In looking for the top tech stories of 2011, we fought the urge to simply rattle off a series of apps. By themselves, they're hardly the technology, although put together with the carefully designed and innovative in-car interfaces, such as GM's upcoming CUE, connectivity is the year's top tech story.
There is lots more, although much of it is more evolutionary than revolutionary. Mechanically, the auto industry largely continued some trends that have been underway for several years. Turbocharging became more common, direct-injection engines continued to proliferate the market, and transmissions gained gears, with seven- and eight-speed units no longer eyebrow-raising; there?s even word that a 10 speed is being developed.
Electrification of the vehicle is underway, but with electric cars and hybrids remaining such a small piece of the pie, it's going to be a sluggish start.
Another key thread of the year is the advancement of safety-tech and accident-avoidance features into their second or third generations, with cost coming down on some items, allowing us to see such features as obstacle detection and blind-spot alert in much more affordable models.
As we look forward to a future of smart, connected cars, we might look back on some of the headlines, such as those for Google's driverless car, and single this year out as an especially insightful time when seemingly broader themes came together to give us a clearer vision of what lies 10 or 20 years ahead.
Focusing back on individual items, here are nine of the top car-tech items and stories of 2011:
The Cadillac User Experience is a major advancement in touch-screen interfaces with several industry firsts. (Photo: Cadillac) Cadillac User Experience (CUE) -- Better than an iPad. Love it or hate it, over the next several years we're going to see even more instrument-panel real estate dedicated to screen-based systems, especially touch screens. While MyFord Touch made a plunge last year, it's been followed in close succession by a host of other interfaces that aim to do most of what the Ford system can do, but with a little more simplicity, such as Chrysler's UConnect Touch, the General Motors system known as IntelliLink (Buick) and MyLink (Chevy). But none of them quite matches up to GM's upcoming system for Cadillac models, called CUE (Cadillac User Experience).
While CUE isn't yet out (it won't arrive until next spring in the new 2013 Cadillac XTS), it shows the direction of in-car touch-screen interfaces and packs several industry firsts. It's not just the first automotive touch-screen system to use a capacitative screen (think iPad), it will also be the biggest (12.3 inches) and brightest at launch. It also will be the first auto interface to recognize gestures; think the tap, flick, swipe and spread motions we're now used to making with phones.
But it goes beyond what the iPad has. Haptic feedback pushes back lightly against your finger to give the menu options a ?texture,? and proximity sensors see when your hand is approaching, with the screen only then showing more options to minimize distraction the rest of the time.
A strong processor should keep it all quick. Match with this a completely new natural-language data set, and CUE is looking like one of the most important new pieces of car tech in 2012.
Integrated Pandora and Stitcher ? Satellite radio might give you plenty of listening options, and HD Radio is finally making it into production vehicles this year, further broadening your possibilities beyond traditional FM. But seriously, who needs radio anyway?
As custom streaming sites Pandora and Stitcher have shown us, the way we listen is changing with the technology. Programming in your own audio system beamed in from the cloud is most likely the way of the future. Over the past year, we've seen a rapid revolution with a host of models offering integrated controls of your custom stations, while you use the data connection from your smart phone.
Pandora seems to have a leg up on rivals for the moment ? Hyundai is offering it standard in its affordable Veloster ? but the market has by no means shaken out. As we look into next year, we'll see more applications from Spotify and others.
Meanwhile, the competition from satellite radio isn't bad. Look for more XM Sirius systems to include time-shifting buffers, and such features as favorites and tagging.
Start-stop comes to affordable cars ?Start-stop (or idle-stop) systems, which smartly shut the engine off at stoplights then start it up as soon as you lift off the brake, are a no-brainer for stoplight-peppered U.S. driving. These systems can boost real-world mileage by one to four miles per gallon in congested city driving, depending on the vehicle.
But ask automakers, and it's still a tough road as EPA ratings don't represent the improvement most U.S. commuters will see. And thanks to components borrowed from hybrids, as well as such components as electric power steering and smart alternators, start-stop is now more affordable.
Porsche now offers it on its Cayenne and Panamera model lines, but the brightest news is that Kia is offering it as a low-cost option on the 2012 Rio. It's also included with the new, four-cylinder 2012 BMW 528i, and it's just a year away for some Ford models.
The technology finally looks poised to take off. One analysis firm recently projected that a quarter of all U.S. vehicles will include it by 2015, and 25 million vehicles will be sold with the feature globally by 2017. That's a lot of fuel saved, and since it doesn't affect anything about how the vehicles drive, that's a win-win.
Source: http://automotive.speedtv.com/article/autos-top-technologies-of-2011/
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