Automotive -

Researcher Shows How Millions Of GM Vehicles Can Be Completely Taken Over By Hackers

5Aug

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MOOLAH

Researcher Shows How Millions Of GM Vehicles Can Be Completely Taken Over By Hackers

A security researcher has followed up on a promise made days ago by posting a video demonstrating how he can locate, unlock and start any GM vehicle through his phone. The video, posted on YouTube, is the latest security breach publicly showcased that involves millions of vehicles being driven on America’s roads. Rival Detroit carmaker Chrysler is now facing a class action lawsuit over a similar vulnerability disclosed two weeks ago. Samy Kamkar, a self proclaimed hacker and whistleblower, posted a video on YouTube on Wednesday that shows him hacking into a GM vehicle using a unique device he calls Ownstar. According to Kamkar, his device intercepts wireless communications between the Onstar cloud service and GM’s OnStar RemoteLink mobile application. Through intercepting these signals, ...

Curious UK Driverless Car Law Still Requires A Non-Driving Driver

20Jul

By superadminNo Comments

ART & ENTERTAINMENT

Curious UK Driverless Car Law Still Requires A Non-Driving Driver

The United Kingdom took steps Monday to join in the global adoption of driverless vehicles, enacted legislation that makes driverless cars street legal though curiously not so driverless. If the new laws are in place long term the future of driverless road transportation in England and possibly other parts of the world hardly looks like the stuff of dreams. The UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) has laid down the law regarding driverless technology. The advent of driverless vehicles was seen by many as the end of traffic legislation because machines have rules engraved into their systems. Unlike humans, they are infallible. They neither break the law nor make mistakes. However, UK lawmakers are not taking any chances. Through a new set of rules to be released by the DfT, road users kee...

Air Filled Tires Could Soon Become Thing Of The Past

20Jul

By superadminNo Comments

MOOLAH

Air Filled Tires Could Soon Become Thing Of The Past

The days of the "I got a puncture on the way to work" late excuse may be coming to an end with news that air filled (pneumatic) tires may soon be a thing of the past. South Korean tire manufacturer Hankook said it was in the final stages of factory testing a series of consumer oriented airless tires (also called non-pneumatic tires, or NPTs). American tire manufacturers Michelin and Polaris have had NPT's on sale since late 2013, but these are designed for agricultural vehicles like tractors and combine harvesters, and off-road ATV's. Hankook said its’ focus was on producing NPT's for the much more profitable consumer market, not just for low-speed, ruggedness applications like its two American competitors. A statement released by Hankook said the current series of “rigorous test...

Honda Announces 1.2 Million Vehicle Recall Due To More Faulty Airbags

16Jun

By superadminNo Comments

LEADERS

Honda Announces 1.2 Million Vehicle Recall Due To More Faulty Airbags

The scope of the Takata airbag problems continue to widen, as Honda now says that a whopping 1.4 million cars, already with driver airbag issues, will also need their passenger side airbags replaced as well. The automaker had previously only planned to replace the passenger airbags in 350,000 of those cars in humid areas of the country, which Takata reported were most at risk of problems. While all recalled cars are repaired at no expense to the vehicle's owner, the widened scope of the issue leads to serious questions about how much danger consumers have been in due to the faulty airbags. That concern is front and center with the latest recall as the affected models, the 2001 to 2005 Civic and the 2003 to 2007 Accord, are among the best-selling cars in the country. Airbag maker Takata...

Move Over Electric Vehicles, Honda Introducing Mass Produced Fuel Cell Cars By 2020

26May

By superadminNo Comments

MOOLAH

Move Over Electric Vehicles, Honda Introducing Mass Produced Fuel Cell Cars By 2020

The cost of driving is about to get much, much, cheaper. As electric vehicles, by Tesla, Nissan and GM, continue to flood the market, Japanese car giant Honda is going to enter the green vehicle market in a big way by 2020 thanks to mass produced hydrogen fuel cell cars. The models will be based on the Japanese manufacturer's FCV concept car, revealed at the Geneva motor show in March, which is described as a late-stage concept. “It’s relatively close to the production car,” said Thomas Brachmann, head of powertrain development at Honda. “We may need to revise some body parts, but it’s very close.” Brachmann wouldn't comment exactly on how many FCVs the firm intended to produce but said it didn't want to distribute just 250 to 1000 cars a year. The project still has to figure out the i...