Technology


Quieter Spirit: Rolls reportedly planning hybrid Ghost for 15% better economy

If you've been pondering getting on the list for a Rolls-Royce Ghost but you're hesitant because of the negative environmental impact (and social standing) of the big, beautiful boat's V12 engine, we've got good news for you. British site Autocar is reporting that a hybrid version of the Ghost is in the works. It's rumored to be based off the mild hybrid system of the BMW ActiveHybrid 7, which makes sense considering that the two luxury sleds utilize the same platform. The nearly 18-foot long Ghost will likely still sport a 6.2-liter V12, ... Read more →

SEMA 2009: Rev for iPhone reaches 2.0, includes data-logging [w/ VIDEO] Damon Lavrinc

Since there are approximately one trillion iPhones in the world and about ten-times as many apps, it's not hard to find a program to suit your needs. But in the automotive sphere, there aren't ...

Latest auto iPhone app: Augmented reality parked car finder Chris Shunk

About a dozen years ago, this blogger drove his father's Buick Regal Gran Sport Coupe to a Pink Floyd concert at the 80,000-seat Pontiac Silverdome. After the concert was over, said blogger spent two ...

BMW slashes price of satellite radio by 41 percent, others to follow? Chris Shunk

BMW has substantially cut the price of its Sirius Satellite Radio factory option from $595 to $350 on select 2010 vehicles (excludes 5 Series, 6 Series and X3) while also adding functionality. ...

SEMA 2009: Progressive Automotive X-Prize Contenders Frank Filipponio

For those of you who follow our sister site AutoblogGreen regularly, you're very familiar with the Automotive X-Prize, the $10m challenge to produce viable and super fuel-efficient vehicles. For ...

VIDEO: Audi in on developing dashboard-mounted buddy robot 2 days ago on Autoblog

We don't know where carmakers got the idea that we want intelligent robots learning our behavior and then talking to us. Wherever it was, we don't want it any more than they thought we did 25 years ago in a talking Maxima. Nissan has its PIVO concept, which has the distinction of being as creepy ...

Chrysler gets in-car TV going with FLO TV 2 days ago on Autoblog

Starting in late December, Chrysler Group LLC will take claim as the first U.S. automaker to offer live mobile television in its Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles. Programming for up to 20 channels will come through FLO TV™ Auto Entertainment and will offer shows for nearly everyone. As of ...

Lamborghini and TAG Heuer collaborate on special edition Meridiist mobile phone 3 days ago on Autoblog

TAG Heuer is no stranger to the car world. They've been crafting driving watches for nearly 150 years and sponsor more racing drivers than you can shake a titanium-alloy rod at. Although the watchmaker has long since been sold to LVMH (which in turn nearly acquired Aston Martin a few years ...

Microsoft teams up with automakers for Windows 7 theme packs 4 days ago on Autoblog

Microsoft has been in the car business for years, supplying specialized infotainment systems to automakers like Ford and Fiat. But the door swings both ways as a handful of automakers have released special theme packages for the new Windows 7 operating system. So far Infiniti, Porsche, ...

Hyundai opens Indian R&D facility to develop small cars 4 days ago on Autoblog

Over the past decade, Hyundai has rapidly moved up into the top echelon of the worlds automakers and part of its success has come from better tailoring its cars to local needs. To help in that respect, the South Korean company has opened a network of technical centers in the regions where it ...

BREAKING: Hyundai developing competitor for OnStar, Sync... but new system needs a name 4 days ago on Autoblog

As part of its product and marketing development process, Hyundai has reached out to owners and enthusiasts to create a network of consumers with which to discuss everything from future models and technologies to advertising tactics, polls, and so on. Autoblog has learned of a ...

Add Lightness: BMW signs joint venture to further carbon fiber research 5 days ago on Autoblog

Now that steel and aluminum are vying for top billing as the metal of choice in Automobile Land, carbon fiber is often considered the next logical step towards reducing the prodigious weight of today's cars and trucks – especially for high performance and eco-friendly vehicles. The ...

