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CNET)
As 2009 rolls to a close, we look back at the cars we've reviewed over the last year to see which one should earn our Tech Car of the Year award. From our survey of the 100 or so cars we've reviewed, we're pleased to see that the adoption of cabin tech by automakers is becoming more prevalent and ever more sophisticated, with features such as hard-drive-based navigation with traffic reporting becoming common.
Among the cars we've seen, we picked out five that show the most innovative technology. These cars use technology to enhance the cabin and driving experience, and push the automotive technology envelope. Please vote for the car you think should be the 2009 Tech Car of the Year, and discuss it in the comments. The Car Tech staff jury members will place their own votes, and we will announce the winner on January 11, just before the Detroit auto show. Voting closes on January 4, 2010.
Nominees
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CNET)
Audi's Quattro all-wheel-drive system, along with an active suspension system, makes the Q5 handle like a car, maintaining grip and composure during high-speed cornering. A new navigation system, powered by a Nvidia graphics chip, extensively renders urban areas in 3D.
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CNET)
BMW spared no technology in its effort to make the X5 SUV worthy of an M badge. The result? The heaviest vehicle we've ever rotated through a turn. Throw in a navigation system with satellite imagery in the maps, and we've got a tech leader.
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CNET)
Toyota may have turned the Prius into the iconic hybrid, but Ford's Fusion Hybrid is just a better all-around car. The hybrid system gives this midsize sedan excellent mileage, while letting it run under electric power at speeds up to 47 mph. Ford's cabin tech is anchored by Sync and Sirius Travel Link, and gets pushed up a step further with the driver-configurable ecology-oriented instrument cluster.
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CNET)
The new Prius might have made this list of nominees, if it weren't for the all-new Lexus HS250h. This car uses Toyota's hybrid system to get excellent mileage while showing that a luxury car doesn't have to be a full-size sedan. It makes use of a number of driver aid technologies, and incorporates Lexus' newest cabin tech suite.
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Lincoln's new flagship sedan was a contender last year, and makes the list this year because of significant improvements. Along with its excellent Sync, Sirius Travel Link, and THX audio features, Lincoln gave it a high-tech engine in the form of the twin turbo direct injection V-6. Add to this adaptive cruise control and an automatic parking system that actually works, and the MKS shows up as a tech heavyweight.
Treating gasoline as fine whiskey, the hybrid Lexus RX450h sips rather than gulps. This luxury vehicle turns stereotypes of SUVs on their heads, getting excellent fuel economy while offering Lexus' latest cabin tech. It pampers occupants with interior and ride quality that rise above most luxury vehicles today.
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Corinne Schulze/CNET)
The fastest of the Lexus GS series is a hybrid. At 5.2 seconds to 60 mph, the GS 450h beats both the GS 460 and GS 350. And it does it while getting better mileage than its model mates. That's the kind of best-of-all-worlds powertrain we can live with. Those numbers also make the advantages of a hybrid abundantly clear. Now if Lexus would get around to updating its cabin tech, the GS 450h would be just about perfect.
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Lexus)
When we first saw Lexus' new luxury hybrid, it was being revealed at the 2009 Detroit auto show. Recently we were given an opportunity to preview the new Lexus HS 250h, a vehicle that the automaker is calling the world's first luxury dedicated hybrid. It also calls the HS an economy luxury car, which to us seems like a bit of an oxymoron.
As I approached the vehicle, my first thought was, "Oh my, they've Lexusified and hybridized a Corolla! This is going to be a disaster." I couldn't have been more wrong.
True, the HS 250h looks like your run-of-the-mill, boring Toyota/Lexus econobox, but under the rather plain skin is a rather exceptional vehicle, particularly when it comes to cabin tech.
The floating center console lifts the controls up to be easily reached.
(Credit: Lexus)The HS 250h's dash is an ergonomic dream. Its floating center console lifts the climate and audio controls up to where they can be accessed without reaching. The flip-up navigation screen is moved up to the top of the dash, where it can be viewed in our periphery without taking our eyes off of the road.
At the bottom of the console, Lexus' new remote-touch controller falls naturally into the drivers' hand. A sort of joystick/trackball hybrid, the remote-touch controller uses a control stick that is moved with your fingertip to select options from the HS' icon-based interface. Movements are 1:1 with where the pointer is on the screen, so there's never any issue with losing the cursor. Haptic-force feedback notifies you through touch when an option has been selected, which assists in navigation without you having to take eyes off of the road for too long.
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From our reviews, we round up the most expensive, geekiest cars available. These big sedans average around one-hundred grand and feature some of the latest automotive technology available. Want a massage? Try out the Mercedes-Benz CL550. Want to know if cars are in your blind spots? Give the Audi S8 a spin. Feeling a little green? The Lexus LS 600h delivers luxury and a hybrid power train.
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Ford Motor)
A new feature from Ford Motor will allow drivers to let their car do the steering when faced with a parallel parking space, the company announced Tuesday.
This latest car gadget, which Ford calls Active Park Assist, works slightly differently than the park assist feature on Toyota's self-parking Lexus.
