2011 Ford Fusion Se on 2040-cars

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The next-generation wearable will be your car

This year's CES has had a heavy emphasis on the class of device known as the "wearable" – think about the Apple Watch, or Fitbit, if that's helpful. These devices usually piggyback off of a smartphone's hardware or some other data connection and utilize various onboard sensors and feedback devices to interact with the wearer. In the case of the Fitbit, it's health tracking through sensors that monitor your pulse and movement; for the Apple Watch and similar devices, it's all that and some more. Manufacturers seem to be developing a consensus that vehicles should be taking on some of a wearable's functionality. As evidenced by Volvo's newly announced tie-up with the Microsoft Band 2 fitness tracking wearable, car manufacturers are starting to explore how wearable devices will help drivers. The On Call app brings voice commands, spoken into the Band 2, into the mix. It'll allow you to pass an address from your smartphone's agenda right to your Volvo's nav system, or to preheat your car. Eventually, Volvo would like your car to learn things about your routines, and communicate back to you – or even, improvise to help you wake up earlier to avoid that traffic that might make you late. Do you need to buy a device, like the $249 Band 2, and always wear it to have these sorts of interactions with your car? Despite the emphasis on wearables, CES 2016 has also given us a glimmer of a vehicle future that cuts out the wearable middleman entirely. Take Audi's new Fit Driver project. The goal is to reduce driver stress levels, prevent driver fatigue, and provide a relaxing interior environment by adjusting cabin elements like seat massage, climate control, and even the interior lighting. While it focuses on a wearable device to monitor heart rate and skin temperature, the Audi itself will use on-board sensors to examine driving style and breathing rate as well as external conditions – the weather, traffic, that sort of thing. Could the seats measure skin temperature? Could the seatbelt measure heart rate? Seems like Audi might not need the wearable at all – the car's already doing most of the work. Whether there's a device on a driver's wrist or not, manufacturers seem to be developing a consensus that vehicles should be taking on some of a wearable's functionality.

2015 Ford Mustang Convertible to recreate Empire State Building stunt

It would have been all too easy to miss the auto show debut of the 2015 Ford Mustang convertible. It was, after all, unveiled alongside its fixed-roof counterpart at the Detroit Auto Show this past January, lumping coupe and cabrio into one debut. But Ford is evidently still intent on making its new droptop stand out. The top of the Empire State Building ought to do the trick.
Automotive history buffs may recall that, 50 years ago, Ford unveiled its first Mustang convertible atop what was then the tallest building in the world, that Art Deco icon of the New York skyline. Half a century later, Ford is recreating the feat and bringing the new topless Mustang to the same observation deck on the building's 86th floor.
Getting it up there, of course, will be no easy task. While they'd usually airlift the vehicle onto the roof or lift it by crane, the spire protruding from atop the building makes approaching the narrow observation deck too dangerous, and no mobile crane can telescope the thousand-plus feet it would take to get the pony car up there.

The most efficient gas or hybrid cars of 2024: Not the greenest, but still very green

Not a single electric vehicle appears on the “greener choices” list assembled by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) in its annual compilation of the most environmentally friendly cars in the United States. But for potential car buyers seeking an efficient, fairly affordable gasoline or hybrid vehicle this year, the list of 12 cars, trucks and SUVs can help with decision making. Topping this yearÂ’s list was the gas/hybrid Honda Accord, priced at $33,990 with an estimated annual fuel cost of $982. Rank Make & Model Powertrain Vehicle Class Green Score MSRP Estimated Annual Fuel Cost* 1 Honda Accord Gas Hybrid Large Car 62 $33,990 $982 2 Kia Niro FE Gas Hybrid Compact SUV 61 $28,315 $885 3 Mitsubishi Mirage Gas Compact Car 59 $17,955 $1,189 4 Lexus ES 300h Gas Hybrid Midsize Car 59 $44,590 $1,073 5 Lexus NX 350h Gas Hybrid Midsize SUV 57 $43,465 $1,207 6 Ford Maverick Gas Hybrid Compact Pickup 55 $24,900 $1,297 7 Toyota Sienna Gas Hybrid Minivan 55 $39,080 $1,304 8 Mini Cooper Convertible Gas Subcompact Car 54 $35,700 $1,412 9 Toyota Highlander Gas Hybrid Large SUV 54 $40,720 $1,348 10 Kia Soul Gas Small Wagon 53 $21,565 $1,467 11 BMW Z4 sDrive30i Gas Two-Seater 50 $53,600 $1,626 12 Mercedes-Benz GLA250 Gas Hybrid Large Van 49 $43,000 $1,596 13 Volvo V90CC B6 Gas Hybrid Midsize Wagon 45 $59,800 $1,843 14 Ford Ranger Gas Standard Pickup 43 $32,670 $1,968 *ACEEE analysis using EIA data of the annual cost of driving 15,000 miles In making its evaluations, the ACEEE examines each 2024 model based on its cost to human health from air pollution associated with vehicle manufacturing and disposal, the production and distribution of fuel or electricity, and vehicle tailpipe emissions. The group also takes into account air pollution associated with EV battery manufacturing. The organization also ranks what it calls the “greenest” cars — it selected the Toyota Prius Prime SE plug-in hybrid is the greenest model of 2024. As well as the “Meanest.Â’Â’ or least efficient vehicle. At the top of that list this year was Mercedes-Benz AMG G63. The group says that the greener choices are those that are available nationwide “with among the lowest environmental impacts in each vehicle class but that didnÂ’t make the Greenest List.