High tech transport

There was a time when you switched on your car, waited a few seconds for the oil to circulate, then drove off. But now there’s a whole bunch of bits and bytes that need to power up too.

Technology is playing a major role in vehicles today. No kidding. It’s there to keep you safe, help you get the most out of your fuel, go somewhere new and be entertained along the way.

Some cars, like the top-end Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan, are brimming with the latest gadgets and gizmos. For example, it will turn on the wipers when it starts to rain, it will slow down if someone cuts in front of you, and turn up the radio if the highway noise is too loud.

Although few of us will own an S-Class, it’s important to pay attention to the top end of the market since many of their advanced features will eventually trickle down to Planet Earth where the rest of us buy our cars.

Today’s top-end vehicles have infrared cameras that help drivers see living objects in the night. Because humans — and animals — give off heat, a special camera is able to expose those hidden obstacles for drivers on a small screen.

Ford and Microsoft, meanwhile, have teamed up to offer an in-car digital entertainment system known as Ford Sync. It’s supposed to get all of your personal devices, such as cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and MP3 players to work with the onboard audio system. Sync will “chat” with your device through either a common USB computer plug or a Bluetooth wireless connection, which is a popular feature on most phones. Memory-card slots are also available. For starters, you can play your portable device’s (an Apple iPod, for example) music collection through the audio system, letting you pick the song, artist or album by voice command. Ford Sync will read out text messages for you and let you make hands-free calls.

A recent development has been the use of light-emitting diode (LED) lights, both inside and outside of the vehicle. They shine brighter, are supposed to last longer and use less energy than conventional bulbs. In the case of brake lights and turn-signal indicators, they’re quicker to react with shorter warm-up times and almost no after glow as you would get with a standard filament-style bulb.

A whole lot of technology comes with hybrid gas/electric vehicles, which continue to grow in popularity for 2008. These still use a traditional gas engine, but it’s helped by at least one electric motor during high-fuel-burn situations such as acceleration. These aren’t electric cars, but a mix of old and new. You don’t have to plug this one in as the batteries that run the electric motor — usually around 200 volts — are automatically charged as you drive.

Technology can also affect a vehicle’s ride quality. Gadgets exist to change a car’s suspension setting as it’s driving down the road. A system used by some companies, such as General Motors, uses magnetized metal particles in the shock absorbers to either stiffen (more voltage) or soften (less voltage) ride control.

Audi and others hope to curb accidents resulting from drivers not checking their blind spots with lane-change warning systems. A radar placed in the rear bumper of the car will warn the driver if another vehicle is lurking in the blind spot by flashing small lights on the corresponding side mirror.

Over at Nissan/Infiniti, the company’s lane-departure warning system, which is optional on the entry-level new EX35 wagon, not only lets you know when you’re drifting out of your lane, it now has the ability to automatically apply the brakes — either left side or right side — to get you back where you belong. Even more interesting is self-healing paint for the EX35 that will repair light scratches all by itself. Depending on the scratch and ambient temperature, an average self-repair can take about a week.

What’s in store for the future? Daimler, which makes Mercedes-Benz vehicles, is working on a technology that informs other cars of dangerous conditions on the roadway. Dubbed “Car-2-X Communications,” vehicles talk to each other using radio frequencies. The idea is that on-board sensors would capture fog, black-ice, obstacles and traffic conditions, sending valuable data to following vehicles. The system has a range of about 600 feet. The network functions between vehicles and doesn’t require a central transmission tower. Mercedes is hoping that other manufacturers will jump on board and put similar technology into their cars. After all, it won’t work if it only works with Mercedes-Benz.

So that’s just a sampling of some types of technology you can get on your next vehicle and some you can look forward to. And as technology gets cheaper and smaller to squeeze into tight spaces, look for it in your next entry-level car.

Maurice Cacho is a feature writer with Wheelbase Communications. You can drop him a note on the Web at www.wheelbase.ws/mailbag.html. Wheelbase Communications supplies automotive news and features to newspapers across North America.