Category Archives: The Driver

Video: BMW takes its autonomous 5 Series onto the autobahn

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Filed under: Safety , Technology , BMW Last May we went for a high-speed run around Laguna Seca in BMW’s Track Trainer , a modified 3 Series that can click of two-minute laps without the driver touching the controls. Now, BMW has packed a 5 Series with the next iteration of the technology and taken it on to the open road. This latest ConnectedDrive experiment uses much of the same tech, but beyond the radar and camera systems on the 3er, it includes new ultrasonic scanners and lasers to re-read the road surface, lines and surrounding vehicles. We say “re-read” because like the system we sampled at Laguna, this version needs to have the road data downloaded into the car before it can drive sans human intervention

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Video: BMW takes its autonomous 5 Series onto the autobahn

Video: Diabetic condition leads to wild snowy ride for Kia owner

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Filed under: Videos The blurry screencap shown above is of a driver in morning traffic on Pennsylvania’s I-81, in mid-jump, hurtling down the snowy median. The man who captured the video, Shawn Lucas, thought the driver was trying to evade police, but it turns out the 61-year-old woman behind the wheel of the Kia was likely having a diabetic emergency. Before this video was taken, she had driven onto and stopped on the median, and other drivers pulled over to play Good Samaritan and push her off. While they were pushing, she sped off again, which is when Lucas began to record her (he apparently was unaware of the driver’s medical condition).

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Video: Diabetic condition leads to wild snowy ride for Kia owner

Video: SARTRE autonomous road-train enters final phase with trio of Volvos [w/video]

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Filed under: Safety , Technology , Volvo This time last year, the Safe Road Trains for the Environment ( SARTRE ) program hit a milestone. Using a specially equipped Volvo S60 with a big-rig taking the lead, the EU-funded researchers managed to create the world’s first fully-functional road train , allowing the driver in the sedan to sit back and enjoy the ride without touching the controls. Today, Volvo – the program’s only automotive partner – has announced that the SARTRE program is in its final phase of testing, and that includes adding a few more vehicles to the rolling procession of autonomous cars.

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Video: SARTRE autonomous road-train enters final phase with trio of Volvos [w/video]

Auctions: Barrett-Jackson 2012: 1948 Tucker Torpedo bid up to over $2.6 million [w/video]

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Filed under: Classics , Auctions Most, if not all, know the story of the 1948 Tucker sedan. Yes, there was a movie, and it’s well worth watching. But even if you’ve never seen or heard of a the machine, one look at Preston Tucker’s Torpedo is all it takes for you to realize it’s something special.

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Auctions: Barrett-Jackson 2012: 1948 Tucker Torpedo bid up to over $2.6 million [w/video]

Report: Honda wins Acura RL collision warning system class action lawsuit appeal

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Filed under: Sedan , Etc. , Government/Legal , Safety , Acura , Luxury Honda can thank Wal-Mart for the automaker’s recent victory in a class-action lawsuit over Acura RL models equipped with the company’s Collision Mitigation Braking System. The system was designed to warn drivers of a potential crash, tighten the vehicle’s seat belts and automatically apply the brakes. However, lawyers for approximately 2,000 plaintiffs sued the Japanese automaker, arguing that the system may warn the driver too slowly, and it may not work at all – the lawsuit also complained the system may shut off altogether in foul weather

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Report: Honda wins Acura RL collision warning system class action lawsuit appeal

Video: Watch a Shelby Cobra do cartwheels at 130 mph

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Filed under: Motorsports , Classics , Videos Being in a car crash can be scary enough, but doing it in a convertible at 130 miles per hour is simply terrifying. That’s what the owner of a Shelby Cobra replica went through, however, during a track day at Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond, California. As he was ending the front straight of the 2.5-mile course, something suddenly broke in the front suspension or steering. The car skidded on track for approximately 60 feet, then flipped sideways multiple times, flying off the track for more than 500 feet.

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Video: Watch a Shelby Cobra do cartwheels at 130 mph