Forget SYNC. MSNBC reports Ford's next great contribution to automotive technology will be getting rid of the gas cap. Matt O'Leary, chief engineer for the F-150 explains: "People just don't like the cap. Anyone who drives a vehicle hates that." So in response to the outcry coming from gas stations across the country, they're taking the EasyFuel capless refueling system first introduced on the Ford GT– and currently available on the 2008 Explorer– and expanding it across their entire North American line. O'Leary is confident the idea will eventually spread to all manufacturers. GM's Mark LaNeve isn't quite as enthusiastic. "The removal of the gas cap never shows up like a problem in any of our research." Like, wow.

Information Week reports Hughes Telematics has developed an internet-connected in-car information system that allows owners to lock or unlock doors, run remote vehicle diagnostics. send music from PC to car and locate their mobile Playstation to within an eighth of an inch [our guess]– all from the comfort of their home computer! The HAL9000 DriveConnected system is scheduled to debut in selected 2010 Chrysler and Mercedes models. Initially, DriveDistracted will use the cell phone network to work its wizardry. By 2012, Hughes plans to deliver broadband connectivity via satellite. Users will set up the system through a web site. Voice controls will run the show in the vehicle, with voice responses providing information. One of the system's big selling points: "teen tracking." Yes, primary caregivers at cocktail parties will be able to use their iPhone to pinpoint the car's location at any given time (at least until their computer savvy teens figure out how to feed HAL false data). To avoid privacy issues, an in-dash indicator will signal when the vehicle's being tracked. Needless to say, DriveConnected will also provide OnStar-like safety and security services. Just make sure it can't see your lips move.

You gotta love fark.com. Anyway, I've resisted the urge to blog this story because, frankly, who cares what GM's CEO thinks about driverless cars? While the media is all abuzz with Wagoner's forthcoming speech to the Consumer Electronic Show, is there anyone out there with even the slightest knowledge of GM's current technological chops who believes that the same automaker that's struggling to get their electric – gas hybrid Volt onto the streets before the next generation Prius arrives to kick its ass is about to launch a successful initiative to create the driverless car of tomorrow? Sure, we agree with the speech's basic premise– our spiritual advisor Stephan Wilkinson has convinced us that it's only a matter of time before humans are denied accelerative access (excess?). But comments like this (via foxbusiness.com) just make me laugh: "'This is not science fiction,' Larry Burns, GM's vice president for research and development, said in a recent interview" and ""Just imagine all the funerals that won't take place." Sorry guys, but I'm Jewish. I imagine non-existent funerals all the time, and they don't have driverless cars in the cortege. 

Engadget sends us news from the '08 Consumer Electronic Show that Pioneer has unveiled a dashtop gizmo charmingly called the AVIC-F500BT. For those who speak Geek-speak, it's "a gateway for your personal technology. Large DB with 12 million POIs, text to speech, Bluetooth, SD slot, USB, voice recognition, OEM integration. Plugs into an AUX jack on your vehicle or via custom integration. Conversation commands, 'I want to listen to Justin Timberlake.' Yes, it will control your phone and iPod, just speak your commands." We prefer to think of it as "anything Microsoft can do, we can do better;" although we don't actually know that. Yet. But the Pioneer system can run on batteries, so motorists can move it from car to car, which has GOT to be a HUGE advantage over Ford's SYNC system. Looks like we're back to the whole in-dash vs. portable sat nav deal– just in time for the debut of Lincoln's in-dash SYNC. You see? A better car is more important than better doo-dads, every time. [Thanks to starlightmica for the link.]

Would a new car buyer opt for a Ford just to get a $350 voice recognition system for their iPod (or similar) and Bluetooth-enabled phone? When Ford launched the national ad campaign for their in-dash Microsoft gizmo– selling the "new" Ford Focus entirely on its SYNCopation– the automaker revealed their faith 'n SYNC's ability to move the metal. Cynical observers might say the strategy is a desperate eHail Mary (lousy cars? syncing sales?). But credit where credit's due: it's a welcome move away from selling Fords based on price. And guess what? It's working! At least according to Cars.com. "Ford insists the 12 SYNC-equipped Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles now offering it are moving off dealer lots twice as fast as those without it." Hang on. That assertion doesn't mean Ford sales are improving; it simply says Ford customers want a SNYC-equipped FoMoCo product rather than one without. Question: do Ford dealers have enough SNYC-equipped models? Are they having to discount non-SYNC models? Cars.com ignores these and any other interesting issues. But if it's hard numbers you want… "Ford says a survey of SYNC buyers found 80% say it was easy to learn and use and 90% would recommend it to others." That's not necessarily a good thing. Ford's got an 18-month exclusive on the system. After that, it's anybody's game. 

