Autoblog

• Japan's Subarus get Stereoscopic Vision
  

  Filed under: Gadgets, Japan, Safety, Tech, Subaru

  
  
  Both Honda and Toyota have been toying with laser-based Active Cruise Control systems for over a decade now, while the German luxury car makers have offered more expensive radar-based gizmos for almost as long. The premise of both is that an electronic copilot keeps an eye on the road ahead maintaining a safe distance from the car in front, even slamming the brakes at the last moment in an emergency should the driver fail to react.

  Continue reading Japan's Subarus get Stereoscopic Vision

  Gadgets, Tech, Ford

  
  

  Ford's new SYNC system is already helping the automaker sell cars, and the Microsoft-sourced technology is primed to deliver even more bang for the buck this fall. Sync 2.0 is set to drop on Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury vehicles this November, but our friends over at Engadget got an early peek of the updates to come.

  First on the list of improvements is 911 Assist, which enables your SYNC'd Bluetooth phone to call 911 automatically in the event of an airbag-deployed accident. SYNC also interacts with the vehicle's PCM and can send vehicle health reports to an owner's email address using the signal from your own...
  




• Pump it up: Titan Air Jack blows itself up with exhaust
  

  Filed under: Aftermarket, Gadgets, Etc.

  

  If you've ever had the need to raise one side of your car, truck, RV or trailer a couple feet off the ground, the Titan Exhaust Air Jack is there to give you a lift. Quite simply, the jack is nothing more than a heavy-duty balloon inflated by the exhaust gas of your own vehicle. Once the deflated bag is placed under the vehicle, the Air Jack's inflation hose is connected to the vehicle's exhaust pipe. The engine is started and hot gasses are forced into the bag until the woven PVC-coated polyester bag lifts a vehicle a full 30 inches off the ground, which is...
  




• Ford CEO Alan Mulally to keynote CES
  

  Filed under: Gadgets, CES, Cadillac, Ford, GM

  
  
  Looks like the biggest gadget convention on Earth is becoming the place for big automotive announcements. You'll remember that two years ago at the Consumer Electronics Show, Ford and Microsoft announced their partnership on Ford's SYNC system, and last January General Motor's CEO Rick Wagoner chose Las Vegas to unveil the all-electric Cadillac Provoq concept. It was the first time in the convention's 40-year history an automaker had revealed a concept car to the world there.
  
  This year it's Ford's turn again at CES, with CEO Alan Mulally taking the keynote spot. CES runs...
  



• Futuremark designs new concept dash for Audi
  

  Filed under: Gadgets, Tech, Audi

  
  
  This is the kind of computerized world we can get behind -- not the kind that drives for you whether you like it or not, but the one that allows you to do your human thing even better. Futuremark has created a concept instrument and dash cluster for Audi that is rendered entirely in 3D graphics. In the Nissan GT-R, you can change the center console screen to show or highlight the gauges you want. With Futuremark's dashboard, you can create any kind of dashboard layout, color scheme, gauge look... you name it... that you want.
  
  Using its Open GL ES engine (that's...
  



• Painful Play: Audi develops free A4 racing game for iPhone
  

  Filed under: Gadgets, Etc., Audi

  
  
  Audi feels that its customer base is smart, sophisticated and tech-savvy, which is why it should love a well designed game for the iPhone that features the 2009 Audi A4. Note the well-designed bit, because that's key. Audi had Denver's Factory Design Labs whip up a driving game that uses the iPhone's accelerometer as a way to steer the new 2009 A4 through slalom courses. The German automaker boasts that development took just two weeks, though after trying the free download ourselves, we think Audi might want to keep that quiet. Game development normally takes much longer - think years - so the two-week...
  



• Pininfarina Hyperion dash-mounted watch from Girard-Perregaux
  

  Filed under: Gadgets, Rolls-Royce, Lifestyle, Special/Limited Editions

  

  If someone has enough cash on hand to commission an entirely rebodied Rolls-Royce from one of Italy's most famous coachbuilders, you can bet he's not going to be wearing an off-the-rack watch, either. That's why Girard-Perregaux crafted the special timepiece you see here.

  As we reported with the initial news of the Pininfarina Hyperion, this one-of-a-kind tourbillon is specially designed to be removed from its ivory leather wristband and mounted into the dashboard of the unique Rolls-Royce. Its meticulously-hand-crafted 30-jewel movement has 72 components but weighs less than a third of a gram,...
  




• GM reconfigurable performance display available 2009
  

  Filed under: Aftermarket, Gadgets, GM

  
  Click above for high-res gallery of GM's reconfigurable performance display
  

  As of 1996, the United States requires all new vehicles to come equipped with the OBD II on-board vehicle diagnostics system. The system utilizes an array of sensors to provide feedback on engine performance in order to aid mechanics with troubleshooting as well as maintain sufficient emissions levels. The large expense of readers and loggers has kept access to the system out of range for the majority of consumers, that is until more recently. These days electronics, such as small touch screen lcds, have become a reasonable option for data displays. The aftermarket industry has...
  




• The most obnoxiously tuned Toyota Prius... Ever
  

  Filed under: Aftermarket, Gadgets, Tuners, Hybrids/Alternative, Green, Tech, Toyota, Lifestyle

  
  Click above to view video after the jump
  
  We truly do appreciate the custom-car scene, in all of its various guises. There is, however, a problem with the custom Prius you see above and in the video embedded after the break. Generally speaking, the goal of modifying a car is to either A) make it go faster or B) make it look better.
  
  When Classe Gustafson, Elvis Häggbom and Kenny Kyrk from Sweden had finished spending $184,000 customizing a Toyota Prius, they had accomplished neither. This Prius-trocity,...
  



• Forget the Branding: Nokia's new 8800 Carbon Arte
  

  Filed under: Gadgets, Tech, Toys

  

  Automotive-themed cell phones are nothing new. We've reported on mobiles branded by Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche... even Fiat and HUMMER. But some phones don't need a licensing agreement and a flashy little badge to appeal to automotive enthusiasts.

  Take, for example, the new Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte. Based on the already-slick-in-its-own-right 8800 series, the Carbon Arte edition is constructed of the same stuff you're likely to find in the most desirable of supercars: carbon fiber, titanium, stainless steel and polished glass. The sleek mobile packs 3G connectivity, a 3.2-megapixel camera, 4 gigs of memory and a new "turn to mute" feature that...