Automotive

Millions of motorists are suffering from a fear of parallel parking - or so called 'parallelophobia'. Almost a third of drivers admit the prospect of trying to manoeuvre their motor into a parallel space drives them to distraction, and 34 per cent confessed they think it’s the hardest parking technique. What's more, over half of drivers have gone past an empty space because it meant they would have had to carry out the procedure they fear the most. Three in ten...

A dilapidated Aston Martin is expected to sell for more than £350,000 despite being partially buried in leaves after languishing in a wood for more than 40 years. The Aston Martin DB4 was the first production car capable of doing 0-100-0mph in less than 30 seconds when it was launched in 1958. It was built to compete with sports cars from Ferrari and Maserati - but this particular model hasn't moved in almost half-a-century. The car was manufactured in the...

Driverless cars are on course to generate €17 trillion for the European economy by 2050, according to new research. Fully ‘autonomous vehicles’ are predicted to be providing fully ‘hands-off’ door-to-door transport on the road within the decade. A poll of 6,000 people in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Norway found almost a quarter of those planning to buy a car in five or more years would consider an autonomous car, which will add 0.15 per cent to Europe’s annual growth rate...

Mobile phones and cars don’t usually mix but a new game is bringing the two together, albeit safely. Downloads of over 1m in the first five days suggest that car fans were craving a realistic driving experience on their smartphones and with an Android launch this week, the success of Gear.Club, already the number one overall app in 25 countries and the number one grossing app in 10 markets is set to move up another gear. According to Newzoo, the...

Frustrated your existing car doesn’t connect seamlessly to your latest phone or you want better fuel economy? To keep pace with consumers’ demand in the real world, the global automotive industry is relying on a more ‘virtual’ world of development Since the late 1970s car manufacturers have trumpeted the use of computers to design and build better cars. Whilst there was a considerable marketing spin to many of those earlier claims, just cast your mind back to the car adverts...

What is it about the confines of a vehicle that make blokes feel impervious to societal norms? Last month our correspondent Courtney Greatrex became a national hero after she hit back at two tradesmen who wolf-whistled at her from their van. After she reminded them that their behaviour was not only intimidating but also a form of harassment they called her a "f**king whore" and sped off. Fortunately we work for a national news outlet, and they became headline news across all the national...

Most new cars are now connected to the internet in some way, providing navigation, satellite radio, and real-time safety functions. This is paving the way for the future of self-driving cars. Connected cars are already on the market, but self-driving or autonomous cars are currently still a few years away. What both prototypes have in common is the need for a strong internet connection, which is where the future super-fast 5G network comes into play. Why 5g? For an autonomous,...

By Professor Antonios Tsourdos, Head of the Autonomous and Cyber-Physical Systems Centre, Cranfield University A new House of Lords select committee inquiry is looking at how the smart technology around driverless cars and drones can evolve into a smart, autonomous transport system for the UK. The economic benefits from a world-leading industry around autonomous vehicles (AVs) have already been mapped out: a potential £51 billion for the UK economy each year. With the legislation making AVs legal for use on...

You can now fall asleep at the wheel, as driverless cars have arrived on our shores for the first time. Google and Uber are already busy developing this technology and the race to launch the first fully functioning driverless car is hotting up. The self-drive cars were being trailed for the first time, and they were also carrying human passengers. The cars looked very similar to Smart cars and it was a great success. However, don’t expect to get anywhere...