The Car That Stops Itself

Wow “the car that stops itself.”

The exclusive distributor of Volvo vehicles in the Philippines – Viking Cars, Inc., Has unveiled the new XC60 last May 20, 2009.

The new XC60 is expected to reduce road accidents due to its self-stopping City Safety Technology.

“At speeds below 30kph, if City Safety detects that you’re about to collide with a vehicle in front and you do not react in time, the car will brake automatically and reduce the effect of the impact. If you are traveling at 15kph and the vehicle in front of you is stationary, a collision can be avoided,” Volvo preventive safety engineer Martin Distner said in a statement.

He likewise assured the City Safety system won’t be activated “by mistake” when a driver is parking.

“Volvo conducts vast amounts of research into this so its cars can understand the difference between when you’re in control and when you are distracted,” Distner said.

The City Safety feature works during day- and night-time driving. Its laser detection system, however, may be limited during heavy rains due to the possibility of dirt splashing on to the sensor area.

“It is important to underline that City Safety does not relieve the driver of the responsibility for maintaining a safe distance to avoid collision. The automatic braking function does not react until it considers that a Collision is imminent,” said Jonas Ekmark, Preventive Safety manager at Volvo’s Car Safety Center. (Source: Top Gear Philippines)

Honda City Club Philippines

To All Honda City Owners and Enthusiasts

New automated parking facility opens in Pasig

NW Steel Technologies, Inc. has unveiled AutoPark, a one-of-a-kind automated car park across the Silver City mall in Pasig City. To park, one just needs to drive his car on to a platform and get off it. The driver will then have his fingerprint scanned and the smart parking facility takes note of the match between the driver and the car. Automation then takes over and parks the car “intelligently” at an available slot in the four-storey establishment. AutoPark has a 72-car capacity. “It takes only 15 seconds to park a car,” said Engineer Mario Montejo, NW Steel chief executive and AutoPark technology designer. When it’s time to retrieve the car, the driver just needs to have his fingerprint scanned again and the system will deliver his car to the platform. The platform even rotates so the car faces the exit. The parking space is run by only three people. NW Steel gives a “no theft, no dent, no scratch” guarantee to those who park in its facility. Montejo said AutoPark is similar to the technologies used in the United States, Dubai and Greece. The same system is used by Volkswagen in Germany for the storage of its newly-manufactured cars. “This is really the most cost-effective parking solution today. You don’t have to search for a parking space anymore. It’s also more environment-friendly since there’s hardly any noise and there are no more fuel emissions that come with constantly looking for a parking space,” Montejo said. AutoPark currently has six slots for automated parking. It will be open for passenger cars starting May 11. The rest of the facility will be fully operational within the year. The technology is currently exclusive to Ortigas & Company properties. (Source: Top Gear Philippines)

Nikon’s D5000 DSLR Seeks Niche

 

With its newly released D5000, Nikon hopes it   has created a digital SLR camera that will  appeal to photographers of varying skill levels.

For inexperienced photographers looking to move from a point and shoot model to a digital SLR, Nikon has included several easy-to-use features and controls, including 19 scene modes. For more experienced photographers already using a digital SLR, Nikon has included new technologies and performance levels with the D5000, providing the opportunity for an upgrade. For example, the D5000 can made HD video clips at up to 24 frames per second.

The D5000 offers 12.3 megapixels of resolution. With its rotating LCD, you can shoot some odd-angle photos. Finally, with in-camera editing features, photographers can make adjustments to their photos on the fly. Nikon will offer the D5000 with a camera body only for $730 or with a starter lens for $850. (By Kyle Schurman, About.com Guide to Digital Cameras)