Will You Need Ad Block For Your Car?

The modern web has become difficult to navigate without ad blocking software. Ford now has a patent that would bring the ads we hate to your vehicle’s infotainment system. [via PCMag] Ford ha…

Boss Byproducts: Fordites Are Pieces Of American History

Some of the neatest products are made from the byproducts of other industries. Take petroleum jelly, for example. Its inventor, Robert Chesebrough, a chemist from New York, came upon his idea while…

RC Car Gets Force Feedback Steering

Remote-controlled cars can get incredibly fast and complex (and expensive) the farther into the hobby you get. So much so that a lot of things that are missing from the experience of driving a real…

Car Becomes A Massive Bubble Machine

You’ve probably seen street performers or family members making giant bubbles at some point in your life. But what if you could go ever bigger…even approaching a bubble of infinite leng…

Toyota Heater Switches Learn New Tricks

The look, the feel, the sound — there are few things more satisfying in this world than a nice switch. If you’re putting together a device that you plan on using frequently, outfitting …

Polyphase Wireless EV Fast Charging Moves Forward

While EV charging isn’t that tedious with a cable, for quick trips, being able to just park and have your car automatically charge would be more convenient. Researchers from Oak Ridge Nationa…

Open Source Your Air Ride Suspension

Air ride suspensions have several advantages over typical arrangements, but retrofitting a system to a vehicle that didn’t come with it can get pricey fast, especially if you want to go beyon…

From Nissan ICE Pickup To BEV With Nissan Leaf Heart

Last year [Jimmy] got a request from a customer ([Dave]) to help convert a 1998 Nissan Frontier pickup into an electric drive vehicle, with a crashed 2019 Nissan Leaf providing the battery and elec…

Restoring A Vintage German EV

When you think of EVs from the 90s, GM’s EV1 may come to mind, but [bleeptrack] found a more obscure CityEL three wheeler to restore. This Personal Electric Vehicle (PEV) is no spring chicken…

Art Exhibit Lets You Hide From Self-Driving Cars

In the discussions about how dangerous self-driving cars are – or aren’t – one thing is sorely missing, and that is an interactive game in which you do your best to not be recogni…

Ford Patent Wants To Save Internal Combustion

There’s no doubt the venerable internal combustion engine is under fire. A recent patent filing from Ford claims it can dramatically reduce emissions and, if true, the technology might give c…

Create Virtual USB Sticks With A Raspberry Pi Zero

Playing back music files from USB sticks is a common feature these days, and is built-into the infotainment system in [Folkert van Heusden]’s Opel Astra. Unfortunately such USB playback featu…

Extracting SecOC Keys From A 2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime

With the recently introduced SecOC (Secure Onboard Communication) standard, car manufacturers seek to make the CAN bus networks that form the backbone of modern day cars more secure. This standard …

How Much Longer Will Cars Have Cigarette Lighter Ports?

Depending on the age of your car, it might contain a round 12 V power outlet in the dash, or possibly in the elbow compartment. And depending on your own age, you might know that as the cigarette l…

Open Vehicle Monitoring System Is The Window To Your EV’s Soul

Electric cars have more widgets than ever, but manufacturers would rather you don’t have direct access to them. The Open Vehicle Monitoring System intends to change that for the user. [via Tr…

Can Car Parts Grow On Trees?

Cars don’t grow on trees, but Ford is designing car parts from olive tree cuttings. [via Electrek] Ford is no stranger to designing parts from plants for their vehicles. Henry famously liked …

Tesla’s Plug Moves Another Step Closer To Dominance

Charging an EV currently means making sure you find a station with the right plug. SAE International has now published what could be the end to the mishmash of standards in North America with the J…

A 555 Can Even Make Your Car Indicator More Visible

Modern cars often come with white marker lights or daytime running lights that are on all the time, as a supplement to the primary headlights. The problem is that in some vehicle designs, these add…

ESP32 Used As Wireless CAN Bus Reader

The CAN bus, accessible through the OBD-II port, is the channel that holds all the secrets of the modern automobile. If you want to display those for your own perusal, you might consider this nifty…

Keeping A Mazda’s Radio On After The Engine Shuts Off

Have you ever pulled into a car park with your favorite song blaring, only to lament the fact that the music cut out when you stopped the engine? Some modern cars are smart enough to keep the radio…