Cars, Security and a Peek into my Life
The words were spoken by my boss on December 22, during the confirmation meeting at my new job.
This double rainbow actually happened on the drive home from the meeting.
“You’re here because of your blog, Keri.”
Hence the “YA I did” camera angle.
Maybe the extra good luck came from having one of my favourite cars of 2015 for a second week…
… a 2016 Cadillac ATS.
Maybe, but probably more because hard work and the high road pays off.
I don’t like most new auto technology – I think it encourages lazy, distracted driving – but HUD, oh I am SO into HUD.
HUD – Heads-Up Display – a holographic technology used to communicate information directly into the driver’s field of vision.
There’s 2 types of HUD. Both are visible in direct sunlight… somehow. It’s kind’ve amazing.
The image is projected through a lens in the windshield, making it appear like it’s floating above the hood directly in the driver’s vision.
Use the hard buttons to customize that image. As seen above – display the current radio station, which direction the vehicle is travelling, the posted speed limit, what the cruise control is set at, and navigation instructions appear here too.
2/6 of my last press cars had HUD.
This 2016 Cadillac Escalade.
While HUD was once reserved for luxury vehicles, some automakers are bringing it down to entry-level cars, like the 2016 Mazda3.
The image is projected onto a screen located just below the driver’s field of vision. While still effective, usually this type isn’t as customizable as the projection HUD.
The added bonus though, is when the car is turned on the screen rises dramatically from the dash, like a fighter jet video game.
Mazda calls it which Active Driving Display.
Found on the 2016 Mazda3 GT (top trim.)
Learn more in my column – HUDs are Good
Won’t be for much longer you can look through the steering wheel to a plain, simple instrument cluster… real physical dials, a low-resolution screen glowing in that familiar blue/green hue displaying those square letters and numbers.
Here come the high-definiton screens… no physical gauges, information rich and highly customizable.
Above is a 2016 Chevy Trax.
Below is a 2016 Cadillac Escalade.
Last Sunday, I tucked into my 2016 Cadillac Escalade and watched Die Hard: The Internet Security One.
Below – on the left is the second row 9″ screen that’s both Blue-Ray and CD R/W capable, and on the right is the 8″ touch screen in the dash. Crisp eh.
While there’s 4 screens in total, a movie will simutanously play on only the 2 above.
The other 2 screens are embedded into the front headrests, and each play from its own DVD slot.
Ignition off, then insert the DVD into the slot beneath the dash screen.
Bust out a blanket, nestle into one of the second row’s configurable bucket seats – which are heated – adjust the dedicated rear climate control, and hit play.
There’s 2 ways to listen to the audio:
1 – use the included set of headphones
2 – pump it through the cabin’s 16 Speaker Bose Surround Sound System
I’d remove the headphones from the car and instead use them as my everyday / working ones, because when do you ever see Cadillac headphones walking around?
Exactly.
Regardless of your vehicle’s make and model, watching a movie in your car is fun! And know what this setup would be great for? A 3rd date.
In this Escalde, you can enhance the evening by serving drinks to your crush… from the centre console cooler.
The COOLER.
A 365 mL 6-pack pf Pepsi fits, plus candy.
Found on Cadillac’s all-new flagship luxury sedan – the CT6.
It uses the many cameras mounted around the car’s perimeter.
When the security sensors detect either the sound of breaking glass, or the car being moved, the cameras record 360-degrees around the car, then save the footage to the car for later retrieval to a memory card.
Seems obvious how to defeat the system – the thief deletes the footage. However, GM is at the forefront of WiFi in cars, so I expect soon for the video to be uploaded to the cloud, or sent to the owner’s phone.
Read it online at Autonet.
For more on auto security, see either the blog tag Auto Security, or the security section at the newspaper, I own it
