All posts by ScottHuntington

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Testing Autonomous Cars With Motion-Sickness Tech

While safety is the number one concern of those working on autonomous cars, there’s another hurdle that self-driving car engineers are working on — alleviating motion sickness. The German automotive company, Volkswagen, is taking necessary steps to address the potential issues of self-driving cars causing passengers to become nauseous.

Maybe you haven’t thought about motion sickness as an issue when riding in an autonomous vehicle, but if you give it some more thought, it makes sense.

Have you ever felt nauseous riding shotgun after looking down at your phone for an extended period of time? It’s the same principle here. When the body can’t anticipate change in speed and/or direction and take time to make necessary adaptations, the result can be a queasy feeling, or worse.

Drivers can more readily adapt their bodies to avoid motion sickness while driving, but if no one is driving, that’s one more person in the car who is susceptible to feeling nauseous.

Research Now, Enact Later

Though our favorite BMW engineers are working towards a fully autonomous vehicle, the mainstream reveal of fully autonomous vehicles is still at least a decade away. One of the biggest hurdles will be legislation after the technology fully rolls out. However, VW is thinking ahead and working to prevent nausea from putting a barrier between people and self-driving cars.

So how are they doing this? VW is performing tests by having passengers watch a video on a tablet while a car takes a 20-minute drive around a track. The passenger is connected to sensors that detect changes in heart rate, skin temperature and changes in skin tone.

These test subjects say they didn’t think they were particularly sensitive to motion sickness in the past, but they admitted to feeling the effects of it after only a few minutes of watching the video on the tablet while the car moved.

Researchers are exploring the potential of using adjustable seats that can react to driving changes. Another thought would be to install an LED light strip on the door panel that illuminates in green and red, which would provide a visual cue for the passenger to expect braking or acceleration.

Forward Thinking

While these early tests and studies are helpful, they will only pave the way for more thorough, in-depth experiments. For example, Jaguar has already begun some research into autonomous motion-sickness tech, too. Perhaps we’ll see Bimmers with this technology in the near future!

Even with the mainstream future of self-driving cars a decade away, we might eventually thank VW for developing anti-sickness tech for our favorite German cars.

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BMW Just Unveiled Its 2020 X1

Making cars in 2020 is a little bit like Goldilocks when you’re one of the German Big Three. Nothing can be too hot or too cold, so you end up with 32 flavors of car.

That’s actually an understatement if you can believe it, Mercedes and BMW each offer 14 distinct model lines with a bevy of trim levels under each.

Making cars in 2020 is a little bit like Goldilocks when you’re one of the German Big Three. Nothing can be too hot or too cold, so you end up with 32 flavors of car.

That’s actually an understatement if you can believe it, Mercedes and BMW each offer 14 distinct model lines with a bevy of trim levels under each.

The X1 is the inevitable product of this niche obsession, but it’s not the most awkward stepchild of the BMW line. As a compact crossover, the X1 is becoming part of the “new normal.”

It offers car buyers who need a little more provenance than a Toyota C-HR or Subaru Crosstrek an upmarket solution. For 2020, it gets a tidy facelift, new features and alternative power.

Smiles for Miles

In keeping with the design language BMW has used across it’s X brand, the smallish crossover gets a bold and broad new kidney grill design.

The taller grille is not so overwhelming as in the larger X5 and X7 SUVs, and is complimented by a redesigned set of LED headlamps and more defined front fascia with chrome trim and new integrated driving lamps nestled into the front airdam.

The plastic surgery continues out back, where new L-shaped taillights differentiate your new X1 from older models. There are slightly larger exhaust outlets and a revised aero package for the M Sport trim package, which includes side skirts, wheel arch trim and some modest ground effects back on the car’s chin.

For 2020 you’re able to specify your X1 in three new hues, Storm Bay metallic, which is like a fancy grey, Misano Blue metallic and Jucaro Beige. So they haven’t exactly gone bonkers with the MOPAR Plum Crazy Purple paint gun. Wheel selection for the X1 expands to include a new Y-spoke design available in 18 or 19 inch sizes.

