The challenge of balancing vehicle weight with fuel economy was the central topic at a New England Motor Press Association and Massachusetts Institute of Technology conference last Thursday. Panelists representing auto manufacturers, academia and government affairs spoke about the impact of increased fuel economy standards on new car construction, materials and price.
Over the past 30 years, cars have become heavier. A 1983 Honda Accord has a curb weight of 2,300 pounds. The 2013 LX sedan model with an ...
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NEMPA/MIT Conference Looks at Fuel Economy and Vehicle Weight
The challenge of balancing vehicle weight with fuel economy was the central topic at a New England Motor Press Association and Massachusetts Institute of Technology conference last Thursday. Panelists representing auto manufacturers, academia and government affairs spoke about the impact of increased fuel economy standards on new car construction, materials and price.
Over the past 30 years, cars have become heavier. A 1983 Honda Accord has a curb weight of 2,300 pounds. The 2013 LX sedan model with an ...
continue reading»
Ford Introduces 'Video Snacks' to Ford Owners to Help Them Learn New Features
Does complex in-car technology make your head spin? Ford Motor Company thinks they have found a way for you to master the features in their vehicles. More than 100 short how-to videos, called “video snacks,” are supposed to help Ford owners become more familiar with the features their new car offers.
According to a Ford press release, the video snacks are a part of a new Vehicle Orientation program that starts this week in Ford dealerships nationwide. At the end ...
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Your Next Volvo May Drive Itself
If you’re sick of slogging through bumper-to-bumper traffic, Volvo may soon have a solution to offer.
The automaker recently announced that it is developing a traffic jam assistance system that will allow a vehicle to pilot itself in at speeds up to about 31 miles-per-hour. In a press release, Volvo declares that the system “will be ready for production in 2014.”
In the statement, Volvo says that the new system is an evolution of its current partially-autonomous driving systems ...
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Is Your Infotainment System's Font Distracting You?
A study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Age Lab, the New England University Transportation Center and Monotype Imaging, a provider of typefaces for consumer devices and applications, reveals that different kinds of typefaces used in vehicle infotainment and portable navigation screens impact glance time, which is the amount of time drivers spend with their eyes off the road and on display screens. Easy-to-read typefaces could improve driver focus, and potentially, reduce the risk of accidents.
In two studies ...
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Did the iPhone 5 Just Make Your Car Obsolete?
With the introduction of the iPhone this week, your phone probably seems out-of-date, but does the iPhone 5 make your car totally obsolete as well? In short, no. An instant transporter app still has yet to be developed, so you’ll probably still need a car to get around —at least for a while. However, the iPhone 5 may throw a wrench into how you play music from an iPhone on your car's stereo.
You’ve probably heard by ...
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