Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[EasyDrift: For when you absolutely, positively don't want traction]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2012/12/17/easydrift-for-when-you-absolutely-positively-dont-want-tracti/http://www.autoblog.com/2012/12/17/easydrift-for-when-you-absolutely-positively-dont-want-tracti/http://www.autoblog.com/2012/12/17/easydrift-for-when-you-absolutely-positively-dont-want-tracti/#commentsFiled under: ,



Short of driving your tires bald, purposely reducing vehicle traction - say, for driver training purposes - usually involves affixing an expensive outrigger system to lift the car off the ground or buying a dedicated skid car. The three-year-old Easy Drift Driver Training System, on the other hand, changes all of that.

Invented by a former racing driver and used mostly for police training (at the moment), Easy Drift DTS consists of a pair of rings fashioned of some sort of hard, slippery plastic that are placed over the rear tires. Installation requires removing the rear wheels and deflating the tires, slipping the rings on and then voila, a whole bunch of your grip out back has disappeared. Easy Drift says the whole process can be done in three minutes.

Check out the videos below to see how it works; the first is installation, the next two are what you can do when they're on. Driver training could get a lot more fun for all of us.

Continue reading EasyDrift: For when you absolutely, positively don't want traction

EasyDrift: For when you absolutely, positively don't want traction originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 17 Dec 2012 10:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>driftingdriver trainingdriver training systemeasy drifteasy drift dtsvideovideosyoutubeMon, 17 Dec 2012 10:31:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/20401544/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2012/12/17/easydrift-for-when-you-absolutely-positively-dont-want-tracti/20401544/article-detail.xml 20401544 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/12/easy-driftrings_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/12/easy-driftrings.jpg <![CDATA[Mercedes-Benz to launch teen driving school]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/25/mercedes-benz-to-launch-teen-driving-school/http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/25/mercedes-benz-to-launch-teen-driving-school/http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/25/mercedes-benz-to-launch-teen-driving-school/#commentsFiled under: ,

AMG Driving Academy
AMG Driving Academy - Presumably not the cars your teenager will be driving

"Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes-Benz". Janice Joplin's words may seem entertaining to some, but strikingly familiar to anyone who's gone through the ordeal of ushering their teenager into the world of driving. While most parents wouldn't consider buying their teen a Mercedes as a first car - at least, not a new one - the automaker is offering the next best thing. And in many ways, it's even better.

Armed with statistics of teenage driving accidents and the success of a similar program in the UK, Mercedes-Benz USA is preparing to launch its own teen driving school right here in the United States. The program is aimed at turning new drivers into safer drivers through an advanced curriculum that goes over and above what's mandated by the state in order to fulfill the basic requirements for a driver's license. Going even further, the Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy is negotiating with local DMVs across the country over integrating its program with the existing mandatory process to create an all-encompassing program.

If it achieves the same goals as it has in the UK, opening an advanced driving school for teens in America strikes us as one of the best safety features Mercedes-Benz has come up with yet. For the company that pioneered ABS brakes, crumple zones, stability control, brake assist and traction control, that's no mean feat. Details in the press release after the jump.

[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

Continue reading Mercedes-Benz to launch teen driving school

Mercedes-Benz to launch teen driving school originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 08:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>advanced driver trainingdriver trainingdrivingmercedes-benzmercedes-benz driving academyteenage drivingFri, 25 Mar 2011 08:28:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/19890390/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2011/03/25/mercedes-benz-to-launch-teen-driving-school/19890390/article-detail.xml 19890390 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/03/web630-amg-academy_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/03/web630-amg-academy.jpg <![CDATA[BMW teaches evasive driving techniques at Cold War air base]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2011/01/27/video-bmw-teaches-evasive-driving-techniques-at-a-cold-war-air/http://www.autoblog.com/2011/01/27/video-bmw-teaches-evasive-driving-techniques-at-a-cold-war-air/http://www.autoblog.com/2011/01/27/video-bmw-teaches-evasive-driving-techniques-at-a-cold-war-air/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

BMW Security Driving
Click above to watch the video after the jump

It's not without reason that BMWs are among the top choices for high-security personnel transport. BMW Security vehicles - armor-reinforced versions of the standard roadcars we see on the road every day - are known to be both secure and responsive to quick, often life-saving maneuvers. But what good would these vehicles be if their drivers didn't know how to handle them properly?

That's why BMW has a security vehicle training facility in East Germany. Built on the grounds of what was once the largest Cold War air base in Europe, the center is run by advanced driving instructor Klaus Heimerl, who shows chauffeurs and security personnel how to evade any number of potentially threatening situations, from ambushes to roadside bombs.

