Securing Your Car in the City

Mar 20 2013

Defend against 2 types of attacks when parking your car in an urban environment.

(Last line reads: because unless the car is stolen out of your driveway, the thief now knows where you live and where you’re not.

Favourite line:

Securing your car isn’t so much about making it theft-proof (that’s impossible); it’s more about making it invisible and undesirable.

Above – where this week’s column came from.

24 Hours readers – you’ve met me through cars, but as a hobby around here, I blog about security, mostly online.

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Back to ‘Keri on Driving’ – Index

When Hiring a Car Service

Mar 13 2013

I liked this column.

From choosing the make and model, to tipping the driver, and how to make a proper exit – the entire reason for hiring the vehicle.

Read in online at Autonet.ca.

Favourite line:

Regardless of vehicle choice, it all comes down to your exit from the car – the one moment for which you went to all this trouble.

That’s a hard no to hiring one of these:

Back to ‘Keri on Driving’ – Index

A Clever Infotainment System

Mar 12 2013

GM just released a new infotainment system, introducing MyLink.

Usually I’m like “infotainment systems, who cares”, but this one is different.

Instead of installing a computer into the car, the car uses the computer we all carry around constantly – cel phone. Right?!

The core of the computing is done on your phone. Basically you’re looking at here a screen and a USB connection. That greatly reduces the amount of electronics in the car, plus price. An average infotainment system is about $1,500, instead, GM’s BringGo map app is $50.

The key is the software that make your car talk to your phone.

Another neat fact, GM worked with Apple on this software; when was the last time you heard about Apple collaborating. Change your calendar, text, music, all using Apple’s Siri.

The app is available for both iPhone and Android.

Bottom left: that’s a radio station from the other side of the world.

I interviewed the person who headed the project, meet Sarah LeBlanc.

She was a such a fun interview, we met early morning at the Toronto Auto Show. Thanks for kicking my day off to a great start, Sarah!

Read it on Autonet.ca.

Recent Autonet Articles

Mar 6 2013

Been writing up a storm over there, check it out… at my amazing new URL comeON:

Autonet.ca/Keri

This Ferrari article, because it was a very fast turnaround time on a very technical article.

That thing is the world’s fastest hybrid – 949 hp!

499 changes to own the world’s fastest hybrid – LaFerrari

This one, because I had to use descriptive writing.

I needed to produce 300 words about something that didn’t even have 300 words written about it anywhere. This does not come naturally to me; I’m more “this is that, all efficient, the end”, so that’s why I was proud; okay I can do that. Don’t want to, but can.

Escape “key” to new Land Rover buyers

Liked this one, because it’s about a favourite personal topic: perception.

Which cars are perceived to be the best?

There’s 100+ Computers in a Car

Mar 6 2013

There are more than 100+ computers (ECUs) in a new luxury vehicle.

Millions more lines of code than a fighter jet, than Facebook even; and up to 20% of the total vehicle cost is for the computers. It runs on the CAN bus network, learn more here.

Read in online at Autonet.

Favourite line:

Some luxury vehicles contain as many as 100 individual computers.

And:

It takes up to 100 million lines of software code to make this happen. To illustrate the complexity, consider that an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter operates on 1.7 million lines.