Filed under: GPS, Portable Audio, Portable Video, Transportation

With Sharp throwing down a svelte in-car LCD ready to display nearly any automotive statistic (or roadtrip route) you’d ever need, and Chrysler planning to offer the MyGIG do-it-all device on upcoming vehicles, Panasonic is tossing in its own rendition to keep the competition on their heels. The Strada CN-NVD905U is an in-car navigation / head unit that boasts a 7-inch touchscreen, 30GB hard drive, built-in DVD / CD player, NAVTEQ mapping software, and support for Bluetooth handsfree operations. The trilingual GUI also touts automatic rerouting, and if you’re not already tuned into XM Radio, you can access Sirius’ real-time traffic data to avoid those crowded freeways on your commute back home. Additionally, it sports “iPod video connectivity” for rear seat and front passenger entertainment, but we’re sure all those snazzy movie functions are kept under wraps until you throw it in park. While there’s no telling how much dealers will end up charging for this in-dash machine, the Strada CN-NVD905U should start making noise (and keeping us on track) next Spring.

[Via Slashphone]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Displays, Transportation

We all know those analog gauges are going the way of the dodo eventually, and Sharp is hoping to accelerate their demise by unveiling an in-car LCD that boasts an unparalleled contrast ratio. While we’ve seen an LCD instrument panel in the svelte new Mercedes, its utility is still a bit limited; Sharp’s rendition, however, touts a 1500:1 contrast ratio — “triple that of the best alternatives” — and can produce deep blacks that match up with dark dashboards in addition to displaying full-motion video. The unit has been road-tested to withstand the usual bumps and jerks associated with cruising on (or off) those brutal highways, and can convey a myriad of useful information not possible with those plain ole mounted needles. The 8-inch panel sports an 800 x 480 resolution that shows the typical speedometer, tachometer, and fluid levels, but also packs the ability to queue up navigational maps and backup cameras to keep you on track. While we haven’t heard which (if any) automakers are placing bulk orders for these uber-contrasty LCDs, we aren’t exactly sure how much good it will do you if the whip ends up driving itself.

[Via BornRich]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Filed under: Transportation

Forget biodiesel and fuel cell-powered vehicles, how about a whip that doesn’t require any fuel whatsoever? The Venturi Eclectic, touted as an “autonomous energy vehicle,” gets its charge from wind gusts and 8.2 square feet of solar cells atop its roof. The four-person ride boasts a 22-horsepower purely electric engine, is powered by liquid-cooled NiMH batteries, and can reach a (yawn-inducing) top-end speed of nearly 32mph. While it’s no Wrightspeed X1, the designers had “daily driver” in mind when the Ecletic was crafted, but considering it’ll only roll 31 miles on a full charge, you best take the scenic (read: sunny) route to work if you’re facing a long commute. The car does sport an option to recharge via AC power, should you face darker (and calmer) than expected conditions, but since it weighs just 772 pounds, a foursome shouldn’t have too much trouble using the tried and true “push method” if worse comes to worst. Scheduled for production in June 2007, this oh-so-green automombile will run you €24,000 ($30,511) — if you can manage to score one of the 200 that’ll be built, that is.

[Via MobileMag]

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Transportation

It wasn’t too long ago that Tesla Motors had its (admittedly glamorous) unveiling of the forthcoming Tesla Roadster — you know, the 130-miles per hour battery powered whip that rolls 250 miles on a single charge. While it can’t be too shocking to see a few celebrities here and there plop down unspeakable amounts of coin to get their hands on something new, don’t tell Tesla that the reaction to its creation is surprising. Less than a month after this extra-green automobile hit the pre-order market, all 100 that were offered up are now claimed. Just doing simple calculations, we’re seeing a company that went from next to nil in terms of sales to $10 million in capital quicker than a shipment of crude oil could hit the American shores. Martin Eberhard, the CEO of Tesla Motors, reported that “all 100 are gone,” which means those hundred highfaluting individuals that have paid the $100,000 deposit have guaranteed themselves one of the first Roadsters off the production line in 2007. While the buyers may end up paying more than the deposit price when taking delivery, it’s fairly unlikely they’ll see any partial refunds if the MSRP somehow clocks in under 100 grand (considering the apparent popularity), and we’ve heard that both of Google’s co-founders, as well as eBay’s Jeff Skoll, have thrown down for the seemingly coveted ride. There’s no word on when Tesla plans to re-open its bank account for the next wave of orders, but if such an opportunity does arise, you should probably call dibs with some level of haste if you plan on shunning those costly fuel pumps next year.

