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Much like Michael Jordan or Deion Sanders, I am yet again hanging up my blogging sombrero and riding driving off into the sunset. My time at Jalopnik has been memorable, but unlike most young journalists I am taking a career step backwards by moving to a traditional print publication at The Dallas Morning News.
I've had the chance to spend a couple of weeks with the Dash Express GPS unit that most notably features two-way communication via Wi-Fi and GPRS for live active traffic data, Yahoo Local search instead of the standard list of points of interest and a robust customizable applications system. It was built to be the "commuter's navigation unit."
We apologize for getting your hopes up about the iPhone's GPS capabilities, because with the release just days away, the first reviews of the device are pouring in and there's some bad news about the GPS functionality. Or lack thereof. David Pogue of The New York Times points out that the iPhone 2.0, while it still has real GPS and not the location-based-shenanigans of its predecessor, is not ready to compete with the big boys of the navigation world.
A company by the name of AUO has managed to develop an oval-shaped LCD display, which could change the appearance of next-generation instrument panels. The ovoid LCDs don't just look good, but they could allow for customizing instrumented data. Of course, the technology is far from being integrated into your next vehicle purchase, but it's good to see the baby steps being taken. [Ubergizmo]
We hate to be the bearers of bad news, California and Washington state, but today, July 1, is the day that a new hands-free driving law goes into effect. Luckily for you, we're here to break down the new rules and explain what you can and can't do, along with providing some alternative options. Don't live in California or Washington? Check out our guide here to see what's happening in your state.
The Honda Civic hybrid is the latest victim of the hybrid tax break exemption. Beginning on July 1, the tax credit for owning a Honda Civic hybrid will be sliced in half, from $1,050 to $525, on its way down to zero. If you recall, owners of hybrid vehicles are only eligible for the full tax credit until the manufacturer sells 60,000 units of that particular hybrid vehicle. Then a phase-out process begins, eventually reducing the credit to nothing except that warm glow you get from the batteries
Don't tell your boss, but now there's a way to be even more efficient, without being at the office. The CarGo Desk Mobile Laptop Desk mounts on the passenger side of your vehicle and includes a laptop stand, a miniature file cabinet, 400-watt power inverter, GPS mount, PDA mount, cell phone mount, printer mount and enough security devices to keep it all locked down, supposedly.
The Saab 9-X BioHybrid has been crowned as the coolest car to never actually exist by 25 professional auto journalists at the Automotive Hall of Fame. The award, better known as the "Specialty Concept Car of the Year," was bestowed upon the 9-X BioHybrid due to its ultra-efficient 200 HP 1.4-liter BioPower turbo hybrid engine. Not only were the underhood goods touted, but the panel of journalists also loved how purty the 9-X BioHybrid looks, with its electronic power-sliding floor, ambient light
Mercedes-Benz is getting hip with the youngsters by announcing that it will support the Apple iPhone by way of a center-console mounted cradle. The good news about this is that the switching between audio and telephone functions seems to be pretty seamless using the center display and steering-wheel controls. The bad news is that the iPhone's dock is in the center console, between the seats. Even if all of the interface controls can be operated using the vehicle's controls, having the phone in t
The normally stuffy suits at IBM must've raided the ex-Xerox PARC labs for their latest project, as it's a bit out of left field. IBM is working on a steering wheel that has the ability to read a driver's lips and also serve as a drum machine. It does have some practical uses, as well — as if anything could be more practical than a lip-reading in-car drum machine.
Garmin's ever-expanding line of GPS navigation units is getting an expensive new addition. The Garmin Nuvi 880 is now available for pre-order at Amazon for a ridiculous, ball-busting $1,000. You're probably telling yourself that a GPS system had better be able to read your mind and make coffee to be worth $1,000, right? Well, it can't quite do either, but it does have an extensive list of features and abilities. Full list after the jump.
Gasoline-powered street-legal bumper cars are the perfect convergence of any car guy's adult and childhood fantasies. Now one San Diego mechanic is custom building a collection of gasoline-powered and completely street-legal (and registered) bumper car cars. He outfits the vintage shells with 750cc Kawasaki bike engines capable of doing more than simply bumping other real cars in real traffic. [Flickr via BB]
One tidbit we missed during our first read of today's announcement of the 2009 Porsche 911: Not to be outdone by the likes of the Nissan Altima and Toyota Corolla, Porsche has decided to bite the bullet and include XM Radio and NavTraffic (with complimentary three-month subscription, no less). The 2009 911 will be the second vehicle from Porsche to include XM Radio; the Cayenne minivan SUV has been offering the satellite radio service for the past few years. Follow the jump for the full release.
It may not have the racing chops of say Gran Turismo 5 Prologue or Midnight Club: Los Angeles, Grand Theft Auto IV is still a big-title game for 2008 (probably the biggest wethinks) with some big-time automotive tie-ins. There are more than 100 different vehicles to play with, most of which are inspired in one way or another by real-life automotive counterparts. Click through to take a look at the purpose of driving in GTA4, and learn how some of the more notable in-game cars compare to their
You ever seen "A Christmas Story?" Remember the end of the movie? You know, at the Chinese restaurant — the duck? Yeah, I kind of feel like the 2010 Ford Fusion may be making a similar facial expression, at least according to these new spy photos of a new mule shot by the boys at KGP. What the photos also show is how Ford's trying to breathe some life into their current fascia-blanco Gillette-looking lineup with a little bit of the "kinetic" look they're trying elsewhere the Ford brand is sold.
