With all the debate over distracted driving -- especially around text messaging while behind the wheel -- Ford has used its upcoming iterations of MyFord Touch and MyLincoln Touch to take a step toward helping drivers curb the behavior.

Rather than a text-to-speech application, plans for and examples of which are quite common, Ford is taking the extra step of allowing drivers to use a "do not disturb" button, which blocks incoming calls and text messages. The system then stores the messages -- voice and text alike -- on the phone, to be retrieved later. For both MyFord Touch and MyLincoln Touch, the driver can still make outgoing calls while the "do not disturb" function is active.

 

The 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed started with a bang--and a bent Jaguar E-Type. But by the end of the weekend, the festival was being acclaimed by both fans and participants as one of the most successful runnings of the annual event so far.

As always, the festival took place at the house and grounds of Lord March's sizeable estate in West Sussex, England, being extended to four days this year by the addition of a new “Moving Motorshow.” This is clearly intended to become a regular fixture and a replacement for Britain's cancelled “International” motor show. It gave the weekend its only major drama when a driver piloting a Honda Civic Type R into the motorshow paddock blacked out, crashing into an immaculate early E-Type on the Jaguar stand and then out of a window. Four people were injured, none seriously, but the incident raised questions about allowing cars and spectators to mix quite so freely.

 

We all know better than to lock a child in a vehicle unsupervised. No matter what time of year, a car can be a dangerous place for a child of any age, but during the summer months, stifling heat can make a vehicle’s cabin a tragedy waiting to happen. According to an Associated Press article, eight children have died of hyperthermia since June, bringing this year’s total to 18. Tragically, that number marks a record for summer months, though not all of the deaths have been the result of neglectful parents.  

Yep, love 'em or hate 'em -- we're definitely in the former category -- the once glorious, then neglected, now possibly resurgent station wagon has been a hot topic of late. First, Lawrence Ulrich declared that, like the Cadillac CTS-V wagon, the wagon version of the Mercedes E 350 outdelivers its sedan counterpart (he also revealed a deep-seated love for the segment among many auto journalists). Shortly thereafter, James Tate heralded the wagon's comeback, with Volvo's upcoming V60 leading the way. Me? I take every opportunity I can to declare my love for an older Volvo version: the 240 Turbo wagon.

Wagons have also been on the minds of the editors over at Wired's "Autopia" blog, to the point where they've dedicated some time to compiling a list of the 12 best wagons from past to present. We'll let you head over to their article to get the full pictorial rundown with their commentary, but here's a list of what made the cut. And, yes, my beloved Volvo 240 Turbo made the list, though it's not pictured in its most glorious navy blue hue -- shame. 

When we think about bad stuff coming out of a car's tailpipe, much of the blame -- and legislation -- is leveled at carbon emissions. But nitrogen oxides are another component, and when they mix with water in the atmosphere you're left with, among other things, nitric acid -- a major component of acid rain. Not only that, but sunlight acts on nitrogen dioxide to create ozone and contribute to smog, which can lead to respiratory problems in high enough concentrations.

Besides the air itself, the road surface on which we drive is typically the closest thing, physically speaking, to tailpipe emissions, which led researchers from the Netherlands' Eindhoven University of Technology to resurface 1,000 square meters of busy road with special air-purifying concrete paving stones. Another section was paved with regular stones. 

Dodge and Mopar are teaming to create a limited-edition Challenger for 2010 that wears triple black with popping blue stripes and has a goosed Hemi under the hood.

The Mopar Challenger will be revealed later this month at the Chrysler museum near Detroit and at the NHRA’s Mile-High Nationals in Colorado, but pictures were released and specs were announced on Wednesday.

 

When even hip Parisians and jaded New Yorkers go wild over a car, you know you’re onto something. For Jaguar, that car is the XJ, and it combines stately and sexy like few big sedans I’ve driven in recent years.

 

I first drove the XJ in and around Paris, where the brainchild of Ian Callum -- the man who brought us notable rides like the Aston Martin DB9 -- drew nonstop admiration from France’s normally cool, cigarette-wielding fashionistas. The story was the same in New York last week, where the long-wheelbase XJ I tested -- it was painted black and looked so brilliant that Jaguar shouldn’t even bother with other colors -- won over nearly everyone who saw it or sat in it.

 

Jaguar has been selling the XJ since 1968, and its conservative, coach-built look made it a luxury icon. But the car slowly slid into irrelevancy, and Jaguar’s notoriously poor reliability didn’t help. The XJ’s styling, as traditional and immune to change as Buckingham Palace, made it the stodgiest car in a land-yacht segment that includes the Mercedes S-Class, BMW 7-Series, Lexus LS and the Audi A8. (I don't count the Cadillac DTS, whose mausoleum-resident status and front-wheel drive don't put it in the class of top-shelf luxury cars.)

 

If you've ever been on a road trip with some buddies, you know that people have different tolerances for driving. Some can spend a day behind the wheel without getting tired; some have a threshold of just a few hours.

But what if putting some distance between you and your front door was the difference between saving hundreds of dollars on your next car, and not saving?

That's the impetus behind Consumer Reports' new survey, collected from more than 1,700 interviews with members of households owning at least one car. That is, the Internet makes a more wide-ranging and easily comparable search for auto deals possible, but you still have to pick the thing up. So how far would people go to get the best deal?