Car tech
Driverless cars closer than you think
Adam Carey Self-driving cars could be mainstream in Australia within a generation, ferrying people from point to point using a mix of in-vehicle smarts and powerful cloud computing that could potentially slash the road toll by 80 per cent.
Driverless cars: Closer than they appear
![Stick it in automatic: With human error eliminated, lives will be saved by driverless cars.](/web/20141120050405im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/z/s/d/3/h/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.zrooh.png/1404382134251.jpg)
Tom Keane Autonomous cars – cars without a driver – what was once a novelty seems suddenly probable.
Tech Know
![Kensington Car Mount.](/web/20141120050405im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/z/r/v/e/u/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.zrvey.png/1401750403319.jpg)
Adam Turner To play it safe on the road, as well as avoid a hefty fine, it's best to invest in a secure car mount for your smartphone.
Security
'White hat' Jonathan Brossard warns cars can be hacked on the road
![Vulnerability: ''White hat'' hacker Jonathan Brossard.](/web/20141120050405im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/z/r/v/k/j/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.zrvki.png/1401707462220.jpg)
Tim Barlass You are driving your car when suddenly you discover you are no longer in control. Somebody has hacked into your vehicle's on-board computer and taken over.
Cars
Why your next taxi driver will be a robot
![Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick](/web/20141120050405im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/z/r/s/h/v/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.zrshb.png/1401409546450.jpg)
Rose Powell The era of driverless cars is just around the corner and here's what that means for you.
CarTech
Designers focus on 'clever cars' to reduce road toll
![Crash-avoidance technology uses sensors to detect objects.](/web/20141120050405im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/z/r/q/b/i/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.zrqbg.png/1401252450269.jpg)
Bridie Smith "Clever cars" designed to prevent accidents are the latest frontier in attempts to minimise the risk of death and injury in road crashes.
Car-tech
The end of the car wash? Nissan develops 'self-cleaning' vehicle
![The Nissan Note with super-hydrophobic paint that repels standing water and road spray from creating dirty marks on a car's surface.](/web/20141120050405im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/z/r/0/q/q/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.zr0qp.png/1398651658694.jpg)
Karissa Bell Nissan has unveiled a new prototype that could potentially do away with car washes.
Canberra pay parking app won't need paper tickets
![Justice and Community Services executive director Brett Phillips demonstrates the new parking metre phone app.](/web/20141120050405im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/z/q/s/d/8/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.zqsd7.png/1396965095231.jpg)
Tom McIlroy Motorists using government-owned car parks around Canberra won't have to display a paper ticket on their dashboard once the rollout of a new smartphone application is complete.
Car-tech
Australian researchers explore self-driving share car
![Self-driving car.](/web/20141120050405im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/3/3/h/8/j/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.33h83.png)
Ben Grubb One day in the not too distant future, self-driving share cars will be ferrying commuters around our streets if Australian researchers succeed in their quest to better understand our driving quirks.
CarTech
Flying car spreads its wings in Slovakia
![Aeromobil](/web/20141120050405im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/3/1/4/0/q/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.313zp.png)
Tatiana Jancarikova Mankind's primordial dream of flight is taking off with a new twist as a Slovak prototype of a flying car spreads its wings.
Computer-controlled cars at risk of hacking, regulator warns
![a](/web/20141120050405im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/2/j/p/9/a/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.2jp72.png/1368723600000.jpg)
Angela Greiling Keane Rising hacking risks as cars are increasingly powered by and connected to computers have prompted the US vehicle safety regulator to set up an office focusing on the threat.
Cars
Forget carjacking, soon it will be carhacking
![The lastest mod-cons are distracting to drivers.](/web/20141120050405im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/2/i/z/5/c/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.2jn9y.png/1368647882690.jpg)
Angela Greiling Keane Rising cyber security risks over the potential hacking of cars have prompted the US auto-safety regulator to start a new office focusing on the threat.
Cars
Tesla may build its own self-driving cars
![Elon Musk](/web/20141120050405im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/2/j/9/c/m/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.2j9ak.png)
Will Oremus Google's self-driving cars may soon have some competition from Tesla.
Cars
Coming soon: your personal flying car
![Flying car: The TF-X. Terrafugia](/web/20141120050405im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/2/j/8/w/v/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.2j8w2.png)
Chris Taylor A "driveable plane" is set to go on sale to the public as early as 2015, followed by a flying car in the early 2020s.
GPS
Step in the right direction
![<p></p>](/web/20141120050405im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/2/j/7/d/a/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.2j6e3.png)
Rod Easdown Rod Easdown reviews three stand-alone navigation systems.
Texting
Voice-to-text just as dangerous to drivers as texting
![Driving](/web/20141120050405im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/2/i/d/k/j/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.2idj1.png)
Jim Forsyth Using voice to send text messages while driving is just as dangerous as texting with fingers, a study shows.
Car maker calls on 4G for in-car communication
![GM](/web/20141120050405im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/2/f/7/9/g/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.2f3jb.png)
Tim Higgins and Scott Moritz In-vehicle wi-fi hot spots and streaming videos just around the corner.
The dash-cam: a vital witness to meteors ... and road rage
![dash cam](/web/20141120050405im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/2/e/m/q/w/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.2emso.png)
The meteor that exploded over Russia and injured nearly 1000 people on Friday morning was astonishingly well-documented by amateur videographers from the dashboards of cars.
Tesla's Musk steps up claim of 'fake' New York Times review
![Tesla](/web/20141120050405im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/2/e/g/p/6/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.2egot.png)
Alan Ohnsman and Siddharth Philip Tesla Motors, the electric-car maker led by billionaire Elon Musk, released data gathered during a New York Times test drive of the Model S, stepping up its defence of the vehicle to counter a critical review.
Driverless cars motor ahead at CES
![Audi](/web/20141120050405im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/2/c/h/u/k/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.2chu7.png)
Sophie Estienne Automakers and technology firms are jumping on the bandwagon of the driverless car.