On the self-parking Lexus, the driver can use an interface to adjust the space the car aims for, and only maintains control over the brake while it's maneuvering.
In Ford's version the driver pulls up alongside a space and pushes a button. The car then applies ultrasonic-based sensors at the four corners of the car to detect its position and that of other street obstacles near the space. It then calculates the optimal steering angles for maneuvering into the space and prompts the driver to give the OK. After the driver pushes the OK button, the EPAS (Electronic Power Assisted Steering) then uses those calculations to automatically steer the car into the spot while the driver maintains control over the shifting, gas, and brake.
The feature will be available as an option on the Lincoln MKS sedan and MKT crossover models starting in mid-2009, according to Ford.
I'm curious to know exactly how tight of a space it's willing to maneuver a roomy Lincoln into.
We'll probably know soon at CNET, as I'm sure the gals and guys in our car review department are already making plans to test out a Lincoln with this latest piece of tech magic.
(Anyone else think it would be funny if Linkin Park sings in the commercial for this Lincoln "Park Assist"?)
The 2010 Lexus RX450h has a revised power train and a slick new iDrive killer called "remote touch." We check it out at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show.
From the cockpit: The RX400h on the way to L.A.
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CBS Interactive)The Los Angeles Auto Show starts Wednesday, and we are blasting down I-5 at 80 mph in a Lexus RX400h, taking a road trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles. We just passed the Los Banos exit, so we are well on our way. The nav system reports that we've got 264 miles to go. It also says we'll get to our hotel in 4 hours and 47 minutes, but I think we can do better than that, barring bad L.A. traffic.
Fortunately, we have three people in the car--editors Wayne Cunningham and Antuan Goodwin, and Corinne Schulze, our photographer--so we can use the commuter lanes. And our Lexus hybrid SUV won't mind the L.A. traffic too much, as it works best in start-stop conditions. We're not taking much advantage of the hybrid system right now, although we could draft the Hummer ahead of us. But the 3.3-liter V-6 in the Lexus is giving us 26.1 mpg, according to the trip computer, which certainly isn't bad.
Lots of big trucks travel the I-5.
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CBS Interactive)One of the first things we found in the Lexus was a lack of entertainment options. It has a fine Mark Levinson audio system and an in-dash DVD changer. But we all brought MP3 players, and the car has no hookup, not even an auxiliary jack, for external devices. Big disappointment when you're about to spend a good five hours in a car.
Worse yet, the satellite radio isn't optioned in this car, leaving us with good old AM/FM radio. Strangely enough, this stereo does have a cassette tape player, so we could use an MP3 player if we had one of those cheap adapters, but we expected better from Lexus.
One thing this RX400h does have is laser-based adaptive cruise control. Antuan is driving and has it set at a good speed for this freeway. We just came across one big truck passing another, and the car automatically slowed down to 60 mph, then got back up to speed when the road was clear again.
It's 2:17 p.m. and we have another 249 miles to go, and the freeway is looking all nice and repaved.
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Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)
The 2008 Lexus GS 460 works as a good example of powertrain engineering, where Lexus took its existing GS model and dropped in the engine and transmission that it launched in the 2007 LS 460. We were very impressed with this powertrain in the LS for its fuel economy, and it loses nothing in the smaller GS 460. Of course, being a Lexus, this car also offers a very comfortable cabin with a solid array of technology, from a rich graphical interface to a superb-sounding Mark Levinson audio system. None of this cabin tech is particularly cutting-edge at this point, but it all works well. What really surprised us about this car was its performance, when we drove it for a couple of laps around the Laguna Seca race track.
Bamboo buyer beware, says Kelly LaPlante.
"This is one of the biggest areas for greenwashing," she told me during a tour of a suite she redesigned on behalf of Lexus at San Francisco's Fairmont Hotel. (As part of a marketing campaign, Lexus is sprucing up hotel suites in San Francisco and Washington, D.C, The Fairmont one costs $869 a night, but you get to use a Lexus hybrid V8 while you're there.)
A coffee table from Lexus
(Credit: Michael Kanellos/CNET Networks)A lot of companies offer bamboo flooring and panel so they can sell a green product, but many of them also use toxic adhesives and other chemicals that take away the advantages of using bamboo. Bamboo grows fast and needs little fertilizer, making it a relatively green building product.
Some also grow it in distant places and truck it in, eliminating further environmental advantages. You've got to dig into the suppliers to figure out if you're buying green. Later this year, she will set up a site that rates various building suppliers on how green they really are. It should be good reading.
Other remodeling tips from LaPlante:
• Recycle as much as possible. She recently remodeled three cottages in Venice, Calif. They reused drywall and so much material that they didn't even need a dumpster out front. The less stuff that ends up in the land fill, the better.
"When you demolish something, are you demolishing or carefully removing," she said.
That footstool/table you see in the picture is an example of recycling. It's made out of leather found in old Lexuses.
• Green is not necessarily a statement. You can consciously pick green materials, but it doesn't have to be a theme. In fact, self-conscious green will likely look dated in the future.
"We try to make things that don't look like green design," she said.
