The Upgradeable Car: A Software Influenced Future for the Auto Industry

As an automotive blogger that also works in the IT industry, I feel I have a somewhat unique perspective on in-car technology. Whereas a new car may have a three to five year buffer between upgrades and replacement models, for electronic devices such as mobile phones and computers it's more like six to eighteen months.This brings up an interesting conundrum: what to do when the sat nav or

GM Introduces Cell Phone Charging Mats at CES, Production Begins in 2012

Thanks to induction technology, mobile electronic devices, such as phones, can be wirelessly charged, just by placing them on special pads. At the 2011 CES in Las Vegas, General Motors announced plans to introduce the wireless charging technology in many future Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac products, beginning from the second half of 2012. Read more »

2011 CES: OnStar Coming as Aftermarket Product for Non-GM Vehicles

If you're fond of GM's OnStar in-car wireless communication system but don't plan on owning a vehicle from the Detroit automaker, we have some good news for you. At the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, General Motors announced that it will begin selling the safety, security and connectivity service for non-GM and older GM vehicles already on the road. Read more »

Ford Releases List with the Top 10 Ways Our Cars Changed Over the Past Decade

The first decade of the new millennia brought an unprecedented amount of change to the automotive industry. While ten years ago having cupholders in the cabin was a big thing, today fast mobile communications, fuel efficient engines and complicated active safety features are just some of the technologies that have made their way into cars. “Cars have become more like brains on wheels”, said

Is the Pikes Peak Rally Course Making a Comeback to Gran Turismo 5?

A post on the official Red Bull blog has set the GTPlanet forum on fire, as it features a discussion with rally driver and drifting star, Rhys Millen, about the best way to take on the Pikes Peak rally course in the recently released Playstation 3 exclusive, Gran Turismo 5. While that doesn’t sound like a capital sin, the only problem is that Pikes Peak is not on GT5’s track list and hasn’t been

Nissan's Leaf has Game-like Infotainment Screen so you can Beat your Friends at Saving the Environment

Nissan wants drivers of its new Leaf - which didn't seem to take as much time or PR mumbo-jumbo to reach the pavement as Chevy's Volt - to know everything there is to know about their cars and the trips being made in them. In Nissan's case, trip transparency is provided by a handy-dandy system called CARWING. The program gives drivers a bucket o'information ranging from travel time to

Gran Turismo 5 Competition Offers European Gamers the Chance to win a Real-Life Mercedes SLS AMG

On Monday, December 27, the Signature Edition Challenge for Playstation 3 went live, offering European gamers the chance to win a brand-new, real-life Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG worth €180,000. In order to participate, owners of the Signature Edition game pack will need to redeem their voucher code via the Playstation Store and register their details on gran-turismo.com. The challenge takes place in

Aston Martin Launches New Apple App, Includes Virtual Accelerometer and More

It seems like every automaker is jumping on the Apple App-wagon these days and Aston Martin is no exception. The British firm today announced the availability of its new iPhone and iPod Touch app, the Aston Martin Explore, which comes with a variety of goodies including an acoustically accurate accelerometer and real life content, such as sounds from the entire current model line-up being driven

Video: Audi R8 Blackbird Puts KITT to Shame

Bearing the codename “Blackbird”, this souped up Audi R8 has more gadgets than Battlestar Galactica. Among other things, the blacked out German supercar gets four GPS units, a police scanner, a kill switch for the rear lights, two radar detectors, a CB radio, high-speed Internet with Wi-Fi running on a laptop, a remote-controlled exhaust bypass valve and the best of all, the so-called “

Video: Audi R8 Blackbird Puts KITT to Shame

Bearing the codename “Blackbird”, this souped up Audi R8 has more gadgets than Battlestar Galactica. Among other things, the blacked out German supercar gets four GPS units, a police scanner, a kill switch for the rear lights, two radar detectors, a CB radio, high-speed Internet with Wi-Fi running on a laptop, a remote-controlled exhaust bypass valve and the best of all, the so-called “

