Ever complain the weatherman didnt get it right? Well, hes likely about to get a lot better at his job.Thats because in the future, just turning on your cars wipers could be enough to send out an accurate report its raining to your local news station.Toyota is working with weather information provider Weathernews Inc. in Japan to improve the accuracy of rain forecasts, using real-time data from cars with windshield wipers connected to the system.Weathernews has an observation network with 13,000 locations throughout Japan, and is testing a program that combines the networks data with information collected from Toyota vehicles through the Internet. Wipers that are on indicate precipitation, while their speed indicates how hard its raining. According to Kyodo News, Weathernews said its radar cant detect precipitation from clouds that are below a two-kilometre altitude, and that its on-ground observation tools are limited.Toyota has been focusing on weather information as one of its in-vehicle connected services. It recently launched the Crown and Corolla Sport with Internet access and plans to have nearly all of its cars sold in Japan equipped with connectivity, which it said can also provide drivers with real-time vehicle data, and information on restaurants, hospitals, or other points of
Origin: Toyota uses wiper data to help forecast the weather
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New Toyota program will help owners of white cars with peeling paint
2011 Toyota Rav4 Owners of Toyota vehicles with peeling paint may get some relief under a new program being implemented by Toyota Canada.According to a report from CBC News, Toyota Canada will offer a voluntary customer support program similar to action taken by Toyota USA for owners whose white vehicles are starting to peel.Exactly what Toyota will do to solve the problem still isnt clear, but a Toyota Canada spokesperson said when the program is ready, owners of affected vehicles will get a notice in the mail.In the U.S., Toyota responded to reports that certain vehicles painted in Blizzard Pearl or Super White were peeling. According to the notice sent to owners, these specific factory-applied colours could peel on exterior metal body parts when, over time, sunlight degrades the adhesion between the coating on the metal and the paint primer. According to CBC News, the notice to customers doesnt say what Toyota will do whether it will repaint the entire vehicle, or what years and models will be covered. The company said it will reimburse customers who previously paid to have their paint repaired, but didnt specify if it will pay the whole bill or just a portion.Those who own Toyota vehicles painted in these colours are advised to update their information with the manufacturer, if necessary, to ensure that they receive a notice in the
Origin: New Toyota program will help owners of white cars with peeling paint
Google to help GM make infotainment systems more phone-like
Driving auto journalists testing out the GMC IntelliLink system on a GMC Terrain during the Driving Infotainment Challenge at Centennial College in Toronto.Driving General Motors is hiring Google to run key parts of its dashboard infotainment system, admitting that the tech firm can do a better job.GM says research shows customers want technology embedded in their vehicle, and they want it to match how their smartphones operate.The company says Google will work to bring its voice assistant into vehicles worldwide, as well as navigation and in-vehicle apps.Its scheduled to happen starting in 2021.The company says the Google system will be better than past GM attempts. The company says drivers will be able to use Google Assistant to make calls, text friends or even set the temperature in their vehicles.I think were going to get a better experience, no doubt in my mind, GM Vice President of Connected Customer Experience Santiago Chamorro said in an interview. The natural language capability of Google Assistant keeps improving and will make it easier for people to talk to their cars, he said. After many lackluster attempts at developing their own systems, automakers have been moving to integrate phones into infotainment systems. Most cars now can project smartphones onto car screens with Android Auto or Apple CarPlay.GM wouldnt release terms of its contract with
Origin: Google to help GM make infotainment systems more phone-like
Tesla asks Apple to help nab alleged data thief working for Chinese competitor
Elon Musk during his presentation at the Tesla Powerpack Launch Event at Hornsdale Wind Farm on September 29, 2017 in Adelaide, Australia. Tesla and Apple both suspect they were betrayed by driverless technology engineers who defected to the same Chinese startup.So, Tesla is now asking for Apples help in a lawsuit in which the electric carmaker accused an engineer who worked on its Autopilot program of taking thousands of highly confidential files when he went to work for XMotors.ai, the U.S. research arm of Guangzhou-based Xpeng.Along with typical information demands in the early fact-finding phase of the lawsuit that are spelled out in a court filing last week Tesla wants to see the engineers emails and have a forensic analysis conducted on his electronic devices the company founded by Elon Musk disclosed that it has also served the iPhone maker with a subpoena.The documents Tesla seeks from Apple arent specified in the filing, but the thinking may be that while the Silicon Valley titans are rivals in the ultra-hot self-driving space, they share a common enemy in Xpeng.Last July, prosecutors charged a hardware engineer in Apples autonomous vehicle-development team with downloading