Three minutes. Two cuts. One saw. That's all it takes to steal the catalytic converter out from underneath a car. "You get under there, zip-zip, and take it off," Jeff Prior, the manager of a transmission store in Warren, Mich., tells The Detroit News. ...
CATEGORIES: Automotive News, Car Gadgets, Car Insurance Advice, Car Theft
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Ten years from now, the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board hopes she's not sitting in another symposium like the one convened Tuesday. ...
CATEGORIES: Automotive Technology, Car Gadgets, Car Safety, Driving Laws
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With gas prices above $3.50 a gallon, companies which manufacture "fuel saving" devices are thriving. These companies are vying for the motoring public's dollars and preying on their ignorance. ...
CATEGORIES: Fuel Efficiency, Car Fluids, Car Gadgets
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Rebekah Page-Gourley, an attorney from Detroit, loves pretty much everything about her new 2012 Ford Focus. She even raves about the windshield wipers. But she's not as thrilled with the voice-command system, which lets her change radio stations and make phone calls by speaking to the car. It ...
CATEGORIES: Automotive News, Automotive Technology, Car Gadgets
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On a recent trek to Germany, Mercedes-Benz pulled back the veil on its tech strategy for the next few years and provided Autoblog with a glimpse into what we'll find in its next generation of vehicles. With more than 2,000 patents filed in 2009 alone, the technologies range from the mind-blowing to ...
CATEGORIES: Automotive News, Car Gadgets
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Some basic electronic gear is all tech-minded car thieves would need to steal many recent models, according to Swiss researchers. They successfully hacked into 10 vehicles from eight manufacturers in the latest of a growing number of studies exposing potential security risks as vehicles become more ...
CATEGORIES: Car Gadgets, Car Safety, Car Theft
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Ever played the superhero game? It's the one where friends or bar mates discuss the superpower they'd most like to possess. Inevitably, someone picks the ability to become invisible. Marvel Comic Books got it right with The Invisible Woman. Not far behind, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry applied ...
CATEGORIES: Car Gadgets, Driving, Speeding Tickets
Read & Discuss »Imagine this: It's a gorgeous spring day in Miami and you're thoroughly tempted to lower the top of your rental car and push the power pedal a little too hard in a bid to break free from the traffic crush on the Palmetto. But, though there may not seem to be a heavy police presence on the freeways ...
CATEGORIES: Automotive News, Automotive Technology, Police Cars, Car Gadgets
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Your government, not content with having bailed out two-thirds of the American auto industry with your money, in December announced a Christmas gift for the entire industry: Mandated rear-mounted video cameras and in-vehicle displays aimed at keeping you from backing over anything. Yes, boys and ...
CATEGORIES: Car Gadgets, Car Safety
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There are dozens of devices that can track the whereabouts of your car, and we recently spent time testing a simple and inexpensive unit called the Safe Driver from Lemur Vehicle Monitors. Safe Driver is intended as a tattletale for parents to monitor how their teens are driving. But unlike ...
CATEGORIES: Car Gadgets, Car Safety, Driving
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The technology war between the police and speeding motorists is decades old -- but never dull. One side or the other is always upping the ante to keep the game of cat and mouse interesting. Radar remains one of the most common means for police to enforce speed limits, so logically, radar detectors ...
CATEGORIES: Automotive News, Automotive Technology, Car Gadgets
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How much do you suppose it would cost to replace that set of car keys in your pocket? A few bucks? Dream on. If it’s a “smart” key, it could easily cost you $200 to $300 -- or more. Many vehicles today have immobilizers that lock up a car’s ignition, fuel and steering systems ...
CATEGORIES: Automotive News, Automotive Technology, Car Gadgets
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When Starry Rhoads and her husband John followed their navigation system's directions to take a road through Oregon's picture-perfect winter wilderness, they never once thought that their lives would be in danger. Marked as a through road by the aftermarket GPS device in their Toyota 4x4, it would ...
CATEGORIES: Automotive News, Automotive Technology, Car Gadgets
Read & Discuss »As our cars become more technologically advanced, they leave the door open for vulnerabilities. Latest in the technological flawbook appears to be tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS), revealing just how small that hole needs to be in order for a tech savvy thief to crawl through. A group of ...
CATEGORIES: Automotive Technology, Car Gadgets
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It should come as no surprise that today's new car has more technology found within than even the fastest desktop computer. Unfortunately, it seems that most of this technological firepower hasn't been used for the driver's benefit. But new advancements that integrate vehicle systems with GPS-linked ...
CATEGORIES: Automotive News, Automotive Technology, Car Gadgets
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Students at Virginia Tech University have succeeded in breaking down another barrier for the disabled: Building a vehicle that allows the blind to drive. Virginia Tech's Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory developed a driver-assist system that uses laser range finders, an instant voice-command ...
CATEGORIES: Automotive News, Automotive Technology, Car Gadgets
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These days, Americans are no longer using GPS to simply find out how to get from point A to point B. Rather, we're using them for routine activities, such as shopping, eating, playing and relaxing. TeleNav, one of the largest providers of navigation services for millions of subscribers via cell ...
CATEGORIES: Automotive News, Automotive Technology, Car Gadgets
Read & Discuss »How badly do you think you drive? You'd be surprised. In my first day testing a real-time driver-tracking device called the TIWI, I racked up an almost unbelievable 53 speeding violations and more than a few "aggressive driving" violations. And I'm a safe driver. Honest. It's important to note here, ...
CATEGORIES: Automotive Technology, Car Gadgets, Car Safety, Driving
Read & Discuss »Aside from making driving easier, the on-board electronics revolution has given some people a new direction in their lives. Unfortunately, it could take them right into your bedroom or living room. These people are GPS thieves. When they steal your device, they sometimes get more than just an ...
CATEGORIES: Automotive News, Automotive Technology, Car Gadgets
Read & Discuss »Okay, you've decided what model of car you want to buy. And you know, more or less, how much you want to spend -- or how much you can afford. You've kicked tires, talked to salesmen, taken a few shiny new numbers for a test-drive and you're ready to make the deal. Except, you're not quite done. You ...
CATEGORIES: Automotive Technology, Car Gadgets, Car Safety, Car Theft
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