DRIVEN FEBRUARY 2006

WORDS BY Jim Gorzelany

Smart Cars

To suggest that today’s cars and trucks pack more sophisticated technology than it took to put the first astronauts on the moon is an exaggeration… but only just.

Intelligent cruise control

Offered on a few higher-end models like the Cadillac DTS, this laser-guided technology can automatically maintain both a preferred velocity and keep a car a safe distance from the traffic ahead. The driver chooses a speed and allowable interval, while a laser sensor gauges the distance between the vehicle and cars in its path. If a vehicle down the road slows down or one cuts in front within the selected range, the system reacts by decelerating—even applying the brakes if needed—to maintain the selected distance.

Adaptive headlamps

If you can see an obstacle, you can avoid hitting it. That’s the logic behind so-called adaptive headlamps, which can help illuminate the road around curves at night. Now being offered in the Volkswagen Passat and other mid-to-high-priced vehicles, the lamps can pivot by about 20 degrees in either direction, depending on the vehicle’s speed and steering angle, to help motorists avoid hitting parked cars, wildlife and other obstacles in their paths.

Traffic-avoiding navigation

Automotive navigation units have long been offered to help guide the clueless through unfamiliar territory. Now they can even help those who know where they’re going to avoid traffic delays. Currently offered in the Acura RL luxury sedan, XM Satellite Radio’s NavTraffic service provides up-to-the-minute information on traffic fl ow, accidents and road construction for 22 major US cities, enabling drivers to choose the path of least resistance to their destination.

 

Anticipatory crash systems

When all else fails, a few top models like the Lexus LS 430 (left) can automatically initiate a sequence of actions when they determine a crash is imminent and unavoidable. In the milliseconds just before a collision is about to occur, such systems will automatically tighten the seat belts, prime a vehicle’s brake-assist function, and even apply the brakes at full force if the driver cannot react quickly enough.

Lane departure warnings

Currently offered in the Infiniti FX45 and other Nissan and Infiniti vehicles, this helps keep inattentive (or sleepy) drivers from inadvertently veering into another line of traffic and causing a collision. The system looks for highway lane markings and generates an audible signal if it determines the vehicle is about to cross them. Engaging the turn signal otherwise disables the system.

 

In-vehicle digital entertainment

While vehicular DVD players have become nearly ubiquitous, the latest systems now incorporate iPod-like hard drives for multimedia storage. The Buick Terraza (below), Chevrolet Uplander, Pontiac Montana SV6 and Saturn Relay minivans offer the PhatNoise system, in which a 40-gigabyte drive can hold as many as 10,000 songs or 40 movies. The storage unit is removable and can be connected to a home computer for uploading files.