The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has produced addressing and attempting to assess driver distractions. , “17 percent (an estimated 899,000) of all police-reported crashes reportedly involved some type of driver distraction in 2010.” Out of that number, three percent, or 26,000 accidents, were caused by distraction from “a device/control integral to the vehicle,” such as a navigation or infotainment system.
The document provides voluminous guidance to reduce or eliminate possibilities for distracting the driver, and at first glance, their adoption would seem to make in-car navigation systems useless. One of the guidelines suggests that “Systems providing non-safety-related dynamic (i.e. moving spatially) visual information should be capable of a means by which that information is not provided to the driver.” Another states that “static or quasi-staticmaps” are fine – a quasi-static map being one that’s updated every few seconds, but “Dynamic, continuously-moving maps are not recommended.”
These are only guidelines and they’re full of loose phrasing, but the question is what kind of visually useful navigation system could be built to satisfy them. They appear to allow for audio-only navigation while driving, but making maps either inaccessible to the driver or only refreshing them every few seconds would make such systems useless unless a driver can get by with knowing his position once every four seconds. Again, this is only a document that attempts to pair suggestions to evidence derived from hard data, but as far as a practical solution to driver distraction, this might not be the road map drivers or automakers are looking for.
may be out to improve the fuel economy of its powertrains by throwing extra gears into the transmission. Automobile Magazine reports the Japanese automaker is currently working to use a new nine-speed gearbox developed by ZF in its products as soon as 2014. If you’re keeping track, this is the same transmission set to debut in a host of products, including the replacement for the .
Despite the additional gears, ZF says the transmission is surprisingly compact, thanks in part to the fact that it uses planetary gears in place of a traditional design. Called the 9HP, the German transmission can be used in either front- or all-wheel drive applications and handle up to 354 pound-feet of torque.
All told, ZF claims the 9HP can improve a vehicle’s fuel economy as much as 10 to 16 percent. Given the torque capacities and relatively small size, the transmission could show up in nearly everything Honda makes, but odds are the company will debut the gearbox in models like the and as well as the and .
It was a big weekend for Sean Kennedy, Mark Heidaker and the team at Hennessey. The trio managed to walk straight past the previous world record for the standing mile with a top speed of 257.7 mph. Kennedy took the wheel of Heidaker’s Hennessey-prepped Ford GT for the feat. The vehicle used to be both twin-turbocharged and supercharged before Heidaker decided he needed a little more thrust. Hennessey then ditched the supercharger for a more efficient twin-turbo setup. The work seems to have paid off. Putting down that sort of speed in the span of a standing mile is nothing short of amazing, and the engineering behind the machine deserves all sorts of respect.
Of course, commanding the roided-out GT to do your bidding is also plenty impressive.
Tucked beneath that wild wrap is a white GT with a blue stripe, one of our favorite color combinations on this iconic shape. to see the run from inside the cockpit.
is taking its new to the races in the U.S. rounds of this year’s Global RallyCross Championship with ESPN. Piloted by Travis Pastrana and built by SRT, the GRC challenger is a little different than the sedan you’d find at the dealership: it puts down 600 horsepower and more than 550 pound-feet from it’s 2.0-liter, four-cylinder to all four wheels.
The 2012 RallyCross season comprises seven rounds, two of which will be the X Games in Los Angeles on June 30 and July 1. It’s the second domestic season for the discipline that’s considered to be “motorcross with cars,” and the number of rounds has more than doubled from the three held last year. ESPN will be airing all of them, so follow the jump for the press release on Dodge’s entry and race info, and click the picture above to enlarge.
Didn’t get your deposit down in time to secure a condo in ? Not to worry, because just across town – that town being Miami – Pininfarina has been contracted to design another building.
Developed by the Related Group, 1100 Millecento Residences (pictured) is being designed by Uruguayan architect Carlos Ott at 1100 South Miami Avenue. So where does Pininfarina come in? Aside from Ott citing the famed Italian automotive design house and coachbuilder as a primary influence in his work, the developers have brought Pininfarina in on the project to design the interior space of the building – the first such project it’s undertaken in America.
That includes all 382 apartments in the 42-story tower, along with the ninth-floor pool deck with club room, the rooftop infinity pool with private cabanas, the fitness center and the private theater. We’re told to expect a lot of exotic woods and Italian leather. But then we’d expect no less from any project Pininfarina might undertake, automotive or otherwise. See for the brief press release.
When first put the 211-horsepower, , we were told to “expect the unexpected” while watching the taller, all-wheel-drive MINI make donuts and roostertails in snow and sand with a man on the roof.
Now the next round of “unexpected” fun has arrived, and as you can see above, it involves a human kite. to watch.
That’s right, the potential Republican Potentate is an muscle car; according to the Secret Service, anyway. The Republican race for the presidential nomination is getting serious, and reports that the the Secret Service is stepping in to offer its protective services to the potential nominees. When this happens, code names are given to the protectees; for example, President Reagan was called “Rawhide” by those watching out for him. Mitt’s new Secret Service handle? Javelin.