proprietary files as he prepared to leave the company and start work for the for Chinese company. The engineer has pleaded not guilty.Apple didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.The former Tesla engineer, Guangzhi Cao, acknowledged in a court filing that he downloaded copies of Teslas Autopilot-related source code to his personal iCloud account, but denies any wrongdoing. Cao has done precisely nothing with Teslas IP, having diligently and earnestly tried to scrub all of Teslas source code from his personal devices and volunteered to provide the company with complete forensic copies of any devices it wished to inspect, his lawyers wrote.Xpeng which hasnt been accused of wrongdoing by Apple or Tesla has said it plays by the rules and has denied having any part in the engineers alleged misconduct. The company has said that when it was notified in June 2018 that U.S. authorities were investigating the Apple engineer, his computer and office equipment were secured and he was denied access to his work and subsequently fired.Xpeng, which is backed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Foxconn Technology Group, is among the startups in China striving to reshape the auto industry as the worlds biggest market promotes new-energy vehicles in an effort to clean its air and cut its reliance on oil
Origin: Tesla asks Apple to help nab alleged data thief working for Chinese competitor
Tractor nabs world speed record with help from F1 team
British industrial equipment manufacturer JCB has just set the record for Worlds fastest tractor with a little help fromthe Williams F1 team!?Yes, it was none other than the vaunted Formula One constructor that restyled the body to give it some actual aerodynamics, allowing it to better cut through the air.The real achievement is the engine, though, a 7.2-litre diesel straight-six that produces 1,843 lb.-ft. of torque and 1,000 horsepower.Special modifications were made to the engine to increase cooling, and the CVT transmission was swapped out for a six-speed wet-clutch unit from a lorry.To complete the record, they would need a steely-eyed missile man who laughs in the face of danger, and former motorcycle racer Guy Martin was just the person to do it. Martin managed to get the massive tractor up to 103.6 mph (166.7 km/h), beating the previous record of 87.27 mph (140.4 km/h) set by the Top Gear crew in March 2018.She felt rock-steady on the runway, jobs a peach, Martin said. JCB chairman Lord Anthony Bamford was quite excited about the whole thing, too.Weve long harboured a dream to attempt a speed record with the Fastrac and the whole team has worked tirelessly to achieve this amazing result, he said. Im extremely proud of what they have achieved in such a short space of time.JCB is actually no stranger to world records: in 2006 its DieselMax streamliner reached 350.092 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats, setting a new diesel land speed record.The entire effort will be encapsulated in a documentary, to be released later this
Origin: Tractor nabs world speed record with help from F1 team
Carlos Ghosn’s wife pleads to Donald Trump to help former Nissan exec’s case
Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn leaves his lawyers offices after he was released earlier in the day from a detention centre after posting bail in Tokyo on March 6, 2019.Kazuhiro Nogi / Getty The wife of former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn is pleading to the U.S. president to help his case. According to Reuters, Carole Ghosn wants Donald Trump to speak with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during the G20 summit about helping to prove her husband’s innocence. Carole has already called upon the French government to help as well. I’d like President Trump to speak to Prime Minister Abe about fair conditions, fair trial conditions and to let me speak to my husband and also to respect this presumption of innocence until proven guilty, Carole Ghosn told the BBC. Carole Ghosn was born in Beirut, but has a U.S. passport. Carlos Ghosn is accused of financial misconduct charges but claims he was ousted as Nissan chairman by a boardroom coup. and that his former colleagues stabbed him in the back. According to Carole, she has not spoken to Carlos since he was re-arrested on April 4th. They told him one of the bail conditions, the restrictions, is he isn’t allowed to speak to me or talk to me, which I find inhumane, she explained. All of this could have been dealt with internally within the company. This didn’t need to go this far and on top of it my husband is innocent and time will prove the truth. The G20 summit will take place in Osaka on June 28 and
Origin: Carlos Ghosn’s wife pleads to Donald Trump to help former Nissan exec’s case
Jaguar Land Rover develops wheel that warms to help with navigation
