Technology

This is a call for calm in the excitement over autonomous cars.All the big brands have cars that can drive themselves from Sydney to Melbourne today.But, wisely, none are prepared to release them to the public yet because the technology still has a long way to go.The radar units can get tricked by steel guard rails. The cameras can get blinded by bright sunlight, fog and heavy rain.And sometimes the system just wigs out, like it did to me testing a Mercedes with an automatic overtaking function. We nearly crashed it into a concrete barrier at 100kmh when it didn't detect the surroundings properly.Had I binned it, that would have been deemed my fault. And rightly so. The driver should always be in control of the car. Just like a pilot is always in control of a plane, even in autopilot mode.And that's how police and insurance companies will continue to assign fault, no matter what promises car companies make about their future technology.Being able to summon a car to pick you up from the shop, or be driven to work while reading a paper is still decades away -- if authorities will allow it. For now it's science fiction.What we are witnessing is the gradual automation of the automobile.The term “autonomous car” is being over-used, and wrongly used.In fact, you could argue it started with old fashioned cruise control -- set the speed and the driver doesn't need to touch the accelerator pedal.Then we got radar cruise control. It maintains a gap between the car in front -- and matches its speed, up or down, as the lane ahead clears.In that scenario, the driver no longer needs to touch the brake or the accelerator.Now we are starting to see traffic jam assistance -- press a button and the car will inch forward and apply the brakes automatically in stop-start conditions. That was first seen on Benzes and BMWs and now it's on certain Hyundai, Honda and Nissan cars.Following “lane wander alert” (a camera in the windscreen can detect when you move from your lane without indicating) we now have “lane-keeping”. The car will steer itself straight. You can get that on the luxury version of the Ford Ranger ute, as well as prestige cars.Coming soon to Australian roads is a Mercedes that will allow you to take your hands off the wheel for up to 60 seconds (up from 10 seconds) providing there are lane markings and the corner is not too tight.But all of the above prompts the question: will this reduce crashes or increase them, as motorists become more reliant on technology -- and more complacent behind the wheel?

The humble cupholder has come a long way and it's not done yet.Ford, for one, is conducting extensive research into the use and abuse of cupholders as it shapes the cabins of its future cars.Its background comes from a Neilsen survey in America but, apart from the size of the giant Slurpee cups that are so popular across the Pacific, the results are likely to parallel the situation in Australia.Neilsen says cupholders are now as popular for carrying mobile telephones, keys and coins as they are for beverages. And they need to be more than just a plastic hole in the centre console.About half of people use a cupholder to store their mobile, followed by 28 per cent who use one for change, 19 per cent for food, 14 per cent for chewing gum or mints and 12 per cent for wallets. Men are more likely to store their wallet and change, while women use cupholders for ... cups."When you like your cupholders, they can make your vehicle feel like home," says Jolanta Coffey, manager for instrument panels and consoles at Ford.Design work for cupholders now involves clearing more space — new-age rotary gearshift controls help — in the console, accommodating bottles as well, giving extra support for containers during braking and cornering, and even providing lighting and cooling in the cupholders.

My mum has just taken delivery of a 2016 Mazda3. Recently on the Great Alpine Road in Victoria, the satnav screen was blank in some spots along the drive. The screen just had the red arrow and no road detail, as if searching for a signal. Have you, or anybody else, had this trouble? I told her to mention it to the dealer during the week when it goes back for its 1000km check.

In response to recent confusion over LPG Falcon re-filling issues in hot conditions I feel compelled to explain the real issue. It's not a Ford LPG problem, but a direct result of underground LPG cylinders at some service stations. I was one of the first Victorians to take delivery of the new EcoLPI Falcon in 2011 and did 300,000 kilometres in three years as a sales rep. In short, on hot days I had trouble getting gas into the car at every station with underground tanks and never any trouble at stations with above-ground tanks that were baking in the same sun as my car. So it's simple, the difference in temperature of cold underground tanks to baking-hot vehicles is what causes the problem and I witnessed drivers of various makes and models of gas vehicles experiencing the same frustration. Most service station attendants were also aware of the underground problem.

I'm enjoying my older Mazda Bravo but I've been testing newer four-wheel drives with an eye to the future. I find the unnecessarily large bonnets on today's four-wheel drives are a hindrance to accurate steering by obscuring difficult road conditions close to your front. This seemingly US convention of "mine is bigger than yours" has put me right off cars like the Ford Ranger and Everest. Is there any relief in sight?

"Our founders were inventors of the automobile," says Dieter Zetsche, "and we have to continue to reinvent the automobile."

I have had problems with the phone and air-conditioning in my 2015 VW Tiguan ever since I bought it new. The phone has issues with echo, it will hang up mid phone call and will often not connect with the phone at all. Previously the only way to rectify this is to have the dealer reset the phone. The air-conditioner will occasionally not work at all. I have had the car in to the dealer many times over the year I've owned it, and as they were unable to rectify the issues they put me onto Volkswagen Customer care. Customer care have had the complaint for over six months, they have sent me back to the dealer twice to collect information. Unfortunately I am now the pawn in the middle as the dealer is directing me to Customer care and Customer care is directing me to the dealer. Where do I go from here and how can I get these issues rectified, when they can't identify the problem?

The subject of car cameras is becoming more pertinent by the day, rightly so because of their accuracy and now that photos will stand up in court if needed. Trying to find a camera that suits the driver is near impossible. I'm one of many car owners who have gone to various shops and we hear the sales pitch that their product is the best and will do what's required. We need to know what to look for in a middle-of-the-road camera, a good all-rounder. These cameras seem to be versatile in all the detail they can record. How about some help in choosing a camera? Good ones needn't be the dearest.

The automotive industry may think self-driving, plug-in cars are the way of the future but the next generation of drivers isn't so sure.

Angel gear was a big deal when I first hit the road.