Tech Tuesday: The latest in car tech

It’s Tuesday and you know what that means.

Your bills are overdue, you have 4 more days left in the workweek and you need to go to the gym tonight. But you know what else? You’ve got a New Edition of Tech Tuesdays. So grab your phone, go into a bathroom stall at work and enjoy. You’re welcome.

 1. Push-Button Shifting

To quote Salt-n-Peppa, now you can “Push it, push it real good.”



While push-button start engines have been popular for a while, the next logical step seem to be push-button shifters, like those found in the 2015 Acura TLX and 2016 Honda Pilot. Not only does it look sexy, most cars don’t have it yet which only makes you even cooler than the cool kids. You also get more space around the console area and decrease the chances of spilling coffee when fumbling for the cup holder.

 2. Hands-Free Trunk Opening

Opening your car’s trunk can be a Herculean task, especially when your hands are full with kale chips, booster juice and baked gluten-free carrot cake. I mean, who really wants to put it down the bags for a second to open the trunk. Not I, good sir! Luckily you can now open your trunk automatically by simply standing by your trunk, as long as you’ve got a smart key. While not prevalent in all car models, you can find them in the premium packages for the Hyundai Sonata Sport and 2015 Kia Sedona. This is the closet you’ll get to feeling like a Jedi so go ahead and get one.

 3. UConnect

Everyone wants a car that can talk and make smartass comments, like a cool partner in a buddy cop film or KITT. Well, this is as close as it’s going to get right now.
https://youtu.be/fMzWO41fQgg

Imagine Siri but instead of an iPhone, it’s your car; that’s basically Uconnect. You can ask UConnect questions or issue commands that it’ll answer (thanks to built in 4G LTE). Command it to play songs off your playlist, the address to the local strip club or to adjust the cabin temperature and it’ll obey you like a Genie, except with more wishes. Just don’t ask for the meaning of life.

 4. Better Audio

Ask any audiophile and they’ll state that sound quality should be at the top of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Who really needs self-actualization when you can listen to Justin Bieber’s new album with more Speakers than the House of Commons?



Meridian Audio now offers a range of systems in both Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles. Its 29-speaker sound system is its cream of the crop product; it’s surround sound like never before. Image Cineplex’s AVX experience on wheels but without the amazing diet-killing popcorn and that’s what Meridian offers. Now if they’d only offer their sounds systems in a car that I could afford, which would just be the TTC.

 5. Sharp’s Free-Form Display

LCD instrumentations in cars have always been limited to rectangular shapes due to them needing to be housed in what is essentially a box. It’s like house arrest for displays. Luckily, Sharp is pulling an Andy Dufresne and breaking out of these boxes. With Free-Form technology, LCD panels can be made into almost any shape and design. Granted, your esoteric taste might want a starfish-shaped display, but that doesn’t mean you’ll get it. Rather you’ll get displays that are more aligned to bad science fiction films.
https://youtu.be/UiDWqFw4UDM