I have some knowledge of cars, especially the ones I drive.  I am NOT however an accomplished mechanic.    I admire and appreciate people who have a certain knack with mechanical items.  I do have some ability with computers and electronics, so I know the joy of just kind of putting your hands on something and having it start to work again.  As I mentioned, that is not my normal experience with cars however.

This morning my 2005 model sedan would not start.   It gave the normal indications of a battery out of charge — clicking from the starter, low light power.    Since the battery is also 5 years old, although I could have tried to jump it from my Wife’s Prius, that battery had served a good long life and deserved to go to recycling with dignity.  So instead I borrowed the Prius (30 minute timer if I was to avoid impacting my Wife’s breakfast meeting), and headed to Pep Boys.

Now, I could have called my local dealer Crest Cadillac and they would have come over and taken care of the whole thing.  I like to be at least minimally self sufficient where I can however.  Pulling the battery out, several blocks over to the auto parts store, turn in old battery, get new battery, and slot it back into the car took under 30 min.  My Wife had her car back in plenty of time for her meeting, and I was off to work more or less still on schedule.

Now it is entirely possible that there is some other issue, say a power short or drain, that cause the problem and it was not just an issue with the old battery.  I am usually an advocate of determining the actual problem and not just throwing parts at an issue.  The proper diagnosis in this case would be to charge up the old battery, and load test it.  If it won’t take or hold a charge, then it is verified bad and needs replacement.  If it will take a charge and hold it under load, then the problem is not in the battery but in some drain.

Realistically however, after 5 years it is a reasonable bet that the battery itself is the problem, and popping in a new unit got me down the road this morning.  If it gives more trouble then it can go to Crest for diagnosis.

Cadillac released a summary of safety innovations in place or on the way.  OnStar and navigation based traffic monitoring and re-routing should also be mentioned as a way to stay on the road and out of trouble.  Adaptive headlights that focus in the direction the wheels are turned so that you can better see where you are turning can also be key to avoiding accidents.

Cadillac has long been an innovator in safety technologies, but the next innovation could really be a quantum leap forward towards a crash-free future. It may sound like sci-fi, but it’s not all that far-fetched.

John Capp, director for Global Active Safety at Cadillac, says future Cadillac technologies could include in-vehicle Doppler radar to spot obstructions or traffic jams ahead. Looking even further out, Capp sees autonomous vehicles that can communicate with each other, traffic signals and buildings, pointing to a world where cars may actually drive themselves.

“We see things moving toward a point in the future where perhaps vehicles won’t crash,” said Capp. “We work on developing advanced safety technologies for Cadillac that alert drivers to potential dangers around them.”

Cadillac is already evolving its technology to come closer to the vision of a crash-proof car. Capp and his team of engineers, inventors and futurists have developed life-saving active safety technologies that are already in place on the 2010 Cadillac DTS Platinum, including:

Lane departure warning – a camera-based lane detection system that warns the driver when he or she leaves their lane without signaling. The camera, mounted near the inside rearview mirror, identifies traffic lane markings and provides audible alerts.

Blind spot alert – twin radar beacons that detect an object in a vehicle’s blind zone and provide a visual warning in the outside side mirror.

Adaptive cruise control – sensors detect objects in a vehicle’s path and slow the vehicle down to avoid a collision.

“We’re evolving those technologies to develop the capability where vehicles will be able to avoid crashes,” Capp said.