Let’s say you’re following too closely on the freeway, and the instant the driver in front of  you slams on his brakes, an alarm appears inside your vehicle telling you to brake. Sound far fetched? It may not be, according to a report from NPR.org.

The technology enables cars in close proximity to one another to share information wirelessly. The premise behind it is that most crashes are avoidable if drivers have enough time to react.

The drawback? Privacy concerns top the list of this kind of technology, because of the fact that your vehicle would be using GPS and Wifi to “talk” to the cars around you, giving them your most recent information of your whereabouts.

What do you think? Read the entire article here, and leave your comments below.

As reported by tmcnet.com, future cars will be smart enough to schedule maintenance for you and order parts it needs for repairs. Not to mention satellite, web-based technology including all the candy that’s already available including bluetooth, iPod/Smartphone connectivity and so forth. The smart list goes on and on.

..the advent of smartphone “apps” and the of more advanced features evolving weekly, will see owners – particularly younger people – increasingly demanding their inclusion in cars.

Hyundai, Toyota, Ford and more auto makers are all working to include the latest technology in their vehicles to increase the demand from the up and coming generation, including Blue-Link, OnStar, Sync and more.

Got a new car with all the tech savvy toys? Get it insured with our easy search tool.

There’s a new trend growing in the car insurance industry, as reported by komonews.com. For drivers that don’t get behind the wheel much, you could take advantage of new usage-based insurance that will get you discounts quickly.

“With most companies, if you ride your bike, you have to still report your mileage driven to work. So when you do take your car, you’re being rated for usage that perhaps isn’t accurate,” Newman said. “This gives companies the ability to offer a very accurate rate based on your actual usage of the vehicle.”

Watch for usage-based insurance policies to pop up in your state soon, and search for ones that are already in place with our car insurance search tool.

What is a Lithium-Air Battery? What does it have to do with cars? NYTimes.com reports that IBM’s R&D department is determined to find out if lithium-air battery can become a commercial reality and give us 500 miles on a single charge for a car.

While theoretically impressive with the energy possibilities, Li-Air batteries for vehicles could be the wave of the future, since one of the elements used in the process is Oxygen, which is of course readily available in the air we breathe. Winfried Wilcke was asked about the research IBM is doing and had this to say as a final thought on the project:

In three years, Wilcke said, he should have enough information to either advance the technology with IBM’s commercial partners, or to say, “Nah, doesn’t work, shut it down. I’m perfectly willing to do the latter if it turns out to be the right thing to do.”

Read the entire article at NYTimes.com here.

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Smartplanet.com reports that a new technology besides the breathalyzer test could keep drunks from driving and potentially causing accidents or even fatalities.

Through the use of strategically placed sensors in places like the steering wheel and door locks, the North America Driver Alcohol Detection Systems for Safety, created by QinetiQ, a research facility in Waltham, Massachusetts, would analyze a driver’s skin or breath to determine a driver’s level of intoxication.

Keeping insurance rates down would be an amazing result of this kind of technology!

CNN.com reports that the lofty goal of President Obama to have 1 million electric cars on America’s highways by 2015 may fall short. Though many manufacturers are full speed ahead with the electric car race, the one thing that may keep this change from happening is you and me. The consumer!

If the electric car demand is not there from the consumer, then the goal may not be achieved. However, as time and prices of electric car components and materials drop, so will the higher ticket prices of these vehicles, which may in turn increase the demand.

Do you need to insure your electric car? Start with ShopCarInsuranceQuotes.com today.