Chevrolet UK’s Mobile Punch & Judy Puppet Show

Chevrolet decided to take the British beaches this summer with yet another bizarre promotional tour, this time with the world’s first in-car Punch & Judy theatre. Punch and Judy is a traditional, English puppet show featuring the characters of Punch and his wife Judy. According to Chevy, one in three children (37 per cent) says that they have never experienced the once popular show so the

Chevrolet UK’s Mobile Punch & Judy Puppet Show

Chevrolet decided to take the British beaches this summer with yet another bizarre promotional tour, this time with the world’s first in-car Punch & Judy theatre. Punch and Judy is a traditional, English puppet show featuring the characters of Punch and his wife Judy. According to Chevy, one in three children (37 per cent) says that they have never experienced the once popular show so the

Yacht Designers Create Exclusive Range Rovers Priced up to $1.2 Million!

Edmiston, a luxury yacht brokerage and sales company has joined forces with Land Rover to create a program that will see top yacht designers crafting one-off-a-kind Range Rovers inspired from the world of luxury yachts. The two companies will kick off the program with the “Superyacht Range Rover Design Competition” in which seven top yacht designers took part, including Bannenberg, Tim Heywood,

Yacht Designers Create Exclusive Range Rovers Priced up to $1.2 Million!

Edmiston, a luxury yacht brokerage and sales company has joined forces with Land Rover to create a program that will see top yacht designers crafting one-off-a-kind Range Rovers inspired from the world of luxury yachts. The two companies will kick off the program with the “Superyacht Range Rover Design Competition” in which seven top yacht designers took part, including Bannenberg, Tim Heywood,

Amazing: Home-Made Batmobile Tumbler Replica!

Believe it or not, this staggering working replica of Batman’s current generation Batmobile Tumbler (see video here) was built from scratch in a house garage by Bob Dullam. Even more impressive is the fact that Dullam, who makes specialty costumes, props, and statues for a living, created the Tumbler without the use of blueprints as the only references he had were photos of the car that he

Amazing: Home-Made Batmobile Tumbler Replica!

Believe it or not, this staggering working replica of Batman’s current generation Batmobile Tumbler (see video here) was built from scratch in a house garage by Bob Dullam. Even more impressive is the fact that Dullam, who makes specialty costumes, props, and statues for a living, created the Tumbler without the use of blueprints as the only references he had were photos of the car that he

Lotus to Develop "OMNIVORE" Bio-Fuel Research Engine

Lotus has announced plans to develop a bio-fuel research engine dubbed “OMNIVORE” that will achieve a high thermal efficiency when fuelled on any alcohols or gasoline. The British sports carmaker won’t be alone in this project as Queen’s University of Belfast’s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering will be adding its expertise in engine simulation while Jaguar Cars will act as a

Lotus to Develop "OMNIVORE" Bio-Fuel Research Engine

Lotus has announced plans to develop a bio-fuel research engine dubbed “OMNIVORE” that will achieve a high thermal efficiency when fuelled on any alcohols or gasoline. The British sports carmaker won’t be alone in this project as Queen’s University of Belfast’s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering will be adding its expertise in engine simulation while Jaguar Cars will act as a

MINI Clubman Tricycle at Beijing Olympic Games

When we first saw these pictures of the MINI Clubman tricycle over at our Spanish pals at Motorpasion, our initial thought was that some witty individual found a way to lure tourists that have flocked China’s capital for the 2008 Olympic Games. Turns out though that credits have to go to MINI as the British automaker created this unique “clubman-cycle” for promotional reasons just as they did

MINI Clubman Tricycle at Beijing Olympic Games

When we first saw these pictures of the MINI Clubman tricycle over at our Spanish pals at Motorpasion, our initial thought was that some witty individual found a way to lure tourists that have flocked China’s capital for the 2008 Olympic Games. Turns out though that credits have to go to MINI as the British automaker created this unique “clubman-cycle” for promotional reasons just as they did