Just got a cool new app for your car? Yeah, the NHTSA might not let you use it

By Stephen Edelstein November 25, 2013

nhtsa proposes in car smartphone guidelines texting while driving

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says it has the power to regulate mobile devices used in cars.

Earlier this year, the government agency that regulates driving safety issued voluntary guidelines for carmakers to prevent distracted driving. Now, it may do the same for manufacturers of smartphones and other devices.

In a congressional hearing, NHTSA Administrator David Strickland says the agency believes the Motor Vehicle Safety Act gives it the authority to regulate devices used in cars.

The NHTSA’s initial set of voluntary guidelines covered in-vehicle infotainment systems and were designed to curtail distracted driving by limiting what features a driver could use while the vehicle is in motion, setting performance targets that minimized the amount of time a driver needed to perform different functions. However, carmakers aren’t obligated to follow them.

A set of guidelines for smartphones could be drafted along the same lines.

Strickland told the Detroit News that the NHTSA has the authority to regulate phone-based navigation, and any other apps that could be “reasonably expected” to be used in a vehicle.

He said the agency’s ultimate goal is to foster technology that would allow vehicles to block hand-held phone use, requiring drivers to use a hands-free interface like Bluetooth.

Carmakers reportedly support restricting phone use, which is their stated reason for developing infotainment systems like MyFord Touch, Cadillac’s CUE, and Audi’s MMI.

None of these systems have generated rave reviews and many have inspired the ire of frustrated consumers and journalists. However, automakers maintain that these combinations of touchscreen, voice, and click-wheel interfaces are safer than hand-held phones and that drivers will inevitably reach for their phones in the absence of other options.

Clearly, there’s a lot of energy being exerted to get drivers to put down their phones. So why don’t drivers just put down their phones? It would be a lot simpler than drafting new regulations, or developing new technologies, to stop them.

Editors' Recommendations

Stephen Edelstein

Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

Cars

iOS in your dashboard? This video might reveal Apple’s answer to in-car Android

Each automaker has its own vision for how technology should operate inside the car, but that philosophy requires a learning curve for drivers and passengers alike. It may not come as a surprise, then, that Apple has hinted at a way to incorporate its iOS mobile platform as a replacement or supplement to existing automotive infotainment systems.
In this video, developer Steven Troughton-Smith displays how iOS would look on a 800x400-pixel display, not unlike many of the navigation displays found in cars today. Troughton-Smith claims that this platform will be accessible through iOS 7.0.3 (already installed on most current-gen iPhones), and that the system will be touchscreen-compatible, and scalable for larger and smaller displays. He also suggests that the system will be controlled almost entirely by Siri, which will eliminate the need for a keyboard.
The inclusion of iOS will likely simplify the use of current in-car navigation and entertainment systems for iPhone and iPad users, or at least make the controls a little more intuitive. It's hard to argue with the advantages of familiarity, especially since most folks use their phones far more often than they fiddle with the controls in their cars.
If you're thinking Apple is ahead of the Android game here, think again. Four automakers and Google recently announced plans to bring an open-source Android OS into your dashboard within the next few years.

Cars

Would you buy a Chinese car? Well, you’ll get your chance, as BYD heads Stateside in 2015

byd plans to sell chinese cars in the us 2015 qin

Would you buy a Chinese car? Chinese automakers sure hope so.
China buys a lot of cars - sales in the country surpassed 20 million in 2013 - but its domestic car industry is relatively new. Yet at least one company hopes to make a mark in one of the toughest export markets around: the good 'ole U.S. of A.
BYD ("Build Your Dreams") hopes to debut four models in the United States at the end of 2015, the carmaker told Bloomberg.
The car most likely to headline the company's U.S. launch is the BYD Qin plug-in hybrid sedan (pictured above). Named after the dynasty founded by the emperor who unified China, it features headlights that - according to its maker - were inspired by Chinese calligraphy brushstrokes. To us, though, it looks a bit like it's been in a crash.
The Qin is powered by a 1.5-liter turbocharged and direct-injected engine, a pair of electric motors, and a 10-kilowatt-hour lithium-iron phosphate battery pack. That powertrain allows for a 0 to 62 mph time of 6.9 seconds, a top speed of 115 mph, and an electric-only range of 31 miles.
The plug-in hybrid went on sale in Beijing last month with a base price of 189,000 yuan, or about $31,400.
This won't be BYD's first attempt to break into the U.S. market.
The Chinese carmaker displayed the e6 electric car at the 2009 and 2010 Detroit Auto Shows, but plans to sell it in the U.S. fell through due to weak demand in the home market. The company has also investigated selling the e6 to fleet buyers, including Hertz.
BYD already sells the e6 as a taxi in Colombia and the U.K.
BYD will also build and sell its K9 bus in California. Production at a new plant in Lancaster is expected to start in March, with Los Angeles and Long Beach already signed up for a handful of buses.
Given its track record, BYD's 2015 U.S. launch is far from a sure thing. It's short-term success is even less certain.
It took decades for Japanese and Korean carmakers to become established on this side of the Pacific, and many European badges haven't been seen here for decades because of U.S. consumers' demanding nature.
If BYD manages to establish a foothold in the U.S., it could be a long time before its cars are genuinely as good as those of established brands.

Cars

Will your car be worth its weight in gold, or just old? Hagerty names tomorrow’s classic cars

jaguar take porsche f type targa ian callum hints yes 2014 coupe

People without souls or money in their bank accounts sometimes think of old cars as investments, and the only way to make money on an investment is to get more out than you put it.
That means buying a car and hoping it appreciates in value. After 25 years, your new-car purchase will officially be an antique. But will it be a classic?
Classic-car insurance giant Hagerty released its annual "Hot List" of future collectibles. Each car is a 2014 model with an MSRP under $100,000 and some quality that Hagerty believes will make it desirable to future collectors.
Just barely making it under the $100,000 price cap were the Jaguar F-Type, BMW M5, and Chevrolet COPO Camaro; Hagerty assumed base prices of $99,000, $92,000, and $90,000, respectively.
The judges deemed the F-Type worthy because of its potent combination of V8 power and a rear-wheel drive, two-seat chassis, while praising the M5's optional manual transmission, which will become a desirable item if manuals ever go extinct.
Original COPO Camaros are auction-block stars, so why shouldn't this reincarnated drag-racing special be too?
Other high-end cars included the Maserati Ghibli S sedan ($75,000) and Alfa Romeo 4C ($54,000), while the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray ($51,000) ended up in the middle of the list, price-wise.
Jaguars, Corvettes, and Maseratis are already expensive, though? Are there any bargain future collectibles out there?
Further down the list was the Nissan 370Z NISMO ($43,000), which Hagerty believes will continue the emerging trend of collectible Japanese cars. Sports cars like the 370Z's ancestor, the 240Z, have taken awhile to gain traction with collectors, but they're becoming more popular every year.
The Dodge Challenger Shaker ($36,995) also made the list, probably because it already looks like the vintage muscle cars that routinely sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction.
At the bottom of the list were the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon ($35,095) and Ford Fiesta ST ($21,400). Both should be plenty of fun to own until it's time to cash in. The Jeep in particular could become highly sought after by collectors in the post-zombie apocalypse era.
What new cars do you think will become future collectibles? Tell us in the comments.