In the same way that new computer and new smartphone features seem to hit the market every few months, so too do advances in car technology. Not only do manufacturers implement more efficient engines, better manufactured parts, and improvements under the bonnet, but they also provide access to a greater range of technology that is meant to benefit the driver and the passengers.
Such technology may improve comfort, offer greater entertainment features, or make driving and even parking simpler.
Jump to your favourite topic
Tool Inventory And Invoicing From Your Van
Manufacturers want us to buy into the connected world. That is, a world where everyday items like kitchen appliances are connected to one another, as well as to our phones, and car manufacturers are taking a similar approach. Ford offers Ford Work Solutions in its pickup trucks that monitors tool inventory and can even send out invoices to clients. This is more commonly found in the US, so you aren’t likely to see it on too many cars on Exchange And Mart just yet, but expect similar features to start appearing in vans and other work vehicles.
Parental Controls
Ford is also taking parental control to another level, with the MyKey system, currently only available in its hybrid cars. Parents can set a maximum volume level on the car stereo and can set things like seat belt alarms so that the car sounds an even more annoying alarm if the driver or passenger fails to put their seat-belt on while in the car. The system can also be programmed to limit maximum speed to 80mph.
Improved Alertness
When it comes to safety features, most vehicles are expected to pass rigorous safety testing before they are even allowed on the roads, but some companies are taking the next step in providing greater safety. Mercedes has implemented systems in some of its models of car, for example, that register a baseline of driving position and other driving features, and if you deviate from this then the car will sound an alarm and vibrate the steering wheel, essentially waking you from slumber if you fall asleep behind the wheel.
Dazzling Safety
Mercedes has also introduced a reactive high beam system. This system will turn high beams on and off not only according to light levels, but by determining the distance of oncoming traffic, and even whether cars are passing from behind, dimming the lights so as not to blind other drivers. The advanced system will even gradually dim the lights, rather than simply turn the high beams off, and will even dim them around sharp bends, before turning them back on again once it has determined that there is no oncoming traffic.
Image source: BigStock
