Issue Date: June 14, 2009

The thinking (person's) car

New technology is smarter, and safer, than ever.

By Jeffrey Ressner

Some new features sound like they're from a George Lucas movie.

Back in 1965, the Beatles sang "Baby, you can drive my car." Today that lyric might go, "Baby, my car can drive." Thanks to sophisticated computers and advanced software programs, many cars now have the ability to steer, accelerate and brake on their own, with these features being employed to greatly enhance automobile safety. They'll be in several 2010 models available at dealers nationwide in the coming months.

The new frontier is already creating an electronic web of crash-proofing around the car, says auto expert and Pulitzer Prize winner Dan Neil. He recently has been wowed by City Safety, the laser-radar braking system that's standard on the Volvo XC60. And he gives high marks to Mazda's "blind spot monitoring" option in its affordable mid-size Mazda6 that flashes a light and chimes when another car comes too close for comfort.

Neil also has been impressed with two features in the new S-class and E-class Mercedes-Benz. Attention Assist was designed to help prevent drivers from falling asleep at the wheel by monitoring steering patterns and calculating 70 different parameters, such as duration of drive, to detect possible driver drowsiness. Lane Keeping Assist, another feature new to Mercedes-Benz, uses camera sensors in the windshield and vibrates the steering wheel if it detects the car veering out of its lane.

There have been a number of incredible computer advances in transportation, says Stanford University professor Sebastian Thrun, who credits '70s technologies such as anti-lock brakes (which evolved into the more advanced braking system known as the Electronic Stability Program) with opening the door to self-correcting driving systems. Some of the new features sound as if they're from a George Lucas movie: laser-guided cruise control, vehicle-to-vehicle communication.

Although several are being marketed as "gimmicks," Thrun insists they will provide important long-term safety value because so many auto accidents -- which tend to be minor, but very expensive -- are caused by human error.

None of these features is likely to reduce your auto insurance costs -- at least not yet. But they could save your life.