As we continue our march towards the end of the highest-priced gas day of the year, let's turn to something a little bit more enjoyable to think about — like beer! Who says you have to harvest football fields worth of corn for one gallon of ethanol? Molson Coors Brewing Company, the company behind the delectable Coors Light has announced that it is the official E85 ethanol producer for the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Wait, what? Seriously? A beer company is the ethanol sponsor for the D
For those that just can't get green enough, here comes a new accessory that will make your Prius even more deadly. The SEV Solar Roof Module is essentially that. What makes this vehicular solar panel a bit better than the average bear is the fact that it installs seamlessly onto the Toyota Prius roof. The entire roof-panel is replaced with these solar cells and can provide 20 miles of electric range as well as upward of 29-percent increased fuel efficiency. This module is capable of fitting 2004
UPS, the company known for offering it services under the color brown, is now taking a green route by adding a whole bunch of alternative energy vehicles to its fleet. Unlike other companies that declares greenness by adding a couple vehicles, UPS has ordered 200 hybrid-electric and 300 compressed natural gas vans. The HEVs will have a standard hybrid battery system as well as regenerative braking. Check out the UPS talking head in the video above for more details about how these vehicles will s
There’s no reason to dismantle your vehicle or upholstery to install in-car entertainment systems, all you have to do is be creative, like with this car visor, which houses a 7-inch 16:9 widescreen LCD. Included is a DVD player and a video game console. The DVD player is capable of playing the whole lot of formats including DVD, SVCD, VCD, DVCD, CD, CDG, CD-R and CD-RW. Not only can it play videos, but it includes ports to plug in game controllers for some video game fun. There will be no Gran T
Forget about everything we speculated yesterday regarding next-generation Formula 1 video games after Sony opted out of renewing the ridiculously high bid Bernie Ecclestone wanted for F1 licensing. Game maker, Codemasters, turned the right tricks on old Bernard and has won the rights to license a F1 game (and pay F1 an undisclosed, but likely ridiculously high fee). The fun doesn't end there, there's plenty of more details that makes this great news for F1 fans.
We have some bad news to those that enjoy getting behind a Formula 1 racer and careening down the track (virtually, that is): it looks as though Formula 1 gaming may be taking a hiatus after a dispute between F1 bossman, Bernie Ecclestone, and Sony, the current F1 license-holder. Way back when, Sony agreed to pay $75 million for a five year licensing deal with F1 between 2002 and 2007. Now F1 is reportedly asking for a big increase that Sony does not want to pay. Don't break out the tissues yet,
This commercial aired during the first Monday Night Football game in 1970 and proves just what everyone already knew: women can't drive worth a damn and need exceptional tires to compensate for the lack of driving ability. Of course, the woman in the video has to deal with construction, bumpy roads, detours and more while picking up her manly husband from the airport after a very long and manly business trip. It kind of reminds us of the shower scene from Psycho, which is fairly accurate given a
Microsoft is again shilling its technology out to the masses, but this time offering up its car infotainment system, better known as SYNC, to the Hyundai-Kia Auto Group. The 2010 models will be the first to include the Microsoft entertainment system that still remains nameless as Ford has the name SYNC locked down by the balls. For the time being, the system used by Hyundai and Kia will be similar to that offered by Ford, FIAT and most recently with Suzuki (who decided on the Suzuki TRIP name),
For those that haven't turned on a television or viewed any other website in the past 48 hours, the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto IV was released to the masses. Like previous GTA's, driving is a huge part of the gameplay, but this version even includes drunk driving, which makes the folks at MADD a touch unhappy.
The Chinese really knows who calls the shots around the world, and it's obviously the tight-rope walking hippies, clowns and unicyclists. Liu Suozhu, better known as the Car King, managed to drive what appears to be some kind of a Chinese Sentra knock-off across 750 feet of steel wire while thousands of spectators watched. You know the only reason people goto air shows is to see a crash—this is kind of the same thing, but the Chinese crowd of thousands left the event disappointed as Suozhu didn'
Admit it, more than a few of you still own a car with a cassette deck. Despite the plethora of audio options currently available in new models, you shouldn't feel ashamed in any way for your retro coolness. Because not only are cassette decks still worthy, with this Car Cassette MP3 Player, it'll be like you've revitalized and refurbed that deck with the latest in 90's audio technology. And it's a two-for-one, because this isn't just an MP3 player shaped like an old-school cassette, it also oper
The Dutch Cycling Federation in the Netherlands is boldly approaching car manufacturers and requesting hood-mounted external airbags on all vehicles. It's either that or they're going to have to stop running into cyclists (which will never happen). We're not going to get into the "roads are for cars" debate because we're sure the commenters will touch on that, but it's not a terribly horrible demand by the cyclists (Actually, it IS a terribly horrible demand by the cyclists and Travis regrets ev