app, so you'll have to buy it twice for both platforms.)

Car Maintenance Reminder (Android) is a free app that will keep track of your fuel efficiency, cost, and mileage, but also gives you a place to track all of the maintenance and repairs you have done to your vehicle. You can add notes, costs, and of course, get notifications and reminders when you should get some work done. The free version tracks one vehicle. If you have more than one, the $3 pro version is for you. 

AutoCare (iOS/Android): AutoCare has been around for a while, and does a pretty good job of tracking your vehicle's maintenance history, mileage, repair history, service expensives, and more. You can even use it to remind you when it's time to get something specific done so you won't forget. Plus, it supports multiple vehicles. It'll set you back $4 for iOS users, and $2 for Android users.

Car Minder Plus (iOS) is another good, simple app for tracking your mileage and your vehicle maintenance. You get presets for things like oil filters, air filters, belt inspections, and oil changes, and you can enter in your own maintenance work and expenses to the log to keep track of what you've had done. From there, enter in your service intervals, and the app uses simple red/yellow/green indicators to tell you when it's time to get that work done. The app will cost you $3.

aCar (Android) is free, and one of the most popular Android apps for tracking vehicle maintenance and mileage. Tracking fill-ups and mileage is quick, entering in your maintenance history and expenses is easy, and you can even enter specific notes or information about parts you prefer or that your vehicle requires. The app notifies you based on time and/or mileage when you should have work done, and supports custom notifications. aCar Pro adds in multiple languages, home screen widgets for quick access to data and logging, and connections to other popular car apps and websites, all for $6.


Article Source: LifeHacker

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Meet the 2015 Honda Fit

On Wednesday May 14th I got an up-close look at the all-new 2015 Honda Fit. The new Fit features a sleek modern exterior, sporty, fun-to-drive handling and plenty of forward-thinking technology

Here’s what you can expect:

Aggressive new styling

• Aerodynamic body constructed from high-tensile steel
• Striking new grille and headlights
• Available 16-inch, alloy wheels

Interior evolution

• 52.7 cubic feet of cargo space[1] with the Honda-exclusive Magic Seat^®
• Increased passenger volume and rear legroom
• Available leather-trimmed seats

Performance machine

• i-VTEC^® engine with Earth Dreams Technology generates 130-horsepower (SAE net) at 6600 rpm and 114 lb.-ft of torque at 4600 rpm
• 6-speed manual or available Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT)
• Revised, sport-tuned suspension

Packed with technology

• Standard Bluetooth^® connectivity[2], rearview camera and Expanded View Driver’s Mirror
• Available Smart Entry with push button start, Honda LaneWatch™[3] and 7-inch Display Audio touch-screen
• Advanced Compatibility Engineering™ (ACE™) II Body Structure

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2015 Infiniti QX80 Limited offers unique styling, highest level of premium comfort and technology ever

The new 2015 Infiniti QX80 Limited is destined to be unlike any Infiniti SUV ever when it launches in late 2014 in the United States. With restricted production, the Limited lives up to its name with an extensive menu of exclusive features, including an upgraded level of craftsmanship surpassing even the high standards of "ordinary" QX80s.

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