VIDEO: Seattle earthquake viaduct simulation released; timing politically motivated? 8 days ago on Autoblog

The Alaskan Way Viaduct (AWV) is an elevated roadway running along the Elliot Bay Waterway in Seattle. An earthquake in 2001 damaged the viaduct, and the structural degradation has only gotten worse over the years. To forestall the possibility of having the conduit collapse in another natural ...

Popular Mechanics calls out automotive excellence 8 days ago on Autoblog

As we head into the final weeks of yet another year, that means it's time for everyone to pick out their favorites. In this business that means its time to select cars, trucks and SUVs of the year. Over at Popular Mechanics, the editors have put together a list of vehicles that they feel ...

REPORT: Toyota develops its own flower for cleaner air at Prius plant 8 days ago on Autoblog

Automakers make cars and trucks, no surprises there. Some even make other interesting things, like Honda, which also builds motorcycles, lawn mowers, jets, robots and solar cells. But until now, we haven't heard of any car company that develops its own species of flowers. Thankfully, Toyota has ...

VIDEO: Weaving the Lexus LFA's carbon fiber A-pillar is mesmerizing 8 days ago on Autoblog

If you read our First Drive of the Lexus LFA, you might recall an interesting little factoid we threw in to illustrate the OCD-level of detail Toyota used to produce its first ever supercar. With over 150 years of looming experience, ToMoCo owns a rotary weaver -- one of two in existence -- ...

Lotus shopping Evora chassis to other automakers? 9 days ago on Autoblog

Back in the Nineties, shortly after Lotus introduced the original Elise, the company made it known that its new sportscar platform was designed to be easily adapted to different applications – including different powertrains. Companies that were interested in a platform for a niche ...

REPORT: Two-mode hybrid joint development disbanded; Ram hybrid coming in 2010 9 days ago on Autoblog

According to The Detroit News, the big joint development program formed several years ago between General Motors, Daimler, Chrysler and BMW to develop a two-mode hybrid system for light duty vehicles is over. With all four automakers now having launched versions of the gas-electric system, the ...

VIDEO: BMW tests new wind tunnel with a model we can appreciate 9 days ago on Autoblog

The more things change, the more things change. If you would have asked our opinion, we would have told you that open top motoring means feeling the wind in your hair. NEIN! says BMW. And to prove just how far they've come in two short decades, the boys and girls at Bimmer decided to stick ...

Google bringing free turn-by-turn navigation to mobile Maps [w/ VIDEO] 10 days ago on Autoblog

If you've been following today's news in the mobile gadget world, you've already heard about the Motorola Droid smartphone powered by the latest version of Google's open-source Android operating system. It's a pretty slick setup, particularly with the new 2.0 OS, but the bigger news (to us) is ...

Stealing Current: LoJack goes no-power for hybrids 10 days ago on Autoblog

LoJack systems draw their power from your car or your motorcycle's (or laptop's) battery to send their signal. With a traditional vehicle, this generally isn't a problem as the draw is small and as long as the a car gets driven regularly, there's plenty of juice on tap. Hybrids are another ...

VIDEO: More autonomous VW action from Stanford 10 days ago on Autoblog

You didn't think having an Audi TTS climb Pike's Peak was the only thing that Stanford's Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Laboratory was working on, did you? No, they're also working on something closer to home -- or the restaurant or club -- with a project to get cars to find spots and park ...

Stanford to run driverless Audi TT-S up Pikes Peak next year [w/VIDEO] 11 days ago on Autoblog

If you read AutoblogGreen regularly, then you already know that Volkswagen and Stanford University have taken their relationship that began with developing autonomous vehicles to compete in the government-sponsored DARPA Grand Challenge competitions to the next level. VW has committed over $5 ...

Tokyo 2009: Mazda's Sky G and Sky D engines should come with straws for sipping 14 days ago on Autoblog

The Mazda Sky D diesel and Sky G gasoline engines are meant to bring "everlasting blue sky" to oversee "sustainable Zoom-Zoom." Both utilize low-friction engine blocks, direct injection and piezo-electric injectors. The Sky G is fitted with a "highly functional variable valve timing mechanism," ...