On the inside, a larger display helps you keep up with the Jones’s and there’s a now a rich Dakota leather interior that comes matched to dash and door handle trim. Perhaps the most meaningful if not the most exciting change is an updated version of the time-tested ZF eight speed automatic transmission that now ships with the X1.

X1 Goes Earthy

BMW has been no slowpoke when it comes to getting on board the transition to hybrid and electric cars. The Bavarian company plans to offer electric or hybrid options across the model range in the near future and for the X1, that future is 2020.

The X1 xDrive 25Le will hit the world market next year, adding a hybrid to the diesel option that has been available since the crossover’s introduction in international markets.

BMW claims that with electrification, the X1’s hybrid system achieves 141.2 mpg, which is more than you could ever hope to achieve with an oil-burner or traditional gasoline engine, even with the latest and greatest technologies.

An all-electric mode allows the X1 about 30 miles of range on battery alone, which might be helpful for jaunts around town and will be required to make the care salable in parts of Europe where such a mode is required.

It’s not clear yet whether we’ll see the hybrid 25Le come to the US, however with the X1 confidently earning the top selling spot in BMW’s SUV (SAV, XUV, what is this thing?) line, it would be no surprise to see some variant of this powertrain arrive on US shores within a few years time.

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5 Tips for Nailing Your First Summer Project Car

The weather is warm, the sun is shining, school is out, and that all means one thing. Summer is officially here, and that means it’s the perfect time to start a new car project. If this summer is going to showcase your first project car, here are some tips and tricks to help you nail your first summer project car.

1. Beware of Rust

If you’re looking for a budget project car, remember one golden rule: beware of rust. You may find a spot or two here and there — it happens with older cars, no matter how well they’re taken care of — but don’t take on a tremendous rust restoration job as your first project.

It’ll cost you a ton of money and chances are high that you’ll give up half-way through because it’s too much for a beginner to handle. Plus, if you pick up a project car that’s got rust on the frame, you might as well take it to the junkyard. Beware of rust when choosing your new project.

2. Stick To Your Budget

Project cars aren’t cheap but that doesn’t mean you should mortgage your house to rebuild your project — unless you’re planning on living in it, and we don’t recommend that. Set yourself a budget — either monthly or per paycheck, whatever works best for you. — and stick to it, within reason.

If the part you need is on sale and it’s a little bit over your budget for the period, feel free to buy it, especially if the price will be back to normal by the time your budget resets. For the most part, though, stick to your budget and don’t empty the bank trying to rebuild your summer project car.

3. Choose an Easy Build

Don’t pick the most complicated — or the newest — car to restore for your summer project. A lot of more modern cars rely on computers and advanced electronics that it seems like you need a degree in electrical engineering to figure out. Start with something simple, like:

  • Scion xB – The exterior is kind of goofy looking, but the engine is easy to work on and easy to boost.
  • Lexus SC 300 — You can pick up a used early to mid-90s Lexus for less than $7,000, and they’re fantastic beginner resto cars.
  • Any Honda Civic — There are so many aftermarket parts for the Honda Civic that you won’t even know where to start.

Start with something easy and work your way up to the more complicated projects as you gain experience and confidence.

4. Make a Plan

Now that you’ve got your project car on-hand, it’s time to start planning out your project. What do you want to do first — get it running, modify the engine, or improve the exterior?

Write out the big steps first, then break each of these down into smaller projects. If you want to get it running, for example, the first thing you need to do is figure out why it’s not.

5. Don’t Just Bolt Things On

We mentioned bolt-ons for the Honda Civic and while the parts might fit that doesn’t mean you should just start bolting on every add-on that crosses your path.

There’s no guarantee that your stock engine will survive the extra power of a supercharger or turbo, even if you install it correctly. Work up to major power modifications slowly, and make sure that you aren’t going to blow up your engine the first time you rev it up.

Don’t Rush, and Enjoy Yourself

Don’t rush through your project car this summer, especially if it’s the first one you’ve ever done. Enjoy it, because while you may work on new projects over the years, you will never work on your very first summer project car ever again.