Ford marketing head honcho Jim Farley made waves at CES this week by telling show attendees, "We know everyone who breaks the law, we know when you're doing it," according to a report by Business Insider. Farley continued by saying, "We have GPS in your car, so we know what you're doing. By the way, we don't supply that data to anyone."
In the face of rising auto insurance premiums, insurance companies have been responding with potentially cheaper, pay-as-you-drive plans that, for billing purposes, track when, how, how much and where drivers use their vehicles instead of basing rates on statistics and past trends, The Detroit News reports. The practice isn't yet mainstream, but the National Association of Insurance Commissioners predicts 20 percent of insurance plans will be pay-as-you-go in five years; right now they
We recently reported that a growing number of cars are offering head-up display units from the factory, but Garmin has come up with an innovative device to add this helpful technology to just about any vehicle. For just $129.99, the Garmin HUD unit is small, portable and can display navigation commands on the windshield (or an attached reflector lens) so the driv
Self-drive touring is one of the fastest-growing trends in travel, according to a recent article in the magazine published by the American Society of Travel Agents. A Portuguese company, ToGuide is ahead of the curve here, and is offering a way to tour European cities by renting small, two-seat all-electric Renault Twizy vehicles outfitted with an audio guide and GPS.
Apple Maps is the beautiful but flawed pile of poo that just keeps on steaming. Not long after it appeared in the company's latest operating system, people noticed that it had a habit of showing destinations in the wrong locations, like a museum located underwater, or refusing to show locations at all, like the town of Stratford-Upon-Avon and Jonathon Ramsey
Mercedes-Benz may have branded the Smart Car, but Ford is trying hard to lay its own claim to that title.
Remember the days before GPS? When it was just you, the open road, and a Rand-McNally mapbook tucked beneath the seat? We certainly do, but with the advent of GPS and smartphones, using electronic devices for guidance has become second nature. And it has turned one of the great stereotypes of the sexes sideways.
As cars get more fuel efficient, they become a less profitable source of tax dollars. So what's a city to do? Raising gas taxes is certain political death. For San Francisco Bay officials, creativity is the key.
Stash this one in the "we don't see a downside to this" department.
Navigation systems have been coming down in price lately, making in-car directions more accessible to the masses. At the same time massive tech companies like Apple and Microsoft have gotten into the game as well, and as TheDetroitBureau.com reports, a new study shows that these forces are converging to quadruple the systems by 2019.
A British company is working on a new navigation system that doesn't rely on GPS satellites to track your location. BAE has created Navsop, a device that picks up errant cell phone, radio and television signals to deduce your coordinates, which means it can be used in locations where traditional GPS can't. For example, Zach Bowman
Q: What do you call a navigation system designed specifically for the elderly?
Watching television news can be depressing. Between the political rancor of election season and the "if it bleeds, it leads" mentality of most news directors, positive stories are scarce. But here's one that should make any lover of fine automobiles pleased.
Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Ryan Leaf was arrested last Friday and charged with being in possession of prescription Oxycodone pills that weren't his. Three days after posting a $76,000 bond, the Associated Press says he's been arrested again.
Google Maps has reinstated the feature letting you know how long a trip will take in current traffic. According to Autoblog's sister site, Engadget, the previous algorithm didn't pass muster, so the updated calculations uses both historical and current traffic conditions to arrive at an estimated time of arrival. It appears on the journeys for which information is available beneath the no-traffic estimate.
Any device or system that draws a driver's attention away from the road is inherently distracting, but some navigation systems are better than others. Now, AT&T Labs is said to be hard at work developing a steering wheel with haptic feedback that may allow more drivers to keep their eyes off of the center console screen. According to MIT's Technology Review, the system uses 20 smal
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has produced a minutely detailed document addressing and attempting to assess driver distractions. Jonathon Ramsey
Law enforcement agencies are now required to obtain a warrant before attaching a GPS device to a vehicle. The Detroit News reports the Supreme Court unanimously ruled today that the Justice Department was wrong when it argued that its agents didn't need permission to track private citizens without their knowledge.
UPDATE: The Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Monday that a warrant must be obtained by law enforcement in order to track a suspect via GPS device. GPS tracking was found to constitute a "search or seizure within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment," therefore violating a suspect's rights when carried out without a proper search warrant.
For those of us testing dozens of in-car navigation and infotainment systems each year, J.D. Power's 2011 U.S. Navigation Usage and Satisfaction Study comes as no surprise.