Smart cars that keep themselves in the proper lane, maintain the correct following distance and sense driver fatigue are so passe. Now, thanks to researchers at Purdue University, your smart car can have smart tires. Reuters reports the net technology incorporates sensors that can detect problems like cuts, leaks, imbalance and improper mounting. A chip inside the tire probes the layers of the tire and relays information. The developer plans to patent the technology and license it to tire makers. He said it would cost the manufacturers about $1 per tire, but expects it'll add about $50 to the cost of a tire by the time it gets into consumers' hands. How smart is that?

As we reported yesterday, Mercedes is working on anti-driver fatigue gizmology. Yahoo! Canada reports that Toyota has decided that the world needs more 'lerts. ToMoCo's recruiting the research team that developed Nintendo's "brain training" games to help them ride herd on driver alertness, specifically as it involves the elderly. Their wakeupmobile concept will monitor the helmsman's "brain activity, automatic nerve reflexes, attentiveness and other mental and physical conditions" and then stimulate the drowsy driver through a variety of means– including cranking-up the AC "to invigorate the driver's brain." Toyota hopes to put some of the systems they develop into use by 2015 to 2020. Nissan has also expressed interest in research in this area, but has made no decision to pursue it. No word from Buick who's rumored to be surveying their remaining customers to determine if A) they're still alive and B) they can understand the system's advantages.

Hey Eurocrats, what's the matter? Don't your guys trust the U.S. to continue supplying Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) data for your military and civilian sat nav systems? Or is it simply a question of doling-out billions of Eurozone tax dollars to aerospace contractors for your very own GPS system that you want, but don't really need? And the answer is… yes. Anyway, WardsAuto reports that Europe's Galileo GPS project has floundered on the rocks of the usual government mismanagement and waste, blowing-out its budget by billions and missing its launch date by five years… and counting. So the European Union has shut down the project, declared it an enormous waste of time and money, and apologized to tax payers. Just kidding. The EU Council of Ministers has decided to shovel another €2.4 billion ($3.6 billion) into the project. But hey, the "lion's share" of the money's coming from unspent agricultural subsidies. In their defense, "Galileo’s supporters say the network will provide navigational services that are more accurate than those available through the U.S. Global Positioning System." Oh, that's OK then.

Driver fatigue causes an estimated 24 to 33 percent of European automotive accidents. Automobilwoche reports that Daimler's Mercedes is developing an electronic Nanny that monitors driver fatigue and then tries to wake up the pilot before he crashes. It's hardly a new concept; Citroen already offers a weird (but effective) system that shakes your buttocks when you switch lanes without indicating (no, we are not  joking). In the great tradition of German over-engineering, Mercedes system monitors steering input– those "typical, hardly noticeable movements that tired  drivers make on a constant basis"– then compares this data to daytime and drive distance information, considering external factors such as side wind and road undulations. If the computer thinks the driver's suffering from fatigue, it sounds an alarm. (Automatic crash avoidance is inevitable.) The anti-fatigue system is set for a 2009 debut; we suggest that the PR folk deactivate it during the press launch.

Not content with vying for the 10 best 10 best cars award for 2007, cars.com has released their list of the "Top 10 New Features of 2007." While you might think their eds would be weighing the pros and cons of innovations that improve performance, handling or enhance the enthusiast's driving experience, you'd be mostly wrong. Cars' list is chock-a-block with features of dubious value, like Volvo's heartbeat sensor, Infiniti's scratch shield paint and Chrysler's Sirius satellite TV. Their "Best New Feature?" Infiniti's Lane Departure Warning Prevention system. The gizmo applies the brakes to certain wheels to nudge you back into your lane if you start drifting. (Which would have rendered The Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift even more of a moot point.) Here's the complete list:

