Technology

Innovative plate-charging system shows promise but not yet ready to be rolled out.

Google will supply its Android software to vehicles under the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance umbrella, as part of a multi-year agreement announced this week.

Volkswagen Group Australia will soon reveal its plans for a new line of all-electric models, which is expected to kick off with the Volkswagen ID small car in 2021.

How to program Saab 93 key fob?

Mazda is offering a retrofit of CarPlay for any older car with 'MZD Connect'.

I have a 2015 Mazda6 GT wagon 2.5 petrol with nearly 60,000 km on it. It is booked in for its service in the next week. Today, the check engine light came on. In addition, the cruise control failed to activate and the i-stop stop/start feature failed.

Are all these things interconnected in that an issue with one will disable the functioning of the others?

Lexus is claiming a production-car world first with the imminent introduction of rear-view cameras in place of conventional wing mirrors on its new ES large sedan that will go on sale in Japan next month.The cameras on door-mounted arms – in a similar fashion to regular mirrors – transmit images to two 5.0-inch screens inside the cabin at the bottom of each A-pillar.Audi has also signaled its intention to introduce the digital mirror system on its Audi e-tron SUV, but Lexus will beat the German company to the punch by putting it into production first.Lexus has no plans to introduce the re-imagined mirror set-up outside Japan, but the move might put pressure on road safety legislators to change rules that deem this technology unroadworthy.In Australia, the regulations would have to change before mirrors of this kind are to become commonly available, with Australian Design Rules (ADR) requiring mirrors with specific design parameters.In theory, Lexus could apply for an exemption to the rule, although the Japanese carmaker has given no indication it will try.Audi also might have to revert to conventional mirrors for e-tron when it arrives in Australia in the second half of next year. Alternative mirrors have been a common feature on concept cars in the past decade, but road safety administrators have deemed latency issues and low-light performance make them less effective than regular wing mirrors.Lexus says its camera shape resists raindrops and snow, giving a clearer rear view while also reducing wind noise and providing a less obstructed view through the side windows."The system automatically enhances the corresponding area – left, right or behind – when the turn signals are activated, or when the transmission is put into reverse," it says. "The view of areas around the car can be manually enhanced by the driver to obtain complete peripheral awareness of the area around the vehicle."

MMercedes-Benz Vans has unveiled a fully-electric concept dubbed the Vision Urbanetic at an event in Copenhagen last night.

The Japanese government has recruited Subaru, Boeing and Uber in an effort to get flying vehicles off the ground by the end the next decade.

The lightning fast speed of change means that sometimes we quickly forget how amazing the breakthroughs of yesterday were. There are even people alive who can remember how difficult and boring life was before the smart phone.Take ABS (Anti-lock Braking System), for example. Before its arrival, in the mid-1980s, people needed to know what "threshold braking" was, and wheels did regularly lock up, and skid, with predictable repercussions. Today we can tromp the brake pedal as if it's covered in spiders, and even steer while we're stopping.These kind of motoring innovations seem to be ceaselessly rolled out and, like ABS, there are many that we'd hate to have to live without. And just a few that we wish we could.One of the notes of caution that we should ring here is that the first versions of some amazing technologies are sometimes a bit buggy, just like other bits of software. Start/stop systems, for example, which shut off your car's engine to save fuel - and emissions - when you're sitting at traffic lights are increasingly prevalent. Today's modern systems react as soon as they feel you lessening your pressure on the brake pedal, kicking the engine into life extremely quickly so that you're ready to go.The very first versions of the technology - in the mid-noughties - were not always so fast at the "start" bit, meaning you could find yourself being a little less fast off the line at an intersection than you'd like to be, and giving you quite a scare.Start/stop might be a pocket-friendly, tree-hugging technology but it also divides opinions. More than a few people press the button to disable it as soon as they start up their cars, because they find the rattle on restart, the silence when it's off, or the way their power steering suddenly goes dead disturbing. Start/stop can be particularly disruptive in diesel-engined cars, of course, where the start-up process is harder to keep smooth and silent.The latest Audi systems, however, in the A4 and A6 Allroad quattro for example, are quiet and clever, cutting the engine as soon as your speed drops below 7km/h, and before you even come to a stop, for better efficiency, and restarting with subtlety.It might be one of those things you think you can live without, until petrol prices go up again, and at least you can always turn it off.Cruise control, which was already popular in the US in the 1970s, but caught on slower here, was one of those technologies that looked like the beginning of the end for driving. Once we could set a speed, take our feet off and just twiddle the wheel, autonomous cars seemed just a short drive away, and yet they still haven't quite arrived (Lexus announced it would have an optional autonomous system available in Australia in 2015, but it has since gone very quiet on the promise). What a lot of modern cars do have is Active Cruise Control (also the basis of the Lexus autonomous system), which on high end cars can take the car from a complete stop, up to your chosen speed and then adjust itself to the pace of traffic in front of you.ACC mainly uses radar to measure the distance to an object in front of you, and your closing speed, and applies the brakes and throttle for you accordingly.Unless you're in a really high price bracket, Active Cruise is generally going to be an optional extra, and quite an expensive one, so is it worth the extra spend?That depends on the driver. Again, there are many people who foreswear all kinds of cruise control, because they claim it makes for dopey, uninvolved drivers, and they prefer to keep a constant contact with the car through throttle and brakes.Those in the "pro" camp tend to point out that setting the cruise control, everywhere you go, particularly in Victoria, can save you a lot of unnecessary speeding fines.While reversing cameras are increasingly turning up as standard equipment in even tiny, cheap cars, they are one option a lot of people would happily swap for parking sensors, which measure the distance between your bumpers and solid objects and beep you the distance, like a car sonar system.Personally, as someone who drives, and reverse parks, many different cars each year, parking sensors are the one option I hate being without, whereas the absence of a reversing camera is something I barely notice (being old school, I tend to turn my head and use my eyes instead). Sure, you should be able to tell how far your car is from things, but the beeps really are a fantastically simple aid. A camera gives you a slightly narrow view of the road behind you, but some of them aren't particularly helpful for judging distance, particularly at night.Some cars only offer park sensors on the rear of the car, but this is unacceptable, because once you've got used to the beepers, you really want them at both ends. BluetoothAlong with parking sensors, the modern features we can't live without include Bluetooth pairing for your phone - the only way you should ever make calls on the move, and better than using the radio for music.AirbagsNot an option, a necessity, and make sure you've got an appropriate number in the rear, too, if you have children.ESPElectronic Stability Program. So good it's now illegal not to have it, and a potential life saver.Blind Spot WarningIntroduced by Volvo in 2007 and now widely available, this clever system scans the lane beside you when you indicate and will warn you if you're about to take out a motorbike, or a car, hidden in your blind spot. Not everyone is good at doing head checks, and it's impossible to calculate how many accidents these systems would have already prevented, but it would be a big number.Lane Keep Assist SystemHonda rolled out this ingenious system in 2003, which recognises lane markings and will adjust your steering angle should you start to veer out of your lane. Simpler Lane Departure Warning systems are more common and merely provide a warning, by buzzing your steering wheel or through an alarm. Again, some drivers find these systems annoying and unnecessary, but if it only saves you once...