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Couple fined for parking Ford F-150 in their own driveway

A homeowners' association in New York is suing two of its residents for parking their pickup truck in their own driveway. David and Arna Orlando of Manlius, NY, are facing a lawsuit from the Kimry Moor Homeowners Association for parking their black 2014 Ford F-150 pickup in their own driveway. The Orlandos own their home, but common areas such as their driveway are managed by their HOA, which limits what vehicles can park in the open. They only allow "private, passenger-type, pleasure automobiles" to park outside of a garage. David Orlando says his pickup is a personal passenger vehicle and that the rule is silly. He also feels he is being unfairly targeted. A Syracuse.com reporter drove around the Orlandos' neighborhood and saw another fullsize pickup parked in another driveway, along with a large van and SUV. The Orlandos said in court documents that the pickup is registered as a private vehicle and neither of them have commercial drivers' licenses. The lawsuit was filed in August 2013 and is still in the discovery phase. Depositions are up next. New York seems to have gone power-mad when it comes to regulating common driveway activities. In a Garden City, NY, neighborhood last year police were called when two men began washing a new Volkswagen "in public view", which was against a local ordinance. Related Video: News Source: Syracuse.com Weird Car News Ford Videos hoa parking fines

Ford Recalls '13 Escape For 11th Time

Only in dealer showrooms for two years now, the 2013 Ford Escape has already been recalled for safety hazards 11 times. The most recent recall for the beleaguered vehicle came Friday, when the company announced it was recalling almost 160,000 Escapes and Focus ST hatchbacks from the '13 and '14 model years because of a wiring problem that could cause the engine to stall. Caused by a faulty wiring harness, Ford said the defect could result in reduced power, hesitation or outright stalling. The company said it knew of no crashes or injuries caused by the flaw. Customers affected will be notified by mail. It was the latest problem for a vehicle beset by recalls from the moment it started rolling off the assembly lines. Starting on July 6, 2012, the '13 Escapes have been recalled for an assortment of problems, including multiple hazards with fuel lines that could result in engine fires, fluid leaks in the engine that could also result in fires, problems with engines overheating, delays in airbags deploying and more. Ford

The next-generation wearable will be your car

This year's CES has had a heavy emphasis on the class of device known as the "wearable" – think about the Apple Watch, or Fitbit, if that's helpful. These devices usually piggyback off of a smartphone's hardware or some other data connection and utilize various onboard sensors and feedback devices to interact with the wearer. In the case of the Fitbit, it's health tracking through sensors that monitor your pulse and movement; for the Apple Watch and similar devices, it's all that and some more. Manufacturers seem to be developing a consensus that vehicles should be taking on some of a wearable's functionality. As evidenced by Volvo's newly announced tie-up with the Microsoft Band 2 fitness tracking wearable, car manufacturers are starting to explore how wearable devices will help drivers. The On Call app brings voice commands, spoken into the Band 2, into the mix. It'll allow you to pass an address from your smartphone's agenda right to your Volvo's nav system, or to preheat your car. Eventually, Volvo would like your car to learn things about your routines, and communicate back to you – or even, improvise to help you wake up earlier to avoid that traffic that might make you late. Do you need to buy a device, like the $249 Band 2, and always wear it to have these sorts of interactions with your car? Despite the emphasis on wearables, CES 2016 has also given us a glimmer of a vehicle future that cuts out the wearable middleman entirely. Take Audi's new Fit Driver project. The goal is to reduce driver stress levels, prevent driver fatigue, and provide a relaxing interior environment by adjusting cabin elements like seat massage, climate control, and even the interior lighting. While it focuses on a wearable device to monitor heart rate and skin temperature, the Audi itself will use on-board sensors to examine driving style and breathing rate as well as external conditions – the weather, traffic, that sort of thing. Could the seats measure skin temperature? Could the seatbelt measure heart rate? Seems like Audi might not need the wearable at all – the car's already doing most of the work. Whether there's a device on a driver's wrist or not, manufacturers seem to be developing a consensus that vehicles should be taking on some of a wearable's functionality.