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Hyundai developed an airbag for panoramic sunroofs

We've reached a point where you can be in a car crash from just about any angle, and find yourself with a face full of airbag. But there's yet one more airbag frontier that Hyundai and its parts supplier company Hyundai Mobis are pioneering: the sunroof airbag. More specifically, the companies have developed an airbag to protect occupants in cars equipped with panoramic sunroofs. Hyundai explains in a press release that there was concern passengers' heads and limbs could end up going through the big glass opening in a rollover, leading to serious injury. The resulting airbag design aims to prevent that by deploying when a rollover is detected to contain occupants' bodies. It inflates from the back of the sunroof toward the front in 0.08 seconds and will go off regardless of whether the sunroof is open or closed. Hyundai, which together with Kia and Genesis had six of the 15 recent IIHS Top Safety Pick+ vehicles, claims the airbag reduced life-threatening injuries to minor ones during testing. It also noted that the company has 11 patents on the technology. No mention of when these airbags would appear in production vehicles was made. We would imagine that whenever Hyundai starts offering the feature, it will show up first on high-end vehicles such as Genesis luxury cars. Related Video:

Car buyers are paying big money for technology they don't use

J.D. Power released the results of its Tech Experience Index study that measures "how much owners like [in-car] technologies and how many problems they experience with them." Among the study's findings, automakers are loading vehicles with more software and digital experiences that owners claim they never learn how to use or decide they don't need. For example, owners report to J.D. Power that gesture controls, like those used by BMW (spinning a finger, for instance, can raise or lower the audio volume), don't improve the overall ownership experience. In fact, gesture controls received the lowest overall satisfaction score in the study for a second consecutive year. In another example, the study found that 61% of owners claim never having used "in-vehicle digital market technology," while 51% of respondents said they didn't need it. Driver/passenger communication technology was another sore point with users, with 52% saying they have never used the technology, and 40% of those saying they have no need for it. (10 Features owners say they want, and 7 they really don't). Conversely, some technologies are well received by owners. For American owners, rear-view cameras and so-called "ground view" cameras were among the top three desired technologies. We assume that "ground view" is a surround-view or 360-degree camera system. The one-pedal driving possible in a number of EV's with adjustable regen braking also scored very high marks and few claimed issues.  While it could be argued that owners who don't want to use a specific piece of technology should just avoid using it, the reality is that all of these unused features add cost to the final price of any vehicle. Considering that the average transaction price of a new vehicle hit a record $45,031 in September of 2021, controlling spiraling costs is a big deal. J.D. Power's survey results found that dealerships can play a big role in explaining new technology to buyers. Scores for some technologies like trailer assistance received higher scores from owners who received training from their dealers. Unfortunately, 71% of owners say they were taught how to use tech from outside sources whereas only 30% learned from a dealer. The results of this study are the product of responses from 110,827 owners of current model-year vehicles that J.D. Power surveyed after 90 days of ownership from February through July 2021.

2020 Virtual Geneva Motor Show Editors' Picks

There may not have been an actual Geneva Motor Show this year, but there were still loads of car reveals that happened the week that the show would have happened. So we still wanted to highlight what our favorites of the would-be show. Our list of cars seemed to match the theme of the reveals, too, highlighting over-the-top supercars and forward thinking electric vehicles. Scroll down to see our favorites. Fifth Place: Aston Martin V12 Speedster - 21 points Managing Editor, Greg Rasa: Astons are works of art, and this one's ready for the Louvre. The design nods to Aston history are nifty. It looks like a jet fighter, except those have canopies. Not sure what 186 mph would be like in this, but don't try it in summer when there are bugs. Contributing Editor, Joe Lorio: Admittedly, this one is a little silly. A $950,000 sports car with no roof? A 700-hp two-seater with no windshield? But the offerings at the Geneva auto show have always tilted toward absurdity, and Aston’s V12 Speedster is endearingly outrageous as a fighter plane for the street. Third Place (Tie): Volkswagen ID.4 - 26 points Senior Producer, Chris McGraw: I don't have much to say about this other than I am a huge fan of more EVs coming to the market, which is why two-thirds of my picks are electric, including the ID.4. Producer, Alex Malberg: Any new fully-electric crossover is a vote for me. The fact it doesn't look terrible and VW will be including AWD later are bonuses.  Third Place (Tie): Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio GTA - 26 points Road Test Editor, Zac Palmer: Hard to argue with the logic of this one. The Giulia Quadrifoglio is already the best driver in this class of hot sedans, so why not extend the lead with a special model. That wing is Type R levels of high, and I completely approve. Associate Editor, Byron Hurd: Love this car. Love it, love it, love it. It's beautiful, aggressive and fast. I'd take it over an M3 or C63 any day. As cool as the GTAm is, though, I'd rather stick to the four-seat GTA. Something about a four-door car with two seats just doesn't really work for me. I haven't alienated ALL of my friends quite yet. Second Place: Hyundai Prophecy - 35 points Senior Editor, Green, John Snyder: I get whiffs of the Genesis Coupe from this sleek concept. I like the focus on form, with interesting details to discover if you look for them. West Coast Editor, James Riswick: Does it look like a Porsche? Sure, but Porsches look neat.