Car Trends and Innovation

Most race fans dream of slipping behind the wheel of a purebred race car. As it turns out, your own car already has several features that were originally designed for racing. So what are they?

By Jamie Page Deaton

People are bad drivers. But as the DARPA Urban Challenge proves, sometimes cars are, too. Why does a department of the U.S. government conduct an annual race for fully robotic cars?

By Jamie Page Deaton

If your car were skinny enough, you could follow that guy on the bicycle who is threading his way through parked traffic. What a joy that would be. Is there such a car?

By Cristen Conger

The glory days of the over-sized SUV have ended. The lighter the vehicle, the less fuel it needs to get up and go. How light can a car be?

By Cristen Conger

Sure it'd be nice to have your car ferry you through the morning commute, but that's the stuff of sci-fi dreams, right? You'll be surprised at what driverless technology is already under your hood.

By Jamie Page Deaton & Kristen Hall-Geisler

The next time you're at the grocery store, take a moment to glance at the stacked shopping carts -- their space-saving design may be the basis for automobiles of the future.

By Robert Lamb

High gas prices have many of us feeling the pinch, but for truckers, the situation may be even more serious. Can a German visionary transform the semi and get the trucking industry back on the road?

By Josh Clark

If pressed upon to name features in the luxury cars of the future, Japanese Zen garden might not be the first thing to come to your mind. But perhaps it should be. What concept cars are influencing future autos?

By Josh Clark

Speed is a constant: 100 mph will always be 100 mph. But the source of speed is up for grabs -- especially since we may have reached peak oil. Will high-speed hydrogen or all-electric cars dominate our roads one day?

By Josh Clark

We're not just talking about Hollywood cars like K.I.T.T. -- computerized cars are on our roads today. They're outfitted with high-tech features, but why are they called digital?

By Josh Clark

Maybe you budget for oil changes and new tires, but setting aside $1,600 for new headlights is a little steep. If cars are expensive to repair now, what does the future hold?

By Josh Clark

Lowriders are decked-out cars with lowered suspensions that rumble, growl and even dance their way to parks, streets and cruise-ins. So how do you lower and raise a car's suspension?

By Jamie Page Deaton

People drive underwater all the time in movies. But this isn't the movies. In reality, your car would stop running almost immediately.

By Marshall Brain

The GMC PAD is basically a futuristic motor home -- part apartment, part vehicle, and part telecommunications center.

By Ed Grabianowski

Each year, cars seem to get more and more complicated --cars today might use as many 50 microprocessors! Although they can make it more difficult for you to work on your own car, some microprocessors actually make your car easier to service.

By Karim Nice

Will we ever have spaceships parked in our garages so that we can fly to the moon whenever we feel like it?

I would really like to know how people can make their cars jump up and down with their front wheels like they do in movies like "Boyz in the Hood."

What does the computer in a car do? What was the Y2K scare about our cars starting?