Car Technology For 2016

Every year there are advancements in all areas of technology and cars are no different – in fact they are evolving faster than ever before. So what does 2016 have in store for our automobiles?

Volkswagen’s New Electric Car Concept
An emission scandal has seen Volkswagen in the press for all the wrong reasons this year, but 2016 is set to start with them unveiling something new and exciting. A new car concept will be unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January – which will uncover a new electric car and connected technologies intended for future cars.

Blackberry QNX Technology Concept Car
Blackberry will be at the CES event next year with a new Blackberry QNX technology concept car. The car will be based on a Maserati, and the company will show how the car can feature a huge amount of content and information without distracting the driver.

Bosch Connected Car Technology
Bosch will also display its latest technology for connected and automated cars at CES. New developments will include a cloud-based system that warns drivers if there is a car driving the wrong way and the connectivity control unit (CCU), which connects the car to the Internet of Things (IoT).

Advancements in Self-Driving Vehicles
At CES this year Mercedes Benz unveiled a windowless autonomous car that can drive without a person behind the wheel and 2016 is set to see advancements in self-driving vehicles. Edge3 Technologies in Arizona, who develop software for the future of these driverless cars, are working on technology that monitors, tracks and maps the behaviour of drivers and their passengers to verify identity, levels of awareness and heart rate among other variables. This will enable semi-autonomous driving while ensuring those in the car are capable of making necessary decisions.

Google and Apple are already rumoured to be working on a driverless car and Audi have already been testing theirs on the open road. However, fully autonomous cars are still a little way off, what 2016 will see is automated aids that reduce the risk in driving.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integrates with your device and apps, enabling vehicles to do away with pre-installed car software. As well as being able to listen to your music, you can use other aspects of your phone such as messages and calls, without actually touching it. This will be controlled either by your voice through Siri on Apple devices and android voice recognition, or via a touchscreen display, which will be built into some cars. So far the Google and Apple services are being rolled out by Chevrolet and Hyundai in 2016.

Weight Reduction
The result of new technology within our cars has seen them get heavier; 2016 is therefore expected to see a rethink on how cars are constructed. Lighter models are expected to start appearing on the market during the year which incorporates carbon fibre reinforced plastic to shed weight, with aluminium replacing steel in many other models. This reduction in weight will increase fuel efficiency and lower running costs.

Although these technological advancements take us closer and closer to the car of the future, they do of course come with a hefty price tag. In reality we need a car to get us from A to B safely and you can find the perfect used cars for sale from Freeads – which are available now and at a much more reasonable price.

Who knows, with the speed at which technology changes, we could all be driving flying cars by 2017!

SHARE: