Audi Latest Automaker to Introduce Gas-Price App

Joining automakers such as GM and Ford, whose respective infotainment systems — Chevrolet MyLink and MyFord Touch — offer drivers the ability to find the nearest station with the cheapest gas, Audi has added an app to its lineup helping folks find where to fill 'er up frugally. The German automaker announced this week that, beginning in May, members of its A3 family of hatchbacks equipped with Audi connect will have access to Refuelling Stop, a new online service that provides information about where to find the cheapest gas.

According to Audi, the service consults an online database of gas stations and prices and matches the list to the driver's current location or destination. The driver can sort search results by price or distance, and simply click on the station and set it as the navigation destination. The system will even consider the type of fuel required by the A3, which can be premium or diesel depending on the engine.

'Video Snacks' Feed Ford Buyers' Hunger for Feature Familiarity

For Ford owners craving extra help figuring out the features of their vehicle, the automaker has cooked up "video snacks." As part of a new vehicle-orientation program launching this week at dealerships nationwide, a library of short videos explaining how to use specific vehicle features like remote start, MyKey, integrated blind spot mirrors and the often-maligned MyFord Touch multimedia system will be available online.

According to Ford, while a customer is completing the sales transaction for a new vehicle at the dealership, the salesperson will walk him/her through an orientation guide of specific features he/she would like to learn about. That list of selected features is then emailed to the customer with a link to a corresponding video snack, which he/she can watch when and where he/she pleases. The salesperson keeps a copy of the list for review of any training items the customer may have missed when the vehicle was picked up.

Lawmakers to Jump-Start Backup Camera Mandate

In 2007, Congress and President George W. Bush approved a law mandating that the government set automotive rear-visibility guidelines by the beginning of 2011. In 2010, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed that backup cameras be standard equipment by model-year 2014. Fast-forward to 2013 and there's still no rear-visibility regulation. Two lawmakers are trying to find out why.

The Detroit News is reporting that U.S. Reps. Peter King (R-N.Y.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) are holding a press conference Thursday to jump-start the stalled rear-visibility initiative. According to the lawmakers, the mandate has been delayed four times since 2011 — most recently in December 2012 by then-Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood; he stepped down in January.

The representatives plan to urge NHTSA to move forward on its backup camera legislation. They will be joined by several parents of children killed in backup-related accidents. According to NHTSA, about 100 children younger than 5 die in backup crashes each year.

NHTSA Sees No Decline in Distracted Driving

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported startling statistics it hopes will encourage people to pay attention while driving. In 2011, licensed motorists in the U.S. numbered 212 million while the number answering calls on a mobile device was 102 million, and the number making calls was 50 million. At any given daylight moment that year, 660,000 drivers were using phones or other electronic devices while driving.

Since April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, NHTSA is publicizing the results of three separate studies: the 2012 Distracted Driving Attitudes and Behaviors Survey, the 2011 National Occupant Protection Use Survey on Driver Electronics Use and the 2011 Distraction Fatality Analysis Reporting System. The results of each show that "Americans continue to use electronic devices while driving, despite warnings that it causes their own driving to deteriorate and can lead to crashes, injuries and even death," NHTSA said in a statement.

According to NHTSA data, more than 3,300 people were killed in 2011 and nearly a dozen times that many were injured in crashes involving a distracted driver, according to NHTSA. Still, nearly half of surveyed drivers said they answer an incoming call, while 25% are willing to place a call. The number willing to make a call while driving declined from 2010 to 2011, but the number willing to answer one held steady.

California Outlaws In-Car Smartphone Navigation Systems

If you don't have an in-car navigation system or are annoyed by the one you do have, what do you do? Pull out your smartphone and enable its GPS function, right? Not in California. It's now illegal to use while driving.

The state is broadening what it considers distracted driving to include using a GPS-enabled phone for navigation. Techcrunch.com is reporting that a federal appeals court in Fresno County recently ruled that "distraction would be present whether the wireless telephone was being used as a telephone, a GPS navigator, a clock or a device for sending and receiving text messages and emails."

What's unclear from the ruling is if a hands-free version of the GPS-enabled phone would be allowed. Talking and texting while driving are already illegal in California unless the phone is configured for hands-free use.

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Does Honda's LaneWatch Replace a Blind Spot Warning System?

I recently spent a week in the 2013 Honda Crosstour. While I couldn't get over the aesthetics of this oddball (a fellow mom said it looked like a reincarnated Pinto), it did prove to be a practical family car with some innovative features.