The candidates are presented with the list of potential security handles, and Romney apparently thought a nod to the car company ran suited him just fine. Does it say something about the way he sees himself? Kenosha, Wisconsin-based American Motors Corporation was ever the cash-strapped scrapper; a bit of a contrast from Romney’s well-funded election machine, but he won’t be the first person to romanticize the last independent.
The biggest question we have is which one he thinks he is? A with the optional Go-Pack would indicate he thinks he’s a serious performer, while a edition might match up more with the tastes of a man accustomed to the finer things. In any case, it will be hard to look at a Javelin from now on and not see Mitt’s well-coiffed, perfect-teeth grin.
The new is taking a one-week, 3,300-mile U.S. road trip, and not only will it tour the skeevy diners, restless rest areas and truck-stop toilets of this fine land, it’ll eat up its tires on nine of our nation’s finest tracks. If you think that sounds like the Tire Rack One Lap of America, you’d be correct.
In addition to providing the official vehicles for the event, the Munich firm is sending a team of drivers from its BMW Performance Center in Spartanburg, South Carolina to compete in the newly created ‘Showroom Stock’ category. begins May 4 in South Bend, Indiana, and as with all the other entries, the M5 will get just one set of tires to test its gumption in various motorsports disciplines and thousands of highway miles. for a press release with more info and be sure to check out for updates when the event kicks off in May.
If you’re an Autoblog reader, we suspect you probably prefer not to leave the driving to others – regardless of who they are. But even car nuts like us have occasion to take the bus every so often. can be a cost-efficient way to go pick up a car you’ve spontaneously bought on eBay when no buddies can be rounded up for a road trip, for instance.
Of course, in this age of paranoia, you might wonder if your bus is held together with bailing wire and duct tape, or whether your driver habitually shows up for work three sheets to the wind, which brings us to .
A free iOS app, courtesy of the United States Department of Transportation, SaferBus allows mobile access to the US DOT’s database for motor coach safety violations, including five categories of records, according to . The app gets monthly database updates and the information dates back a full two years, plus you can use the app report a safety complaint yourself.
The massive tent at Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale auction is an impressive sight. Occupying 120,000 square feet and stretching a quarter mile, it sufficiently houses the hundreds of collector cars and thousands of visitors that pass through it every January. Even so, the tent needs to be rebuilt annually, and the auction company has been pushing for a permanent facility for more than a decade. Now it looks like their wish will be granted, as the Scottsdale, AZ city council has approved construction of a new building on the WestWorld grounds where the current event is held.
The new facility is estimated to cost around $40 million, but Barrett-Jackson says that it’ll save money in the long run on temporary infrastructure costs. The building will also be designed to better accommodate the constant flow of cars driving up to the auction block as, well as have dedicated areas for SPEED’s TV crews and food and vendor services. Barrett-Jackson says that it also plans to build a new headquarters and car museum on land adjacent to WestWorld.
Official details on the plans for the new building are in the press release from Barrett-Jackson after the jump.
Formula 1 racing tends to work in cycles. One team is at the top for a year or two, then another emerges to dominate the next few. It’s a trend that has seen the likes of , McLaren, Renault (now known as ) and even Brawn (today’s ) win world championships, with Red Bull as the the most recent force to be reckoned with.
Red Bull, clearly the team to beat going into 2012, took the driver’s and constructor’s titles the last two years. The question is, could it defend them for the hat trick this season, or would a new frontrunner step up? The circus rolled in to Sepang, Malaysia this weekend for the second round of the 2012 Formula One World Championship. And it was a thriller. Follow the jump to read how it unfolded.
The right occasion calls for the right footwear. figures its customers should have the right shoes to drive their GTs, so the British automaker has collaborated with the shoemakers at John Lobb on a special collection of driving shoes.
Called Winner Sport, the shoes are made of full-grain calfskin, lined with sheepskin and perforated in just the right places for a unique look. A joint design effort between Aston Martin design director Marek Reichman and his counterpart Andrés Hernández at John Lobb, they feature bonded rubber soles (in either white or red, with coordinating laces) that wrap underneath the shoe for better pedal control. Like what you see? Click the images to view in higher resolution and follow the jump for the full press release.
Martin teams with John Lobb for special driving shoes
was the expected reason for us not getting the BMW X1 until the , when it would get a mid-cycle refresh. And at the time it was reported, few wagers would have been put on that timetable since U.S.-market delivery had repeatedly been delayed and the exact wording used was “postponed indefinitely.”
But in a press release announcing its wares for the , BMW slipped in this line: “The updated BMW X1 will be available in U.S. showrooms in summer 2012.” For now that’s all there is to know, although we’d expect more details to be given out at the Javits Center, perhaps even pricing. The model’s stying elicits strong opinion, but for those of you with X1 lust you now know what to circle on the calendar.
Nobody will argue with the musically-loping idle of a cammy V8 or the coluratura shriek of Italian exotics, but cars are rhythm players, at best. Yorkshire, England composer Mark Marrington sees it differently. Marrington has created a new single built entirely from sampled automotive sounds. We’ve all heard those novelty songs like dogs singing “Jingle Bells,” and Pink Floyd indulged themselves by creating an , all of which generally come off like a parlor trick.
