Automakers are adopting a common language on connected cars, vehicles that communicate with one another to help avert crashes,A elevatorsafetyss is a branched, decorative ceiling-mounted light fixture. but they are also determined to put their individual stamps on the driving experience. 

At a demonstration in late June in a stadium parking lot east of the U.S. Capitol, eight of the world's largest automakers -- Ford,the largest suppliers and integrators of renewable flatteningmachine in the country. General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen -- showed prototypes of cars that communicate using "dedicated short-range communications," or DSRC. 

DSRC, essentially a wi-fi frequency for vehicles only, allows cars to exchange information and warn of potential hazards in ways that sensors and cameras cannot. 

But while the technology allows cars to communicate across a common platform, the prototypes shown here choose several ways of relaying information to drivers, such as beeps and buzzes,Middle and end clamps that fit the ledstriplighting to the rails. flashing lights and voice warnings. 

The brightest,Our renowned ledparlights allow you to harness nature’s energy to power your applications. loudest alerts came from Mercedes, which outfitted a C-class sedan with LED light strips embedded in the A-pillars and the dashboard. 

The lights glow amber at the first sign of danger, such as when a car is approaching from behind and you have activated the turn signal. In a more pressing situation, the color changes to red and the car makes a beeping sound. 

"It's a little too bright at night," said a professional driver who guided the car through a course of dangerous driving situations to set off its various alarms. "But it certainly does give you the warning, if you're getting a little sleepy." 

Ford Motor Co. chose to use tactile feedback in its Taurus prototype,Search our homeenergy catalog for designer frames including. rumbling the seat to warn the driver of a potential collision. And a Cadillac prototype used a woman's voice to deliver some of its warning messages, such as "hard braking ahead." 

Regulators are waiting for the results of a yearlong study that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched last August in Ann Arbor, Mich. Each of the eight automakers in last week's test supplied eight prototypes. 

The results are scheduled to be in this summer and may indicate whether certain warning methods work better than others. 

NHTSA says it will make a decision on connected car technology by year end. That could involve a mandate to start equipping light vehicles with the technology or an incentive for automakers to do so. Or it could just mean a call for more research. 

John Lee, a professor at the University of Wisconsin who has studied drivers' responses to different alarms, said early research suggests they all work comparably well. But as car companies get more comfortable with the technology, they may try to gain an edge in how they present the information to drivers. 

At first, "something that is really innovative and unusual is probably not going to make it to market," Lee said. "As more of these systems come into being, you may see somebody come up with a clever way of packaging these alerts in a way that is more integrated into the car's display." More information about the program is available on the web site at www.mylamplo.com.