Jalopnik lists the 25 most useful car technologies and I tend to agree with all of them, save one:
- Rain-X (there is Rain-X wiper fluid now, which refreshes the treatment when you use power washers)
- Airbags
- Anti-lock Brakes
- Traction and Stability Control
- Muffler Valves
- Clean Diesel
- SynchroRev Match (found on the Nissan 370z)
- iPod/iPhone integration
- Variable valve timing, event and lift systems
- Radar/Laser detectors (illegal in Ontario)
- Heated Seats (my last car didn’t have these)
- Lightweight materials (carbon fiber)
- Crumple zones
- Stop/Start Engines
- Satellite Weather and Traffic Reports (I don’t think any of these systems work in Canada)
- Pushbutton locking differentials
- Turbocharging (woohoo!)
- LED lights
- Torque vectoring differentials
- Direct Fuel Injection
- Real power outlets
- Folding hard tops
- Hood scoops (wtf?)
- Adaptive headlights
- Regenerative Braking
I’m not sure about hood scoops, but the rest of the list is pretty cool. Recently I bought a new car, and it was nice to have features that my old car didn’t have, like adaptive lights, turbocharged direct-injection engine, heated seats and iPhone integration. Technology is wonderful.
Tags: auto, Cars, diesel, differential, iPhone, jalopnik, led, synchrorev, turbo, vehicles
Entries (RSS)
* Airbags – Heavy, explosive device in front of my face, expensive. I’ll take defensive driving for the win.
* Anti-lock Brakes – I’d only take them if they were speed sensitive (ie. not working below 15kph in a Toronto Winter so that you don’t lightly rear end someone at an icy stop sign)
* Traction and Stability Control – See airbag note on defensive driving.
* SynchroRev Match (found on the Nissan 370z) – Learn to drive.