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Friday, November 27, 2009

Exploring The Latest Options In Automotive Technology

By Eric Driver

Our grandparents would be flabbergasted at the technological advances integrated into today's automobiles. Some technologies are designed to provide motorists with a more comfortable driving experience. Others are designed to raise the level of safety for drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. From night vision to adaptive cruise control and collision avoidance systems to rear-view cameras, a growing menu of automotive options have changed the way we drive.

Below, we'll provide a brief tour of advanced car options that are becoming more popular. Once reserved for high-end vehicles, the price of each technology continues to decline. That means these options are being installed in a greater number of economy cars that are rolling off the factory floor.

Tracking Traffic And Weather Patterns

Even as portable GPS devices become more pervasive, automakers are installing GPS systems in their vehicles that are far more robust. Not only do they provide directions to specific destinations, but they can also track traffic and weather conditions along the way. Simply input your destination and preferred route, and the GPS unit can gather data about storms, collisions, heavy traffic, and related hazards.

The Traveling Wi-Fi Hotspot

To say the internet has transformed our daily lives would be an understatement. Given that many commuters spend a significant portion of each day inside their vehicles, it seems natural that automakers would install internet connectivity. A few car manufacturers are providing a hotspot option within their vehicles by piggybacking on existing cellular technology. While drivers should obviously keep their eyes on the road, their passengers can enjoy surfing the web during the ride.

Cruising Safely

Cruise control systems provide a valuable level of convenience for motorists who are driving long distances. These systems maintain a predefined speed until you disengage them by pressing your brake pedal. The challenge with traditional cruise control is that it cannot adjust your car's speed to compensate for slower-moving vehicles in your lane.

Adaptive cruise control solves this problem. Sensors are installed in the front of your automobile. These sensors identify objects in your path, and collect data regarding their speed and distance. This data is sent to your car's computer. If necessary, the computer will apply the brakes in order to maintain a safe distance between you and the object. If the object in your path speeds up, the adaptive cruise control releases the brakes and returns your vehicle to your predefined speed.

Staying In Your Lane

One of the byproducts of motorists spending more time behind the wheel, and increasingly relying upon automotive technology, is a deterioration in their attentiveness. Simply put, they're falling asleep or becoming careless. That results in drivers unwittingly drifting into other lanes, often when those lanes are occupied by other motorists. This is one of the reasons lane departure warning systems were designed. Cameras monitor your position within your lane; if you drift across the lines, an alarm will sound or your steering wheel will vibrate.

Even though the automotive technologies described above seem advanced, automakers continue to install them in a wider segment of their respective fleets. In a decade's time, we may be driving vehicles that are all but impossible to imagine today. - 21392

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