SlashGear Japan
Could it be that windscreen wipers are the new wet razor? Having backed away in overwhelmed fear from the Gillette display rack (um, five blades?) now it seems I’ll be equally overloaded when dealing with rain on my windshield. Vauxhall (the UK name for Opel cars) has announced its Flatblade wipers – designed without joints, to avoid squeaking, they’re apparently aerodynamic and have an integrated spoiler. You can only assume that traditional wiper blades are prone to taking off and skewering overhead ducks when cars travel at speed.
Spring-loaded rails make sure that the entire length of the blade is pressed firmly and evenly against your lucky windshield, with all these fancy features adding up to a claimed 50% reduction in wind noise and far less chance of jumping, smearing and sticking.
Vauxhall’s advice is (probably) to throw away your existing car and buy one of its new ones. Go on, do it now before it’s too late.
Vauxhall update the humble windscreen wiper with the Flatblade [pocket-lint.co.uk]
This is a somewhat contentious one – cool tech meets Big Brother, you could say – but the psychological implications are interesting. The UK has been trialling a system of licence plate recognition on one of the major highways, which flashes up a car’s registration if it exceeds the speed limit. Apparently few people paid any attention to seeing their speed lit up on electronic signs, but when it was personalised almost half did slow down.
I like cars, but I’m certainly no mechanic. So all I really know about fuel is that higher RON = better performance. No bad thing!
The Director of Design for the Chevrolet Camaro concept – Tom Peters took the 400-horsepower aluminum small-block V-8, with six-speed manual transmission, along with a super sophisticated chassis and four-wheel independent suspension out for it’s very first drive. General Motors put this video together to share Peters’ feelings on the experience, and to allow viewers a feel of the “tantalizing audio of the Camaro’s engine. Click through to watch the video and view more images of the muscular Camaro concept.
