Some Automotive Fun...

A couple’s car fell 300 feet. A new iPhone feature aided their rescue.


"Cloe Fields and Christian Zelada were in shock after climbing out of their Hyundai Elantra that, moments earlier, was about 300 feet higher on the Angeles Crest Highway. After pulling over to let another vehicle pass last week, their car had slipped on some gravel, sending them on a terrifying free fall. As they looked around the canyon they’d landed in — both shaken up but not seriously injured — all they could think about was how to get help in a remote area with no cellphone service.

But when Zelada located Fields’s shattered iPhone 14 in the dirt, they learned their rescue had already begun. A new Apple feature had detected the crash and alerted emergency services.

When Zelada found Fields’s phone about 10 yards from the crash site, Fields said her screen read, “It looks like you’ve been in a crash,” with the option to swipe to conduct an emergency call. Emergency SOS that can connect via satellite comes standard with the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro, per Apple’s website.

The technology enabled Fields to alert local emergency services. After dispatching a helicopter from roughly 18 miles away, the rescue team located Fields and Zelada a half-hour later. Even as she was being hoisted to safety, Fields said she struggled to remain calm, until she heard the reassuring words of a firefighter reminding her: “You’re alive.””
 
This is very definitely not a wheelchair.

At the 2021 Goodwood Festival of Speed, one of the biggest cheers of the event went to quadriplegic driver Sam Schmidt, who powered up the hill in a Chevrolet Corvette, steering by moving his head and accelerating and braking with his mouth.

Even more rousing applause followed in 2022 when Schmidt stormed up the hill yet faster in a McLaren 720S Spider, using an evolution of the same ‘SAM car’ system.

www.carmagazine.co.uk

The story of the SAM car

www.carmagazine.co.uk
 
Is anyone developping an electric car or truck with a tiny ICE and generator to extend range (like a military APU), kind of like a reverse hybrid where the batteries do most of the job instead of the ICE?
 
We did a research project for this, by using a tiny crankcase charges inline boxer engine. The whole range extender should have been light enough (we only did the engine) to mount it on a bycicle carrier at the rear of the car when needed.
 
Nicknick said:
We did a research project for this, by using a tiny crankcase charges inline boxer engine. The whole range extender should have been light enough (we only did the engine) to mount it on a bycicle carrier at the rear of the car when needed.
Click to expand...
Oh, so you could even leave it at home for short trips so you don't carry the unneeded extra weight of the range extender?
 
Yes, or you could just rent one on a rest stop on a highway when you driving long distances, so you don't need to own one.
 
www.classicdriver.com

Keeping it sub-zero cool with the original Lancia Stratos Concept

Designed by Marcello Gandini, the grandmaster of wedge design, the Lancia Stratos Zero concept car stunned the world when it was first unveiled in 1970. Last weekend, the mythical showcar truly lived up to its name when it descended for a sub-zero appearance on the frozen lake of St Moritz.
www.classicdriver.com www.classicdriver.com
 
Bonus.
www.classicdriver.com

These cars were almost too hot for the frozen lake at The ICE St Moritz

The heat was on last weekend in Switzerland’s glitziest winter wonderland. And racing the priceless collector and concept cars across the ice of the lake at times felt like driving through frozen daiquiri. Still, The ICE St Moritz once again proved to be the coolest car event of them all.
www.classicdriver.com www.classicdriver.com
 

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Anti-fun actually.

the patents suggests enabling the car to create an “incessant and unpleasant sound”, such as a chime or beep, every time the owner gets inside.

Fart sounds maybe. Stockhausen, or even <shudder> James Last...

www.newscientist.com

Ford patents car that can repossess itself and drive back to showroom

A new patent allows Ford to build cars that take action if the owner falls behind on payments by playing annoying sounds – or even driving themselves back to the seller
www.newscientist.com www.newscientist.com
 

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