2014 Ford Taurus Limited on 2040-cars

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Car technology I'm thankful and unthankful for

The past few years have seen a surge of tech features in new vehicles — everything from cloud-based content to semi-autonomous driving. While some of it makes the driving experience better, not all tech is useful or well thought out. Automakers who are adept at drivetrains, ride quality and in-cabin comforts often fail at infotainment interfaces and connectivity. From testing dozens of vehicles each year and in the spirit of gratitude, here are three car tech features I'm thankful — and a trio I could live without. Thanks Connected search: This seems like a no-brainer since everyone already has it on their smartphones, but not all automakers include it in the dashboard and as part of their nav systems. The best ones, such as Toyota Entune, leverage a driver's connected device to search for a range of services and don't charge a subscription or require a separate data plan for the car. I also like how systems like Chrysler Uconnect use Yelp or other apps to find everything from coffee to gas stations and allow searching via voice recognition. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto: It took two of the largest tech companies to get in-dash infotainment right. While they have their disadvantages (you're forced to use Apple Maps with CarPlay, for example), the two smartphone-integration platforms make it easier and safer to use their respective native apps for phoning, messaging, music and more behind the wheel by transferring a familiar UI to the dashboard — with no subscription required. Heated seats and steering wheels: I really appreciate these simple but pleasant features come wintertime. It's easy to get spoiled by bun-warmers on frosty mornings and using a heated steering wheel to warm the cold hands. I recently tested a 2018 Mercedes-Benz E400 Coupe that also had heated armrest that added to a cozy luxury experience. Bonus points for brands like Buick that allow setting seat heaters to turn on when the engine is remotely started. No thanks Automaker infotainment systems: Automakers have probably poured millions into creating their own infotainment systems, with the result largely being frustration on the part of most car owners. And Apple CarPlay and Android Auto coming along to make them obsolete. While some automaker systems, such as Toyota Entune and FCA's Uconnect, are easy and intuitive to use, it seems that high-end systems (I'm looking at you BMW iDrive and Mercedes-Benz COMAND) are the most difficult.

Ford recalls over 680,000 Ford Fusions, Mondeos, and Lincoln MKZs for seat belt pretensioners

Update: We spoke with a Ford representative who said that owners will be notified by mail during the week of January 16 . Dealers will also have the fix available at the same time. Owners can bring in their vehicles to dealers for an evaluation in the mean time. The main text has been updated to reflect this. The Basics: Ford is recalling 680,872 2013-2016 Ford Fusions, 2015-2016 Ford Mondeos, and 2013-2015 Lincoln MKZ s for an issue with front driver-side and passenger-side seat belt pretensioners. The Problem: The seat-belt pretensioners did not have sufficient insulation applied. When the pretensioners are activated, the heat generated can cause the cables connected to the belts to separate, which in turn can prevent the seat belts from effectively restraining the occupant. This can lead to injuries. Injuries/Deaths: Ford reports two accidents and two injuries have occurred that are related to this recall. The fix: A dealer technician will inject an insulation coating around the pretensioner. This should effectively keep the heat away from the cables, ensuring the seat belt will properly restrain the user in a collision. If you own one: Affected owners will be notified by mail on the week of January 16. Dealers will have the fix available that week, and owners will be able to bring in their vehicles for the fix to be implemented free of charge. Related Video:

Daily Driver: 2015 Ford Edge Sport

Daily Driver videos are micro-reviews of vehicles in the Autoblog press fleet, reviewed by the staffers that drive them every day. Today's Daily Driver features the 2015 Ford Edge Sport, reviewed by Adam Morath. You can watch the video above or read a transcript below. Watch more Autoblog videos at /videos. VIDEO TRANSCRIPT [00:00:00] Hi. I'm Adam Morath for Autoblog and in today's Daily Driver we're with the 2015 Ford Edge. It's been completely redesigned and I really think that it needed it because this was always kind of the last car to come to mind when I was considering all of Ford's lineup. It was sort of forgotten. I don't think that will be the case anymore. It looks great. They revamped the exterior. The first thing I noticed walking up to the car when they first dropped it off was [00:00:30] the great job they've done with the taillights. They've got a very high tech look to them. You have LED accent lighting that surrounds the tail lamps and then a light bar that spans the entire deck lid. It looks pretty cool, very angular, a lot sportier than the previous models. We also have the optional HID headlights so if you combine that with what I've already told you about with the [00:01:00] tail lamps, and also the ambient lighting inside this vehicle ... It just feels like the lighting in general was very well considered on the Edge and gives it a very modern feel. The nice design continues to the interior as well. You've got leather panels with contrast stitching on the sport model. You've got a nice center console that actually has some storage underneath it, so it's sort of a floating center console. The only thing is there is still a little bit of cheap plastic [00:01:30] used on the interior. That's a common complaint of automotive journalists worldwide, but this one I can see already has a few scratches on it. You can also get this vehicle with 20-inch aluminum wheels or 21-inch matte black aluminum wheels. Here we've got them wrapped in Perelli. I haven't been on a track or anything where you could really get a sense of the performance, but again, that just adds to the sporty look of the Edge in the sport trim level. It has the new 2.7 [00:02:00] liter Eco Boost V6 and I have been really happy with this powertrain. It puts out 315 horsepower, 350 pound feet of torque, and that's that twin turbo working for you. It helps with acceleration and passing at highway speed, so it checks both boxes there.