The Crosstour has a new Honda safety feature called LaneWatch, which is also found on the 2013 Accord. According to Honda, the system "uses a camera positioned below the passenger-side exterior mirror to display a wide-angle view of the passenger side roadway on the intelligent-Multi-Information Display. The image appears when the right turn signal is activated, or when a button on the end of the turn-signal stalk is pressed."

I was a little baffled as to why LaneWatch was not integrated with a blind spot warning system, which can alert the driver with a tone or light if someone is in the car's blind spots. The two seem like a natural pair, but if they're not paired together, is LaneWatch a replacement for blind spot warning?

New Audi Wireless Data Plan Averages $15 a Month

Audi announced a new in-vehicle data plan this week, offering customers 2.5 years of wireless internet services at an average cost of $15 a month. Owners of vehicles equipped with the automaker's Audi connect multimedia system can pay $450 for 30 months of data service or a $30 month-to-month subscription.

The data plan, developed in conjunction with T-Mobile USA, aims to be "the industry's most competitively priced in-vehicle" plan, Audi said in a statement. Users can get real-time news, weather, fuel prices and traffic information; access to Google Earth and Google Voice Local Search; and broadband connectivity for as many as eight mobile devices. For comparison, Mercedes-Benz's website advertises its mbrace multimedia system's base subscription at $280 a year (about $23 a month) with add-on packages offering expanded services and apps for $14 and $20 a month, respectively, or $28 for both.

Where Are They Now? With New BMW App, You'll Always Know

New in-car location-sharing technology could revolutionize couples' knack for notifying each other that the household is out of milk just as their spouse drives past the supermarket. Then again, it could also make those special-occasion stops at the florist and such a bit trickier to keep secret.

Whatever one's level of interest in letting family, friends and others know exactly where one is at all times, BMW announced that it has partnered with mobile technology company Glympse Inc. to make mobile location sharing more user friendly than ever. The Glympse App will be available to BMW Apps-ready and Mini Connected vehicles, allowing drivers to easily broadcast their real-time location to selected contacts through Facebook, Twitter or a general contact list. That's in addition to the ability to send an estimated time of arrival and destination to calendar event attendees.

To access the app, users will plug their iPhone into their vehicle and the custom BMW interface will appear on the dash. Drivers can select their desired contacts and, with the touch of a controller, share their location info for a chosen period of time. Recipients can view the sender's location on a dynamic map in real time on a computer or mobile device without having to download the app themselves.

Lawmaker Moves to Ban Google Glasses in Cars

Although you can't yet purchase a Google Glass headset, one West Virginia lawmaker is proposing a law that would prohibit driving while wearing one. 

Republican Gary G. Howell contends that the voice-controlled device, which looks like a pair of futuristic glasses and works like an internet connected smartphone, would be a distraction to drivers. If used in a car, Howell says that wearing the glasses, which have the capability to take photos and project text and images on one of the lenses, will be as dangerous as texting while driving.

Howell's legislation proposes an accumulative $100 fine each time a motorist is caught wearing the glasses behind the wheel; the fine for the first offense would be $100, the second $200, etc. "We heard of many crashes caused by texting and driving, most involving our youngest drivers. I see the Google Glass as an extension," he said in an interview with Slashgear.com.

It's unclear if the legislation will pass; what is clear, however, is that regardless of what happens, few people will be able to afford one, at least initially. Google has started selling a handful of prototype glasses at $1,500 each. No word yet on the glasses' actual price.

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Lawmaker seeks to ban Google Glass use while driving (Slashgear.com)
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What Does This Outlet Do?

House-style AC outlets are one of those handy "little things that count" new-car convenience features that literally have hundreds of uses. The outlet goes by different names and voltage ratings like 110-,115- and 120-volt AC outlets, though they all serve the same purpose and offer an alternative multi-use outlet compared to the common probe-style DC outlets that accept phone and portable GPS chargers.

The feature is still far from standard equipment on family cars (where it often appears), and is usually paired with expensive rear-seat multimedia systems in large SUVs and minivans or available only on more expensive trim levels. When equipped, the outlets are typically found in the second row or cargo area appearing just like they do on the wall at home.

As cool as it would be to plug an electric snow blower or refrigerator into your car, not everything with a plug will work. The plug has its limitations, and there are guidelines to follow in order to use electronic devices safely.