There are acres of driver aids in modern vehicles to help the driver navigate their way through an unfamiliar city. Satnav led the way and is now supported by a cast of colourful heads-up displays, audible alerts and vibrating seats (hold your rude comments about that last one, please). Luxury automaker Jaguar Land Rover is working on a steering wheel that could provide another directional cue for drivers, one which doesn’t require taking one’s eyes off the road, citing driver distraction as one of the major contributors to road traffic collisions around the world. The company has a point—during your commute home this evening, take note how many drivers are eyeing their smart device, hoovering a Big Crunch, or talking into their phones while holding it horizontally like a slice of pizza. Jag says its “sensory steering wheel” can help address this problem. It uses heat to inform drivers where to turn, when it’s safe to change lanes, and warn of impending doom if another vehicle is trying to occupy the same spot in the space-time continuum. A steering wheel developed by Jaguar Land Rover could help keep drivers’ eyes on the road – by using heat to tell drivers when to turn left or right.#Technology #FutureMobility pic.twitter.com/iVbhgUHG6J Jaguar Land Rover (@JLR_News) May 29, 2019 An infrared illustration shows the left-hand side of the steering wheel getting warm as the driver approaches a scheduled turn as determined by the satnav. After rounding the bend, the Jag’s wheel returns to normal temperature. By using heat to tell drivers when to turn left or right, it eliminates the need for them to divert their eyes to a map screen on the centre stack. Interestingly, the video shows both the left and right sides of the wheel heating up when the route is plotted to continue straight ahead at an intersection. Company studies suggest temperature-based instructions could also be used for non-urgent notifications, where vibrations could be deemed unnecessarily attention-grabbing, for example as a warning when fuel is running low, or for upcoming events such as points of interest. Thermal cues can also be used where audio feedback would be deemed too disruptive to cabin conversations or media playback. Naturally, the company tosses around the words ‘autonomous’ and ‘mobility’ in the film, buzzwords wholly appropriate for this day and age if not this particular application. Your author thinks this invention would be great in a normal car, thank you very much. Of course, this leaves us with the question of what happens to a plain old heated steering wheel? Here in the Great White North, most drivers enjoy them more than a kid loves cake. You’ll have to drag mine from my cold (literally)
Origin: Jaguar Land Rover develops wheel that warms to help with navigation
Ford designed the Shelby GT500’s stereo to help the engine sound perfect
2020 Ford Mustang GT500 Most gearheads enjoy a loud and raucous exhaust. Some of them are more pleasant to the ear than others. An Italian V12 at full trot is an aural delight with few equals, for example. Same goes for the traditional growl of an uncorked American V8 on this side of the pond. With its 700-plus horsepower and aggressive styling choices, Ford’s new GT500 is bound to check a lot of the correct boxes in terms of performance and looks. It also needs to sound right, which is a bigger task for engineers than most people realize. In a sit-down with top brass of the GT500 team, the crew at Road Track found out just how much goes into achieving that perfect exhaust note. At play is an active noise cancellation system, a gee-whiz piece of kit that deploys an armada of microphones and the car’s stereo system to eliminate unwanted noises. It won’t quell the whining noise from your passenger, but it will erase tones and pitches that could ruin the signature V8 bark. At play are something called secondary harmonics, a term which generally refers to the din created by the likes of moving belts or weird induction noises. Once the mics have picked up these offensive sounds, an opposing frequency is played through the Shelby’s speaker system get rid of it. Noise-cancelling is nothing new – in fact, you probably own a set of noise-cancelling headphones – but the way in which Ford is deploying the technology is unique. Instead of taking a blanket approach, the Blue Oval team is selecting very specific sounds to eliminate. This also beats the old-school approach of adding sound deadening, which also muffles the good stuff and adds weight. An interesting tidbit of this system is that it disables itself when someone opens a door. Those who’ve experienced the technology say the difference in sound is vast and much more pleasant with the doors closed. Winding down the windows doesn’t affect anything, though, so GT500 drivers should feel free to do so in every tunnel they
Origin: Ford designed the Shelby GT500’s stereo to help the engine sound perfect
This app will help you if you crash your Volvo
Volvo Car Accident AdvisorVolvo Crashing your car isn’t fun, and the worst part about doing it is the uncertainty of what to do afterward. Luckily, Volvo is taking some of the guesswork out of car accidents with its new mobile app. The app is aptly called Car Accident Advisor, and is designed to guide you through the first steps you need to take following a minor fender-bender. First, you must confirm to Volvo Customer Care that you are uninjured and that emergency services are not needed; then you will receive a text with a link to the advisor. The app requires that you have a data or internet connection, and then it will guide you through the next steps. The app will prompt the driver to take photographs of the damaged areas and the scene around the vehicles, as well as record facts about the scene. The app can also compile a report to send to your insurance company, and search for repair shops. The whole system should amount to a less stressful experience, as well as a faster repair time for the vehicle and quicker claim response from the insurance company. Obviously, if you are in a larger accident, the app might not be the best thing to use, but for small accidents with other drivers or even with objects, the step-by-step instructions make the whole process less disorienting. The service is available for vehicles model year 2015-and-a-half and up automatically, and via the in-car SOS communications system in newer
Origin: This app will help you if you crash your Volvo
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