Of course, BMW isn't the only automaker offering armor-reinforced versions of its vehicles. Nor is it the only company offering this kind of evasive - and potentially life-saving - driving instruction. And while this level of protection might not factor into the daily driving routines of most drivers in the United States, for many drivers in many countries, it could make all the difference between life and death in scenarios that arise on a near-daily basis.

Continue reading...

Continue reading BMW teaches evasive driving techniques at Cold War air base

BMW teaches evasive driving techniques at Cold War air base originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 12:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>armorarmoredarmored limoarmored limousinesarmored vehiclesbmwbmw securitydefensive drivingdriver trainingevasive drivingprotective servicessecret servicesecurityvideoThu, 27 Jan 2011 12:57:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/19817691/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2011/01/27/video-bmw-teaches-evasive-driving-techniques-at-a-cold-war-air/19817691/article-detail.xml 19817691 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/01/bmw-security-training_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/01/bmw-security-training.jpg <![CDATA[Government seen backing graduated drivers licenses]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/28/government-seen-backing-graduated-drivers-licenses/http://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/28/government-seen-backing-graduated-drivers-licenses/http://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/28/government-seen-backing-graduated-drivers-licenses/#commentsFiled under: ,

McLovinGetting your driver's license can be a tremendous event. It signifies a new-found level of freedom and a chance to go out and explore more of the surrounding world. The privilege of being licensed to drive a car is a wonderful thing, yet not everyone thinks of it that way. A teenager with a learner's permit is eager to make the jump to a full license - even if they might not be totally ready to carry that piece of plastic in their wallet or purse. A bill introduced in the spring of 2009 would make the learning process a bit longer by mandating graduated license programs.

Backed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a graduated license program would require a driver to go through three stages of licensing: learner's permit, intermediate license and full driver's license. The bill also proposes that the legal age to obtain a learner's permit be set at 16, as well as no unsupervised night driving until the driver is 18 years old. All states currently have some form of a graduated program in place, with the exception of North Dakota. This bill would help create harmony amongst the states with regards to age and term limits as some states are more lax than others.

For example, the state of Michigan allows drivers to begin the learner's permit process at just 14 years and eight months of age. Michigan drivers can then graduate to a full license by the age of 17. Is that too young? Perhaps, but it's hard to lump every 17 year old driver into one "you're-too-young-to-know-anything" driving group. Statistics do show that teenage drivers have higher crash rates compared to their older peers.

Perhaps a few more years in a better-thought-out licensing program can help bring that number down?

[Source: The Detroit News | Image: eBaum's World]

Continue reading Government seen backing graduated drivers licenses

Government seen backing graduated drivers licenses originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 28 Sep 2010 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>driver trainingDrivers Educationdrivers licensegraduated licensinglicensemichiganNational Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationNHTSATue, 28 Sep 2010 16:29:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/19652195/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2010/09/28/government-seen-backing-graduated-drivers-licenses/19652195/article-detail.xml 19652195 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/05/mclovin_license_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/05/mclovin_license.jpg <![CDATA[Take A Cab: South Korean woman fails driving test... 771 times]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/02/06/south-korean-woman-fails-driving-test-771-times/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/02/06/south-korean-woman-fails-driving-test-771-times/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/02/06/south-korean-woman-fails-driving-test-771-times/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,



Most people pass the driving exam on the first try, with a select few failing once or twice before finally getting it right. In South Korea, one woman has been trying to pass the written test since 2005 and has yet to pass. In all, the 68 year-old woman, known only as Cha, has failed the exam 771 times. Okay, so you're thinking that South Korea has some wicked-hard test that takes a MENSA certificate to pass. Probably not. Actually, you only need a 60% to pass, and Cha typically lands in the 30-50% range. Unfortunately, the test isn't cheap, either. Each and every failure costs Cha 6,000 won, which equals about $4.69 in U.S. funds. That doesn't sound like much, but spread over 771 failures, we're talking about $3,600. Cha is hoping to get a car to help her business. She sells food and household items door to door.

Well, Cha, we're pulling for you and we don't want you to give up. And we're proud of you for not cheating, too. We hear some people cheat by writing answers on their arms or hooking up their Bluetooth and getting answers from someone on the other end of the line. That would be wrong. But seriously, Cha... what's wrong with taking taxis?

[Source: Yahoo | Image: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty]

Take A Cab: South Korean woman fails driving test... 771 times originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Feb 2009 20:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>771 driving tests771DrivingTestsdriver trainingDriverTrainingsouth koreaSouthKoreaFri, 06 Feb 2009 20:28:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/1450853/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2009/02/06/south-korean-woman-fails-driving-test-771-times/1450853/article-detail.xml 1450853 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/02/korean-taxis-getty-chung-sung-jun-580_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/02/korean-taxis-getty-chung-sung-jun-580.jpg <![CDATA[Caparo touts safety features of T1, mandatory driver's ed. for owners]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/14/caparo-touts-safety-features-of-t1-mandatory-drivers-ed-for-o/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/14/caparo-touts-safety-features-of-t1-mandatory-drivers-ed-for-o/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/14/caparo-touts-safety-features-of-t1-mandatory-drivers-ed-for-o/#commentsFiled under: ,

The recent spate of negative press hampering the Caparo T1 hasn't stopped the makers of the clichéd "road-going racecar" from releasing a host of details outlining the finer points of the T1's safety systems.

