There’s been a lot of talk about tablet computers, ultrabooks, and cutting-edge high-definition televisions at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, but it’s the connected car that has garnered some of the most interest amongst attendees. In a recent interview at the show, two Ford executives had a lot to say about their firm’s commitment to building the best and safest high-tech vehicles. [click to continue…]
The world’s biggest automakers busy this week with several top automotive companies, most notably Ford, making major announcements involving connected car technology at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. But let’s not forget about the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, where U.S. automotive firms are introducing a wide range of new technologies that could see to a major rebound for North America’s old stand-bys, including Ford, Chrysler and General Motors. [click to continue…]
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended on Tuesday that states outlaw texting, emailing and talking on cell phones while driving, even with the aid of hands-free systems. Of her department’s proposal for regulation NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said; “…no call, no text, no update is worth a human life.” But even the NTSB’s own recommendations about what’s safe and what’s not are muddy and smell more politics on the eve of an election year than a tangible safety directive aimed at saving lives. [click to continue…]
We wanted to see the Uconnect Touch 8.4 by Garmin for ourselves, operating inside the nouveau-classic 2012 Dodge Charger. We headed out to Bustard Chrysler at 575 Davenport Road in Waterloo to give the the device a live demonstration. The partnership between Chrysler and Garmin has made the Uconnect Touch 8.4 and 8.4N models the centerpiece of select Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram vehicles. We wanted to discover why it earned top billing in a recent J.D. Powers and Associates customer satisfaction survey. [click to continue…]
According to a recent J.D. Powers & Associates survey – new car buyers have a lot of hate for their factory navigation systems. Owners report an average of 3.5 problems with the built-in navigation systems that came with their cars. The worst offenders are those in-dash systems that attempt combine features like navigation, audio and climate control into a single device. But the silver lining seems to be the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) systems by Garmin found in new Chrysler models that sit consistently at the top of the satisfaction survey. [click to continue…]