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Posted May 7th 2012

Techsplanation: Tire Tread Technology

Pirelli has distinguished itself in the tire market by creating products for its performance and racecars with technology that can then be applied to luxury and general consumer cars. The brand's renewed foray into Formula 1 racing after a 20-year absence has enhanced the emphasis on its tire ...

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Posted Apr 20th 2012

Techsplanation: Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles

To scientists, running vehicles on hydrogen makes all the sense in the world. Hydrogen can be derived from so many different things, including water, and constitutes roughly 75 percent of the universe's chemical elemental mass. ...

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Posted Mar 14th 2012

Techsplanation: Turbo Charging For The Family Car

Turbo chargers have been around the auto industry for decades, typically used to boost the performance of already powerful engines. But today, the turbo is showing up in cars, SUVs and trucks of every stripe and price to boost fuel economy. ...

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Posted Feb 7th 2012

Techsplanation: Collision Avoidance Systems

Collision avoidance is the next frontier in safety. Ever since seat-belts became mandatory equipment in the 1960s, most safety improvements have been focused on surviving an accident. From impact-absorbing bumpers to multiple airbags, the idea has long been to make a car more able to take a hit and ...

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Posted Jan 31st 2012

Techsplanation: Check Engine Light

It glows on your car's dashboard and instantly ignites terror and loathing in the hearts and wallets of drivers; the dreaded "Check Engine" warning light. For some, it is a minor irritant to be ignored. Even Public Television's "Car Guys" joke that the remedy is to put a piece of duct-tape over ...

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Posted Jan 20th 2012

Techsplanation: All-Wheel Drive

All-wheel-drive vehicles have systems in which the engine drives all four wheels at the same time, as opposed to just the front wheels in most cars. By means of sensors and the vehicle's central computer power from the engine is routed to each wheel depending on your traction. If you are traveling ...

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Posted Jan 19th 2012

Techsplanation: Modern Automatic Transmissions

Automatic transmissions in today's vehicles are very different from the "slushboxes" of years past. In fact, in many new cars and trucks, automatic transmissions actually return higher fuel economy than manuals. While the first automatic transmissions only had two forward gears, and even as late as ...

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Posted Jan 19th 2012

Techsplanation: Direct Injection

Gasoline direct injection is one of those technologies that make you think, "Why the heck didn't they figure this out sooner?" It's a simple fix to the regular old combustion engine, and it saves a lot of fuel. Instead of mixing air and gasoline outside the combustion chamber, the system sprays ...

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Posted Jan 18th 2012

Techsplanation: Gas-Electric Hybrid

A hybrid is a car or truck that has both an internal-combustion gasoline engine and an electric motor to drive its wheels. These two work together to power the car in the most efficient fashion possible. This means that sometimes the gas engine drives the wheels alone, while other times the electric ...

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