While the press release after the jump goes into detail about the Caparo's lightweight, yet extremely rigid, carbon fiber composite tub and energy-absorbing snout, and regurgitates all the impressive details and stats surrounding the AP-sourced braking setup that hauls down the 1,256-pound street-legal F1 car from 100 mph in under three seconds, it's the last bit about driver training that caught our attention.

It seems that all owners of the Caparo T1 are required to attend a training course that allows them to experience the vehicle's dynamic pleasures on a closed track. If the T1 is to be driven on the street - something that's legal in the UK, but not highly advised - owners will embark on a separate course that gives them the ins and outs of driving a vehicle with such high limits on public roads.

Caparo is touting the T1 as "one of the world's safest ultra-performance vehicles," although we'd probably ask Jason Plato's opinion first if we had the means of acquiring one.

[Source: Caparo]

Continue reading Caparo touts safety features of T1, mandatory driver's ed. for owners

Caparo touts safety features of T1, mandatory driver's ed. for owners originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 14 Dec 2007 16:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>apap brakesApBrakesbrakescaparocaparo brakescaparo t1CaparoBrakesCaparoT1driver educationdriver trainingDriverEducationdrivers educationDriversEducationDriverTrainingsafetyt1Fri, 14 Dec 2007 16:56:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/1063039/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2007/12/14/caparo-touts-safety-features-of-t1-mandatory-drivers-ed-for-o/1063039/article-detail.xml 1063039 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/12/131207-b-cap-250-op_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/12/131207-b-cap-250-op.jpg <![CDATA[F1 champ Nelson Piquet loses drivers license]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/02/f1-champ-nelson-piquet-loses-drivers-license/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/02/f1-champ-nelson-piquet-loses-drivers-license/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/02/f1-champ-nelson-piquet-loses-drivers-license/#commentsFiled under: , ,

The question of the day is, "If you're tasked with teaching a three-time Formula One champ to drive, what's the curriculum?" Some instructor in Brazil will be forced to answer that very query when he gets Nelson Piquet behind the wheel for a refresher on the rules of the road.

Piquet, who's racked up quite a collection of speeding offenses and parking tickets, is being forced by a Brazilian judge to go back to school for 30 hours over the course of eight days, after which he'll be required to re-take the driving test.

The 54-year old F1 wiz seemed rather jovial when asked to comment on the matter, simply saying that, "I think we have to pay for our mistakes." We're more than interested to see how it turns out, and we'd expect his instructor to come away with a host of intriguing stories and maybe a few new skills of his own.

[Source: Yahoo! News]

F1 champ Nelson Piquet loses drivers license originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 02 Aug 2007 07:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>driver educationdriver trainingDriverEducationDriverTrainingf1formula 1formula oneFormula1FormulaOnenelson piquetNelsonPiquetparkingspeedingticketsThu, 02 Aug 2007 07:34:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/955497/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2007/08/02/f1-champ-nelson-piquet-loses-drivers-license/955497/article-detail.xml 955497 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/08/piq1_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/08/piq1.jpg <![CDATA[VIDEO: Ford's Driving Skills for Life takes drivers' ed to the web]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/31/video-fords-driving-skills-for-life-takes-drivers-ed-to-the-w/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/31/video-fords-driving-skills-for-life-takes-drivers-ed-to-the-w/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/05/31/video-fords-driving-skills-for-life-takes-drivers-ed-to-the-w/#commentsFiled under: , , ,



Ford launched its Driving Skills For Life website a few months back, and as far as a resource for new drivers and their white-knuckled parents, its a worthy effort. Sure, the kitsch level is a bit high and some of the modules could be improved, but any attempt by an automaker to focus on driver safety and highlight the number one killer of teens gets a gold star in our book.

Along with some games, a car care clinic and some fuel conservation tips, Ford produced a series of videos hosted by a variety of professional instructors and racers to tackle some of the basic skills that new drivers face when they hit the road. All ten of these video tips are posted after the jump and are worth a watch as a quick primer for the up-and-coming motorist in your life. They may even teach some of the more battle-hardened among us a thing or two.

[Source: Driving Skills For Life, YouTube]

Continue reading VIDEO: Ford's Driving Skills for Life takes drivers' ed to the web

VIDEO: Ford's Driving Skills for Life takes drivers' ed to the web originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 31 May 2007 18:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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