Hasta La Gadget!

While manual transmissions are a lot better than automatics, many people still don’t know how to drive them. However, whether you’re a youngster with a learning permit, or are just starting out on a manual transmission, Ford wants to make the learning process a bit easier, with a new shift knob that tells you when to shift based on haptic feedback.

Zach Nelson, a junior engineer at Ford, came up with an idea to help newbies learning how to use a manual transmission. By tearing apart an Xbox 360 controller and using its vibrating motors, Nelson 3D-printed a custom shift knob and placed the motors inside in order to give drivers haptic feedback. Whenever the driver needs to shift, the shift knob will vibrate.

Nelson installed the shift knob in a Ford Mustang by tapping into the car’s diagnostic system and connected the shift knob to the car using an Arduino controller, an Android tablet, and a Bluetooth receiver. From there, Nelson can program the knob to vibrate at different times, like vibrating as the engine redlines, or vibrate at a more fuel-efficient rev point.

The prototype shift knob that Nelson built also includes a seven-segment display on top to show what gear the car is currently in. Nelson says that was merely just a fun thing he added, since drivers probably won’t look down anyway to see what gear they’re in, as the instrument panel already displays this information.

Of course, it’s not necessarily when to shift that’s the hard part in learning a manual transmission — that was actually the easiest for me. I had the most trouble with getting out of neutral and going to first gear, and I would always stall the car at stop lights, which was pretty embarrassing. If they can discover a learning-assist tool for that, then I’ll be good.

VIA: Wired

Ford 3D-printed shift knob provides haptic feedback for manual newbies is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Modern automobiles benefit from increasingly small and smart computers, which can help control or augment everything from a car’s dashboard display to fundamental functions like steering. But as the world is slowly realizing, if something runs software, that thing can be hacked. That’s what Forbes recently found out thanks to a demonstration by two computer security experts.

Image by Forbes

Forbes’ Andy Greenberg met with Charlie Miller – a security engineer at Twitter – and Chris Valasek – the Director of Security Intelligence at security services consulting firm IOActive – to experience firsthand how today’s high-tech cars can be fooled. Charlie and Chris connected to one of the Electronic Control Units or ECUs of a Toyota Prius and proceeded to do all sorts of dangerous tweaks with it on the fly.

Charlie and Chris are working under a grant from DARPA to expose vulnerabilities in cars. Greenberg also drove a Ford Escape that both security experts hacked in similar ways. When Greenberg spoke to a Toyota spokesperson, he was told that the hack in the video above didn’t really concern them because it involved gaining access to the car and physically connecting a device to it. But the reason why Charlie and Chris didn’t bother to do it wirelessly is because that part has already been proven, way back in 2010:

Yeah these things need to be patched now. These videos are extremely troubling.

[via Forbes via BBC]

Earlier in 2013, Mercedes-Benz initiated a contest of sorts, inviting individuals to submit ideas for a “golf cart of the future.” Those ideas would then be used to help form a concept vehicle, which Mercedes-Benz is saying is more of a “Golf Car” than a cart. That concept has now been revealed, dubbed the Mercedes-Benz Vision Golf Cart.

The concept luxury golf cart was shown off during the Open Championship, to which the winners chosen among the submissions it received were invited to attend as VIP guests. The entries were judged by a jury, of which the auto maker’s design vice president was at the helm. The submissions were then built upon, and the resulting concept was formed.

The Vision Golf Cart was developed in the Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Center located in California, with the aim being to create a concept involving both “aspects” of the maker’s cars and the functionality inherent in a golf cart. The result is a sleek, distinctly Mercedes-Benz golf cart harboring a variety of trimmings you won’t find on standard course offerings.

Not surprisingly, the concept is all-electric, and is powered via solar panels built into the roof, as well as a manual charging option when needed. Rather than a steering wheel, the Vision Golf Cart is controlled using a joystick mounted in the center console, which allows for either of the passengers to operate it. Buttons are almost entirely done away with by using touchscreen panels, and there’s a multimedia system that includes USB and Apple device docks.

Daimler’s Vice President of Design Gorden Wagener said: “The Mercedes-Benz Vision Golf Cart has a refined, simplified yet functional shape that fits well into our ‘Sensual-Purity’ design philosophy. The flow shapes create a ‘sculpture on wheels’ impression. I was very inspired by the idea of designing a golf cart, giving it a new shape and new sorts of meaning. Why not treating[sic] a golf cart like a car, and making it a ‘Golf Car’.”

SOURCE: Daimler

Mercedes-Benz Vision Golf Cart concept brings luxury to the course is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We got up close and personal with BMW’s i3 electric coupe at the LA Auto Show back in November, and now the auto maker has announced the pricing and showroom dates for its svelte offering. For those in the US, the i3 will be priced at $41,350 USD, not taking into consideration any government incentives that could lower that.

The price doesn’t include the destination and handling fee, which will be $925 USD for buyers in the US. As for the car itself, which you can see in our video below, there’s 170 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque via its hybrid-synchronous electric motor. There’s a 22-kWh lithium ion battery, which allows for between 80 and 100 miles of driving on a charge.

Charging is accomplished either at home or at a Level 2 SAE J1772 charging system. Home charging is done with a charging station that is provided by BMW. The system utilizes an SAE DC Combo-Fast Charger, which will provide a DC fast charging option, reducing the amount of time it takes to get the vehicle charged for a trip. At a fast-charge station, drivers can get to 80-percent in 20 minutes.

Obviously, an all-electric car has the benefit of being environmentally friendly, which is further expanded by the facilities in which the i3 is produced. In both the Moses Lake, Washington and Leipzig, Germany facilities, hydro-electric, solar, and wind are used to produce power at the CFRP production cites.

BMW Sales and Marketing’s Ian Robertson said: “The BMW i3 heralds the dawn of a new era for individual mobility and for the BMW Group. True to a genuine BMW, the BMW i3 has strong emotional appeal, outstanding product substance and a guarantee of sheer driving pleasure. With this leading-edge vehicle and attractive price, we will provide customers with a compelling offer for electromobility.”

The i3 will be shown in London, New York, and Beijing on July 29.

SOURCE: BMW USA

BMW i3 electric car’s pricing revealed for US buyers is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Before the invention of the car, jaywalking wasn’t a recognized concept. Want to get across the street? Then just walk across the street—nobody’s going to stop you. But the rise of the automobile posed a new problem for people of the early 20th century. While the median state-designated speed limit for American cities was just 10 miles per hour in 1906, the pace of American streets soon increased enough that people who wanted to cross them were suddenly putting themselves in harm’s way. So cities across the U.S. started to regulate where and when pedestrians could cross. You can see the faint pedestrian crosswalk lines painted on the street in the scene below from Detroit circa 1917.

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