Marrington sees it differently, and with “Cars” he’s gone past the irritation most of us have with the noises we tend to filter out of our daily experience and found the underlying music. The composer calls it “dance music with a vehicular twist.” We call it entertaining. Give a listen
There’s an awful lot of information to consuder when it comes to Formula 1 racing. It’s arguably the most complicated and technologically advanced sport in the world, with an ever-changing rule book, aerospace-level engineering, and the most elite driver talent. It’s enough to make any fan’s head spin. Fortunately we’ve got a tidy infographic that lays it all out for you.
Submitted (interestingly enough) by online bingo site , this infographic breaks down everything, including the newest features on the 2012 cars, each team and the equipment they use, the full race calendar, the lap times from the pre-season test sessions, and a smattering of other interesting information. Check it out .
Motorsports history buffs take note: an important piece of racing nostalgia has come up for auction. The Toleman TG184-2 Formula One Car Ayrton Senna drove in his rookie season is available for bid in the Silverstone Auctions Spring Sale.
This is the car that carried Senna to his second-place “victory” in the 1984 Monaco GP, as well as third and seventh-place finishes in the British and Canadian GPs, respectively.
Silverstone Auctions hasn’t announced what the vehicle is expected to fetch. The Toleman has been completely restored, and the 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine behind the cockpit is in top running order.
The auction will take place at the Silverstone circuit in The Wing building on May 16th. for the full press blast.
Part of the sideshow in the Saab revival circus has been the waning and waxing fate of the Museum Trollhättan, Sweden. The U.S. Heritage Collection was earlier this year, while the Swedish museum’s collection was by : the city of Trollhättan, SAAB AB and The Wallenberg Foundation.
With stipulations that its cars can only be displayed at the museum or regionally on occasion, opened its doors this weekend with the full complement of so-called quirky autos. It’s open just about every day this year save for a week in June and the Christmas holidays.
Meanwhile, over at the main event, appears to have joined the melee, while we wait on the results of bids from Youngman and Mahindra. We can only hope the Saab car company shares in the same good fortune as the museum.
It’s a well-known fact NASCAR fans will buy anything with their favorite driver’s number on it. NASCAR nuts can buy driver-themed , guaranteed to have been around a track somewhere, and even a . So hearing that is selling replica NASCAR racecar doors shouldn’t be that big of a shock.
Despite what you might think of the rampant marketing around America’s favorite racing series, these tribute doors are at least done well. Wallhaulers starts with .040″ gauge aluminum and uses the very same process actual NASCAR teams use to apply the vinyl graphics.
And at $250, the replica doors are not only cheaper, but probably prettier, too. An actual door from Jeff Gordon’s Martinsville race will .
Even better, a portion of each Wallhaulers purchase goes to the driver’s favorite charity.
When you run a zoo, we imagine there’s a large quantity of animal excrement to dispose of. Fertilizer is the first thing that comes to mind. But there are only so many zoo gardens in need of nutrients. Sooner or later, you’re faced with surplus of tiger turds, camel crap and snake, um, shizzle.
The Denver Zoo has decided the best use of its panda poop is to power a 20-year-old , or motorized rickshaw. Actually, the zoo takes all its animal waste and most human-produced trash and makes “gasified pellets” that are then subjected to very high heat in a no-oxygen environment. The pellets then give off , which is burned in a generator to produce electricity used to charge the batteries for the tuk tuk’s electric motor. Got all that?
The zoo says the tuk tuk is its second prototype to test the technology. The first was a syngas-powered blender used to make margaritas for zoo events. Mmmm. Tasty.
When its new elephant exhibit opens June 1, the zoo hopes to have it powered by syngas. Eventually they hope to take 100% of the zoo’s animal waste and most of the human garbage from the zoo to produce at least 20% of their power needs. Check out the video .
There is little question that , under the leadership of CEO Alan Mulally, has perhaps never looked better in terms of product and financial stability.
But it’s been less than four years since the company’s stock was hovering near $1.00 a share. The Ford family was making noise about selling out. And Mulally was actually lampooned on Saturday Night Live.
Bryce G. Hoffman, a reporter for The Detroit News, has penned a new book, , on the fall and rise of the Blue Oval. The book really begins with the 2000-2001 Firestone tire recall, continues through the 2008 financial meltdown and eventually finishes with the comeback and reformation of the company under Mulally.
David Kiley, Editor-in-Chief of our sister site, AOL Autos, reviews the book for HuffingtonPost Detroit, bu you can check out a video interview with Hoffman talking all things Ford .
: Bryce G. Hoffman’s new American Icon book on Ford [w/video]
If you’re an Autoblog reader, we suspect you probably prefer not to leave the driving to others – regardless of who they are. But even car nuts like us have occasion to take the bus every so often. can be a cost-efficient way to go pick up a car you’ve spontaneously bought on eBay when no buddies can be rounded up for a road trip, for instance.
