New law mandates black boxes in all cars by 2015
Josh Miller/CNET
(CBS News) A recently passed bill will require all cars to come equipped with "black boxes" that record vehicle data. These Event Data Recorders (EDR), similar to their airplane counterparts, will record data such as speed, brake force and electrical systems monitoring. The days of a car crash being one driver's word against another look to be history.
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Judge: Physics did not get Krioukov out of ticket
Dmitri Krioukov
/ Dmitri KrioukovAs it turns out, all those pages of post-grad mathematics weren't even necessary.
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Self-driving cars coming sooner than you think
Cadillac
(CBS News) Cadillac is calling it "Super Cruise" technology, but we all know what it really is: a huge step toward a future of self-driving cars. The technology is capable of fully automatic steering, braking and lane-centering in highway driving under certain optimal conditions. Cadillac believes the system could be ready for production by mid-decade.
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Your Ride Is Here: exotic cars for cancer patients
(CBS News) Battling cancer is a monumental struggle that takes shape in the smallest actions. Everyday activities take on new meaning in the face of cancer's debilitating symptoms. Even making it to a cancer treatment center can be a challenge. That's where the non-profit group Your Ride Is Here comes in. The group provides transportation to and from treatment - often in some of the most exotic, expensive cars on the planet.
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AAA: Motorist pay tolls for road they don't use
Steve Helber
The diversion of tolls for unrelated projects undermines the "user pays" principle behind transportation tolls and weakens public support for them, Chris Plaushin, director of federal relations for AAA, told a hearing of the highway subcommittee of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
Continue » Scientist uses physics to beat $400 ticket
Dmitri Krioukov
/ Dmitri Krioukov(CBS News) It's no apple falling from a tree, but one scientist may have discovered something just as groundbreaking: how to get out of a traffic ticket using physics. After receiving a $400 ticket for allegedly running a stop sign, Dmitri Krioukov invoked the laws of physics to fight the charge. The University of California, San Diego physicist drafted a four-page paper in his defense, arguing that the police officer mistakenly thought he ran a stop sign due to a unique combination of effects.
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"Major explosion" at GM plant near Detroit
GM Tech Center in Warren, Mich.
/ Getty(CBS/AP) - One person was seriously injured Wednesday morning by an explosion at a General Motors Co laboratory near Detroit during a test of lithium-ion batteries for electric cars not yet in production, city and company sources said. Five people received medical attention after the incident at the GM Technical Center in Warren, Michigan and one person was taken to a local hospital, GM said.
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Video: Electric car drives 161-mph on ice
(CBS) - Who says electric cars can't perform? A group of Finnish students took an electric supercar prototype - the E-RA, or Electric RaceAbout - out for a spin recently and tore up a frozen lake. The electric car hit peak speeds of 161-mph. Check out the video above.
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Study: Hybrid car owners unlikely to buy another
Toyota Prius
/ Toyota(CBS) - Hybrid cars have gained praise, derision and driven technological advancement since their introduction. Sales have surged on the back of higher gas prices, inspiring many automakers to focus on turning out gas-electric vehicles.
But the one thing hybrid cars may not be able to inspire is loyalty. A recent study shows that nearly two-thirds of hybrid owners decide not to purchase another hybrid vehicle when it's time to trade in.
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Ford recalls 140,000 Focus cars
Ford
(CBS/AP) - Ford is recalling more than 140,000 Focus compact cars because the passenger side windshield wiper can fail. Federal Safety regulators say a seal in the wiper motor wiring may be missing. Water can get inside and cause the wiper to stop working, increasing the risk of a crash.
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Ferdinand Porsche, designer of 911, dies at age 76
Ferdinand Alexander Porsche
/ Bernd Weissbrod/Getty(CBS/AP) - He designed Porsche's classic 911 sports car - the sleek model that evokes power, wealth and envy among aficionados - cementing his grandfather's name into the modern psyche. Ferdinand Alexander Porsche died Thursday in Salzburg, Austria at age 76, Porsche AG said. No cause was provided.
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Lincoln MKZ: High hopes for new, high-tech sedan
The new Lincoln MKZ
/ Stan Honda/AFP/Getty(CBS/AP) - Internally, employees call it the whopper. (Or WOPR - wide open panoramic roof.) Officially it's called a retractable skylight. Either way, it is one of the key features in the new Lincoln MKZ, the car that Ford Motor Company hopes will revive a luxury brand whose sales peaked two decades ago. The new signature retractable 15-square-foot roof is just one feature designed to distinguish the 2013 Lincoln MKZ sedan in the crowded luxury market.
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American flying car soars in test flight
Terrafugia
(CBS/AP) - Flying cars are all the rage these days. Earlier in the week came word of a Dutch flying car, the PAL-V. Now, an American car-plane is making headlines for completing a successful test flight just days after its European competitor.
Woburn, Mass.-based Terrafugia Inc. said Monday that its prototype flying car has completed its first flight, bringing the company closer to its goal of selling the flying car within the next year. The vehicle - dubbed the Transition - has two seats, four wheels and wings that fold up so it can be driven like a car.
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Fisker Atlantic unveiled at New York Auto show
Sarah Tew / CBS Interactive
(CBS) - In one of the first announcements of the New York International Auto Show, Fisker automotive has unveiled the Atlantic. The Fisker Atlantic is the latest iteration in Fisker's goal of creating a luxury electric car that people can actually afford.
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Video: Dutch flying car takes maiden flight
(CBS/AP) - A Dutch company is close to achieving the dream of every motorist ever stuck in a traffic jam: the ability to lift off and fly over it. PAL-V Europe NV recently tested a half-plane, half-car hybrid that promises to cruise through the sky as easily as it cruises down the highway. The flying car is known as the PAL-V (Personal Air and Land Vehicle.) A promotional video provided by the company shows the PAL-V in action, including its maiden flight.
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