MotorMad

The Car That Parks Itself!

Thanks to new technology parking is soon to become easier. City Park will look for a space, decide if your car will fit, then slot your vehicle in backwards at the first attempt. Engineers at PSA Peugeot Citroen are currently trialling the technology in a specially equipped car.

Honda Delivers First Fuel Cell Car

Honda has just delivered the first fuel cell powered vehicle for normal family use this week, and says it marks "a historic achievement in the evolution of the automobile and the advancement of future transportation technology". It has leased its 2005 Honda FCX, a hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle, to the world’s first individual customers, Jon and Sandy Spallino of Redondo Beach, California for two years. The Spallinos will use the FCX in everyday normal use, including commuting to work to Orange County, trips to school for their children, shopping and household errands.

Fifth Gear DVD Downloads

Channel five is to become the first TV download shop by giving viewers the opportunity to download DVD-quality clips of popular car show Fifth Gear. You won’t be able to downlad whole episodes, but petrolheads will be able to download snippets of things like the BMW 1 series and the race between the Lamborghini Gallardo and the Ducati 999 for £1.50 each. It will also provide program features such as reviews of 12 cars and 'shoot-outs', which involve races between two similar vehicles.

EU Considers Car Black Boxes

Black box data recorders could be installed in new cars as standard if a Europe-wide study gives them backing. Police forces across the continent are looking at whether the aircraft-style technology could improve road safety and help in accident investigations.

Nissan Car With Lane Awareness

Nissan Motor Co. allowed reporters at a research centre outside Tokyo to test drive a car that swerves back into lanes on its own, and has a video system that makes parking a breeze.

Toshiba to Supply Chips for Toyota Hybrids

Toshiba is well-known for its home electronic products such as LCD TVs, air-conditioners, DVD players and laptops. But soon it will also be well-known for cars. Not for making them, but Toshiba plans to produce specialised semiconductors for use in Toyota's gasoline-electric hybrid cars.

Nasa To Reveal Flying Cars

A highways in the sky system developed by Nasa could be the first step towards personal flying vehicles. Flying cars have captured the public imagination since the 1950s and featured in numerous films and TV shows such as the Jetsons and The Fifth Element.

Toyota and Subaru Hybrid Car Partnership?

The newspaper ‘Nihon Keizai Shimbun’ reports that Toyota Motors and Subaru-maker Fuji Heavy Industries may cooperate to form a technology-sharing partnership in hybrid electric-gasoline vehicles. This could establish Toyota's system as the standard for the fuel-saving technology.

Satellite Data For Nissan

XM Satellite Radio will supply data services such as traffic alerts and messaging to Nissan vehicles fitted with special navigation systems. The deal builds on an existing partnership, under which Nissan offers the option of satellite radio on 18 of its models. XM also has arrangements to deliver entertainment and data to car makers including General Motors, Honda, Toyota and Volkswagen.

Drive Me To The Moon

In theory you could fly to the moon in almost any modern car.

The amount of processing power in the average saloon far outweighs that of the Apollo 11 guidance computer that helped put men on the moon. Increasingly cars are setting the pace when it comes to the amount of computer power and gadgets crammed into a small space. Increasingly mechanics are as happy to use a laptop to diagnose a car's problems as they are a socket set.