lanes

TomTom announced Wednesday that it's rolling out a few new models: the TomTomXL 340 and 340S and the TomTom One 140 and 140S. The new units now include maps of Mexico, in addition to maps of the United States and Canada. Furthermore, TomTom's Advanced Lane Guidance feature trickles farther down the product lineup, as these new models gain the highly useful ability to display detailed information about major highway lanes and where they go.

The TomTom XL 340 and 340S are 4.3-inch wide-screen models that both feature TomTom Map Share, which allows users to upload corrections to … Read more

Ever since the State of California passed its hands-free driving law, I've actually started making more phone calls--in and out of my car--using my iPhone's earbuds and mic.

I guess the law made me more aware that I actually have a mic on my earbuds and walking down the street while seemingly talking to yourself is a great way to freak people out. Although not so much in San Francisco anymore.

Damn tangents. Anyway, the earbuds and mic are great for phone calls, but what about e-mail and voice messages? Well, IMS is saying it has you covered. … Read more

It looks like Nissan drivers of the future will have another electronic nanny nudging their vehicles toward safer driving. Nissan has recently demonstrated to Reuters a brake-resistance device that would attempt to keep drivers from changing lanes if another vehicle is detected in the motorist's blind spot.

Blind spot and lane departure warning systems aren't new--many vehicles we've tested include lights that illuminate or warning beeps to notify the driver of danger. The Audi A8 L W12, tested earlier in the month, vibrated the steering wheel if you drifted out of your lane without intentionally signaling. Nissan'… Read more

Japanese car makers continue to keep us in work here at CNET car tech. Just when you thought that today's models had as much gadgetry onboard as possible, along comes Infiniti with its 2008 EX35, a model that introduces two brand new car technology features. The EX35 is the first production car to come with Around View Monitor, a camera-based parking aid that gives drivers a top-down surround view of the car and any obstacles in its vicinity. It is also the first car in the United States to come with a nonemergency active safety feature in the form … Read more

Five new high-tech features will be available on Volvo's S80, V70 and XC70 models by the end of the year, the company announced Tuesday.

The Swedish company joins the ranks of several automakers who are bringing high-tech features to even the most budget models.

Volvo's most interesting feature may be a new take on monitoring driver behavior.

Driver Alert Control, as Volvo calls it, uses a camera and sensors to monitor a car's general behavior in terms of speed and staying in lane, not the driver's behavior within a cockpit. If, through a combination of factors, … Read more

Drivers of the new BMW 5 series will have the option of an extra tech safety device to ensure that they make it to the boardroom meeting in one piece. The 2008 5 series, which will make its official debut at this week's Geneva auto show, will come with the intelligent Lane Departure Warning system (LDW), which will warn drivers if they are about to cross over a lane-dividing line without using their turn signal.

Rather than sounding a chime or flashing a light on the dashboard (a la the system in the 2007 Infiniti M35 Sport), the BMW … Read more

When a bunch of Silicon Valley venture capitalists threw down a bounty of $5 million last month for a device that would enable drivers to check e-mail while on the road, we must admit we were a bit skeptical. Oh, we of little faith.

A product showing at SEMA 2006 from Intelligent Mechatronic Systems (IMS) is proving that the age of in-car e-mail is already upon us. Dubbed iLane, the device uses Bluetooth connectivity and text-to-voice technology to read out incoming e-mails received by a driver's PDA or smart phone. Drivers are notified of an incoming message by a … Read more