From terrifying brakes to laser beams: how far car tech has come

Car tech

If you can remember being in a car in the 1970s, you'll probably recall it was a clunky, uncomfortable set of wheels, loosely bolted together to help you get from one spot to another - and that's it. It was also the final decade before the 'techification' of cars really took off.

Up until then, cars had been pretty much pure analogue devices, with one bit telling another to make fire to force the whole thing to go. Then the gadgetry began in the 1980s as electronic control units became commonplace, albeit largely restricted to engine ignition management.

In the 90s, cars with computer-controlled and networked components that spoke to each other internally began to appear. But all of that is as nothing compared to the veritable explosion of digital automotive wizardry in the last decade or so.

Today's cars are cloud-connected, semi-autonomous road-going robots packed with touchscreens, sensors and laser beam headlights that can phone home, park themselves and even auto-tweet as you drive along.

Don't believe us that things have changed that much? OK - let's compare...

Contributor

Technology and cars. Increasingly the twain shall meet. Which is handy, because Jeremy (Twitter) is addicted to both. Long-time tech journalist, former editor of iCar magazine and incumbent car guru for T3 magazine, Jeremy reckons in-car technology is about to go thermonuclear. No, not exploding cars. That would be silly. And dangerous. But rather an explosive period of unprecedented innovation. Enjoy the ride.

Latest in Vehicle Tech
Tesla Roadster 2
Tesla is still taking deposits on its long overdue Roadster, despite promising it would arrive in 2020
Citroen 2CV
The retro EV resurgence is in full swing, as Citroen confirms the iconic 2CV will return with batteries
Tesla Model 3 2025
I’ve driven the Tesla Model 3, but Elon Musk is making it hard for us all to love the brand
EV Camping
I went EV camping in a Rivian R1S, and here’s what I learned
Volvo Gaussian Splatting
Volvo is using AI-generated worlds to make its cars safer and it’s all thanks to something called Gaussian splatting
BYD Han L
BYD’s latest electric vehicle platform can add 249-miles of range in just five minutes – your move Tesla!
Latest in News
FiiO FX17 IEMs
Our favorite budget audiophile brand unveils wired earbuds with 26(!) drivers, electrostatic units, USB-C ultra-Hi-Res Audio, and a not-so-budget price
Nvidia RTX 5080 against a yellow TechRadar background
RTX 5080 24GB version teased by MSI - is it time to admit that 16GB isn't enough for 4K?
girl using laptop hoping for good luck with her fingers crossed
Windows 11 24H2 seems to be a massive fail – so Microsoft apparently working on 25H2 fills me with hope... and fear
Code Skull
Interpol operation arrests 300 suspects linked to African cybercrime rings
ChatGPT Advanced Voice mode on a smartphone.
Talking to ChatGPT just got better, and you don’t need to pay to access the new functionality
Insecure network with several red platforms connected through glowing data lines and a black hat hacker symbol
Multiple H3C Magic routers hit by critical severity remote command injection, with no fix in sight