Lane Departure Prevention – Infiniti
Scratch Shield Paint – Infiniti
Around View Monitor – Infiniti
Full Size Hybrid SUVs – GM, Chrysler
Integrated Booster Seats – Volvo
Heartbeat Sensor – Volvo
Easy Third-Row Access – Hyundai
Sirius Satellite TV – Chrysler
Sync Hands-Free System – Ford
Blind Spot Information System – Volvo

While The Big 2.8 keep playing "Crisis? What Crisis? Oh THAT crisis," Toyota's taking some time off (as if) to muck about with robots. Toyota's just announced that two of its new Toyota Partner Robots will hit the market in 2010. As The International Herald Tribune reports, one 'bot plays Sir Edward Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance" on a violin (when it can play "A Lark Ascending," give us a call). The other 'bot is Segway's worst nightmare. Weighing in at 150kgs., Mobility Robot (MR) can negotiate stairs, surmount 10 degree gradients and travel 20km at a rate of 6km/h. It's (he's?) also capable of avoiding obstacles and transporting its owner autonomously. (That's Toyota-speak for "getting you back from the pub while you're too drunk to know what you're doing.") And when you feel like using the legs that God gave you, Mr. MR will be your personal porter, following you like a dog. (Which is God spelled backwards.) Next week, Honda's takes the wraps of the latest version of Asimo. While both automakers claim 'bot-making is a logical outgrowth of their car-building 'bots, we reckon they need to make them mightier still. Meanwhile, GM's still building the first ever G6.

BusinessGreen reports that Ricardo, Land Rover, mapmaker Ordnance Survey, mobile giant Orange and the UK's Transport Research Laboratory have banded together to develop the "rCube control system." In theory, the bolt-in computer will combine the [now] familiar real time traffic data with automatic control over a hybrid's engine, batteries, throttle and brakes. Say what? "If you are approaching a junction or a traffic jam and have to stop, the control system will optimise the deceleration to limit how hard you have to brake and maximise the amount of energy that is captured and used to recharge the battery," explains Tom Robinson, senior product group manager for control and electronics at Ricardo. "It means that you get a smoother ride and lower emissions." The scarily-named "Sentience project" promises a prototype rCube-equipped Ford Escape Hybrid by the summer. So… what's hybridless lame duck Land Rover got to do with any of this? And why can't they just teach people to go easy on the gas and the brakes?

You can be the first on your block to own a hydrogen fuel cell car. For the mere sum of $99.99, Hammacher Schlemmer can fix you up with your own "hydrogen generating car" that features an "on-board reversible Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cell to conduct the entire hydrogen-generating and electrolytic process." The hydrogen is produced on board from distilled water using electric current from solar cells (or two AA batteries in low-light situations). It's not quite as sophisticated as Honda's Clarity, but still an interesting gadget to play with.

Cars that recognize the driver via a pocket-dwelling key fob will soon be old hat. Gizmag brings news from the Tokyo Motor Show of Hitachi's biometric steering wheel. The helm's sensors reads the veins in the driver's fingers. The system can then be configured for security, so that only an authorized user can start the car. (Have fun at valet parking.) But wait, there's more! The biometric boffinology can also be set-up so that each finger triggers a different response from the on-board computer. Your index finger could activate the sat nav system. Your pinkie could control presets for the seat, mirrors and sound system. Future applications could even include authorizing automatic payments for drive-thrus or music downloads. Talk about high touch…

Leave it to the Germans to try to quantify driving pleasure. Gizmag tells of a project underway at Mercedes Benz to analyze the emotions felt by people as they drive and interact with their cars. Using a computer that interprets facial expressions as emotional responses, they videotaped eight different drivers as they piloted a new C-Class and a 1983 190E through a number of test courses. Preliminary statements made by participants indicated they thought vehicle control and safety– which the C-Class has in spades over the 190E thanks to modern electronics– were the main factors contributing to driving pleasure. However, when researchers analyzed the videos, they found something different: some participants "enjoyed driving the older car, smiling when the rear end drifted slightly on tight bends of the handling course." Mercedes plans to use the data gained through this research not only to make their cars safer, but "also develop cars with a greater level of agility and dynamism to enhance driver enjoyment." They could start by killing firing all their lawyers, and then returning full control of their cars' various electronic systems to the driver.