Safety

After the Toyota recall over loose floor mats interfering with gas pedals, Consumer Reports tested stuck throttle scenarios with a Toyota Venza, Chevrolet HHR, Volkswagen Jetta Wagon, and Mercedes-Benz E350. The nature of the test was simple, but probably a bit harrowing: the drivers floored the gas pedal until the cars reaches 60 mph, then, keeping the gas depressed, pushed down the brake pedal to see if the car would stop.

The test wasn't quite fair, as both German cars had a tech trick, called Smart Throttle, for just such a situation. When the brakes are applied, the throttle … Read more

Car security company Directed Electronics is unveiling a new iPhone application Tuesday that lets customers control parts of their Viper SmartStart-enabled vehicle from their iPhone or iPod Touch.

The app, called Viper SmartStart, is quite similar toZipcar's recently released iPhone app, except it can work with your car, and not one you're renting for the weekend. It, too, creates a virtual keychain control module that can do things like lock and unlock your vehicle, open the trunk, and activate the alarm, getting rid of the need to carry around one of those keychain clickers as long as you've got your phone handy.

Coolest of all, though, there's a "Smart Start" button in the center of the screen that can turn on your vehicle. The company is promoting this as a simple way to defrost or cool off a car before you get in--that is, assuming you correctly set the climate controls the last time you were inside.

Since the app uses the iPhone's data connection to send the commands, you can control your car (or cars) from anywhere you have an EDGE or 3G signal. It also means you can use it on a non-cellular data device like the iPod Touch, as long as it's near Wi-Fi.

The app is completely free, but it requires you have Viper's SmartStart system installed in each car you want to take control of. This costs $499 for a new installation, or $299 for cars that already have a Viper alarm system, as well as an active subscription to Viper's Smart Start service. Buyers of the system get a year of the $29.99 service included when they get the service installed; then they have to pay after that.

I'm still waiting for a version that can give you live video and steering controls, like the ridiculous, yet awesome remote-controlled BMW in "Tomorrow Never Dies" Though something tells me that's not happening anytime soon.

You can watch the company's promo video after the break.

Correction 9:07 a.m. on October 13: This story initially misidentified the remote-controlled car and James Bond film it was featured in. It is a BMW, and it appeared in "Tomorrow Never Dies."… Read more

Some car accidents are pretty straightforward, but some are difficult to untangle. Witnesses may not remember details accurately, and it can be difficult to determine if a driver was in the wrong. The X-Driven DRS-1100 Drive Recorder attempts to clear up the facts by providing a video and GPS record of what actually happened during an accident.

We took the device for a cruise, and although we didn't have to get in an accident, our driving triggered its recording mechanism frequently. Either the device is too sensitive, or we should rein in our driving style. But the result was … Read more

An alert issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the potential for floor mats in various late-model Toyota and Lexus vehicles to jam the accelerator open prompted Toyota to place a recall for 3.8 million vehicles. The NHTSA issued the alert following an investigation into the crash of a 2009 Lexus ES350 in San Diego last month, which might have been caused by the floor mat sticking the gas pedal in the open position.

The cars affected by the recall are the 2007-to-2010 Camry, 2005-to-2010 Avalon, 2004-to-2009 Prius, 2005-to-2010 Tacoma, 2007-to-2010 Tundra, 2007-to-2010 Lexus ES350, and 2006-to-2010 … Read more

The number of vehicles on U.S. roadways has grown by 7 percent over the last five years. But the number of times those vehicles have collided with deer has swelled by much more than that.

Using its claims data, State Farm estimates 2.4 million collisions of vehicles with a deer occurred in the U.S. during the two-year period between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2009 (100,000 per month). That's 18.3 percent more than five years earlier. To put it another way, one of these unfortunate encounters occurs every 26 seconds (although they are … Read more

To demonstrate the advances in motor vehicle safety over the last 50 years, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conducted a unique crash test using a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu and a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air. Both cars are going 40 mph and the vehicles collide offset, driver side to driver side. This is the same crash configuration represented by the Institute's 40 mph frontal offset barrier test, which is used to rate the frontal crash performance of new cars.

According to a recent Bloomberg article, the Nissan Leaf all-electric vehicle will be equipped with a noise generator that will add a futuristic sound to the silent vehicle at low speeds.

Nissan Motor engineer Toshiyuki Tabata was charged with recreating the sound of a gasoline engine to increase safety for blind pedestrians and to address the potential for U.S. and Japanese mandates for adding artificial sounds to silent EVs.

"We fought for so long to get rid of that noisy engine sound," said Tabata, Nissan's noise and vibration expert. With electric cars, "we took a … Read more

TOKYO -- Imagine trying to merge onto a particularly tricky stretch of expressway where visibility is next to zero. You can't see behind you because of buildings or trees, but suddenly an alarm goes off warning that another car is approaching fast from your left. Accident averted.

Toyota Motor Corp. is rolling out an onboard safety system that does just that. It will be offered first in a car for Japan that Toyota didn't identify but said would arrive "soon."

The technology alerts drivers in real time to unseen hazards such as tight curves, merging traffic … Read more

If you can't keep your hands off your cell phone while driving, a new blocking device can help you keep them on the wheel.

CellControl plugs into the computer terminals of cars made in 1996 and later (terminals are located under the steering column). It then links to your cell via Bluetooth and a downloadable application. When the vehicle is in motion, the device blocks all incoming and outgoing calls, plus texts and e-mails. But it always allows you to call emergency numbers.

CellControl does not depend on cell phone tower triangulation or GPS; as long as a car … Read more