Pub. 1 2012 Issue 2

12 San Diego Dealer pushbutton gear selector. Replacing the shift lever, this technology uses buttons to engage park, neutral, reverse and forward gears. Along these same lines, the 2013 Ram 1500 full-size pickup truck offers a dial-in gear selector instead of a shift lever. The 2013 Cadillac XTS full-size luxury sedan places accident avoidance literally in the driver’s seat with its new Safety Alert Seat that engages pulse patterns on the left or right side of the cushion. If the car begins to drift beyond highway markers or gets too close to other vehicles or obstacles while parking, vibrations on both sides of the cushion alert the driver. The system works in tandem with other visual alerts to focus the driver’s attention to the direction of impending hazards. Distracted driving is amajor concern due to the use of hand-helddevices while driving. One attempt tomitigate these issues is Nissan’s Hands-Free Text Messaging Assistant as part of the new NissanConnect smartphone connectivity system in the 2013 Altima.The systemwill read text messages aloud to users and enable them to respond, either by voice command or via a steering wheel-mounted button that sends a preset text like “driving, can’t text,”“on my way” or “running late.”Another feature in the new Altima are zero-gravity seats. Designed based on posture research from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the new seats utilize a unique articulated seat shape with continuous support from the pelvis to the chest. The object of these redesigned seats is to reduce muscular and spinal loads, and improve blood flow, thus reducing fatigue. Mercedes-Benz 2013 SL-Class hardtop roadster provides drivers with what it calls Magic Vision Control which squirts washer fluid onto the windshield via channels embedded into thewiper blade in both directions of travel to avoid over-splash. The wiper blades and the washer fluid are heated in cold temperatures to help prevent ice and snow from forming on the windshield. Another new feature in this vehicle allows live Web browsingwhile the vehicle is stationary and access to apps such as Google Local Search, Yelp and Facebook. This vehicle also assists drivers with a hands-free opening and closing the trunk. The new Dodge Dart compact sedan can be fitted with a dealer- installed Wi-Fi hot spot that allows users to connect electronic devices to the Internet from as far as 150 feet away from the vehicle. Additionally, another dealer-installed accessory is a new inductive wireless charging system, which allows the driver to simply set electronic devices in a specified charging zone without having to plug them in. The 2013Cadillac XTS andATS luxury sedans also feature advanced media control systems. Both featureaneight-inchcolor LCDdisplay with multi-touch proximity sensing, gesture recognition and natural voice recognition operation. Subaru 2013 models include an interactive platform called Aha which allows drivers to interactwithweb-basedcontent through their vehicles’radios.The Subaru Legacy sedan andOutback wagon’s new EyeSight safety system includes lane departure warning and collision mitigation systems and will alert a driver stopped in traffic when the vehicle ahead has moved if he or she doesn’t react within several seconds. One of the best ways to bringAuto Showattendees fromthe conventioncenter intodealership showrooms are ride anddrive opportunities. Each year, the number of participatingbrands has increased since theNewCar CONT I NUED FROM PAGE 11 LX 570; Mercedes-Benz GLK Class, E Class, SL Class and GL Class; Cadillac SRX; Buick Enclave; Porsche Cayenne and Boxter; BMW X6; Audi S6 and S8; and Toyota Land Cruiser and Venza. Not only domany of the 2013 model vehicles look new on the outside, the new technology features on the inside are some of themost fascinating advancements in decades. The 2013 Infiniti JX35 luxury crossover SUV has one of the most advancedwarning systems available. Its Around-ViewMonitor withMoving Object Detection shows both a 360-degree image of the area outside the vehicle and delivers visual and audible warnings if the system senses moving objects crossing within the front or rear views when pulling out of a parking space or backing up. A new Backup Collision Intervention System can automatically engage the brakes to help avoid a collision with vehicles and objects crossing its path while in reverse gear that the driver doesn’t see or react to quickly enough. Several redesigned General Motors vehicles include the industry’s first center-mounted airbag.The tubular-shaped restraint deploys between the front seats helpprotect the driver from injury in collisions on the passenger’s side when he or she is the only occupant. It’s also expected to provide additional protection to thedriver and front passenger ina side-impact crash and help deliver additional safety benefits in rollover situations. One of the more innovative yet practical technology advancements is the hands-free liftgate. The 2013 Ford Escape allows drivers to engage the available power-operated liftgate bymoving one’s foot under the rear bumper (provided the car’s keyfob is in a pocket or purse). Similar to what some vehicles used in the early 1960s but with an updated technology twist, the 2013 Lincoln MKX brings back the