Tokyo 2009: Autoblog samples quirky Honda U3-X unicycle and other assist devices 15 days ago on Autoblog

If there is one thing humans love, it's personal mobility. After all, what other species regularly harness other creatures for the sole purpose of getting around. The auto industry is all about personal mobility. Since the dawn of the car in the late 19th century, it has been adopted world-wide ...

Tokyo 2009: Nissan Fuga hybrid to arrive in Japan late 2010, U.S. in 2011 16 days ago on Autoblog

After several years of selling small volumes of its Altima sedan using Toyota's hybrid drive system, Nissan is finally ready to roll out its first gas-electric model using technology developed in-house. The first model to be so equipped will be the new Fuga sedan, a car sold in North America ...

Tokyo 2009: Lotus Exige Stealth, complete with soft-touch paint 17 days ago on Autoblog

Lotus has unveiled the latest special edition of its maximum performance, minimum everything else Exige today at the Tokyo Motor Show. We took a moment to check out the Exige Stealth (known as the Scura in Europe) on the show floor and managed to curry some time with Lotus vehicle development ...

OnStar prevents its first high-speed chase 18 days ago on Autoblog

We were wondering how long it would take before OnStar's Stolen Vehicle Slowdown service was used to prevent a high speed chase. Though announced nearly two years ago, the service that allows OnStar to remotely disable a vehicle's gas pedal is still not yet available on all GM models – for ...

VIDEO: Microsoft may one-up Google Street View with virtual video drives 18 days ago on Autoblog

Until cars drive themselves and we absolutely can't get lost, automakers and sat nav companies are steadily enhancing the graphics of navigation systems to make it easier to find the next right turn. Navigation systems in Renaults, for instance, provide a graphic representation of buildings that ...

Catching up with Chevrolet's 1,200-mile pre-production Volt fleet drive 22 days ago on Autoblog

Yesterday, we had an opportunity to chat with Chevrolet Volt chief engineer Andrew Farah as he rode through the hills of West Virginia during a development drive. On Tuesday, a fleet of eight pre-production (a.k.a. IVER) Volts set out from the company's Milford Proving Ground in Michigan on ...

Consumer Reports sees what happens when your floor mat sticks 22 days ago on Autoblog

In the wake of Toyota's huge floor mat recall, theorists have come up with several survival strategies designed to overcome a throttle that's stuck wide-open. Putting some of these theories to the test – and debunking several myths in the process – is the team over at Consumer ...

VIDEO: Chrysler Turbo Encabulator piques our engineering interest 22 days ago on Autoblog

Back on January 16 of 1994, our 1985 Pontiac Parisienne Safari decided to blow a hole its radiator at the corner of Roscoe and De Soto in the San Fernando Valley. We remember noticing the temp gauge peg itself all the way to the right just as steamy white smoke began erupting out of the hood, ...

Mexico developing 'smart' speed bumps to increase safety, decrease fuel consumption 23 days ago on Autoblog

Speed bumps are the bane of many an urban driver all around the world. We understand that the little protrusions were first installed to promote safety by getting drivers to slow down in congested areas, but we can't be the only ones that think the dang things have been getting out of hand as of ...

VIDEO: iDriver app controls cars through the iPhone 23 days ago on Autoblog

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/VIDEO_iDriver_app_controls_cars_through_the_iPhone'; There's a lot we could say right now. We could point to a recent LA Times Highway 1 blog post about how kids today are so into social media/sitting on their butts in front of the computer that they don't ...

Autoblog Podcast #149 24 days ago on Autoblog

Episode #149 of the Autoblog Podcast, the first frost edition, has arrived. The Tokyo Motor Show is coming up, and there have been a couple previews of what to expect there. The Toyota FT-86 concept has had everyone abuzz with its heralding as the spiritual successor of the much-beloved AE86 ...

Viper app allows remote start of your car with iPhone 24 days ago on Autoblog

As the iPhone continues to introduce apps both silly and indispensable, it should come as no surprise that there's now an app for starting your car remotely. Introduced by car alarm company Viper, the SmartStart app comes in two flavors: a $299 package if you already have a compatible Viper ...

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Autoblog Podcast #151: With Car and Driver's Eddie Alterman

Eddie Alterman wades in with Sam, Chris, Dan, and Jonny to talk about SEMA and other recent events.

 
 

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