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Filed under: Transportation

We’ve seen various implementations of all these assorted next-gen car technologies that Siemens got ahold of for their new eCorner system, but they’ve managed to squeeze them all into a single wheel, creating quite an interesting system for use with fuel cell or hybrid cars. First off, there’s an electronic motor integrated into the wheel hub, allowing for more efficient power use and independent rotation from the rest of the car. Next up is an active suspension system and Siemens’ very own electronic wedge brake (EWB). Finally, the independent steer-by-wire function built into the wheel allows for some very interesting maneuverability. Siemens expect cars that would use such functionality to be common in 15 years or so, but we hope we don’t have to wait that long for all the fun and power savings this system promises.

[Via Autoblog]

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Filed under: GPS, Transportation

If you've ever been the victim of a hit and run, particularly one where you weren't there to see it happen, you'll immediately appreciate the TruScene TS-1L. This in-car camera can be mounted on the front or rear (or both) of your ride and comes with a drop-down LCD to get things aligned and installed correctly the first go 'round. This eagle-eyed camera keeps a constant watch on what's happening around your vehicle when you're not there to bear witness, so you have a license plate and mug shot of the screeching bandit should an accident occur while you're away. The TS-1L constantly records 30 second loops of footage where non-essential clips (i.e. periods where nothing happens) are deleted to make room for the next clip. If someone jolts your whip by, say, ramming into you or clipping your side mirror, TruScene saves the recording, encrypts it, and stamps a digital watermark on it for later use. The video can be used for insurance or court purposes by uploading the file to TruScene's database where it's properly decrypted for playback. The seriousness of this device carries right over to the pricetag, so we'd recommend having a vehicle truly worth protecting -- and make sure your deductible is over a grand to begin with, because the peace of mind provided by the TS-1L requires $1,000 out of pocket.

[Via OhGizmo]

Connect2Car’s MFC can start your car’s engine, roll down its windows, or activate any other electric auto part by bluetooth. The MFC interfaces with a phone, PDA, or laptop over an encrypted connection. The little black box controls 8 devices. Here’s a video of a 2006 Toyota Solara getting the remote start, window rolldown, and ragtop drop by Verizon AudioVox XV6600 PDA.– Brian Lam

MFC [Connect2Car]

Filed under: Transportation

Filed under: Robots

While controlling a full-sized automobile with a PSP may be impressive, at least this project has some amount of practicality. Musicians and singers, listen up, because this breathing-controlled car could provide the perfect mix of practice and pleasure to get your controlled breathing, well, under control. Even if you couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, Michael Brown's creation gives you a chance to have some fun while blowing off some steam. The aptly named "Breath Control Car" was designed to make the mastery of controlled breathing a bit more enjoyable, and he pulls it off by using a MIDI breath controller to channel puffs to a MAX/MSP. MIDI signals are converted to serial data, where those signals are beamed via Bluetooth to a PIC chip, and finally to a servo that directs the car. If all that sounds like hot air, here's the deal: the harder you exhale, the harder it steers right, while softer breaths steer it left. The forward and reverse functions are handled by a simple remote-control, presumably to avoid hyperventilation. If you've been tooting your horn about getting serious with your breathing, but need a more riveting reason to practice, watch this machine in action to see what Michael's breath car can do for you.

[Via Makezine]

Filed under: Portable Audio, Transportation, Wireless

Being the mass transit junkies that we are, we don’t spend a lot of time in cars, flying or otherwise, but we know many of you hit the highways each day, so we’re presenting to you Sony’s new Bluetooth-enabled head unit. The MEX-BT5000 acts as a hands free kit for any Bluetooth phone (although we’re sure they’d prefer if it was one of their own), giving you access to up to 50 of your contacts and six of your speed dial entries through its “high resolution” screen and integrated noise-reducing micophone.Once you’re done risking everyone’s life talking on the phone, fire up your Bluetooth-equipped DAP — or just stick in a CD — and you can stream high-fidelity audio throughout your ride, while checking out on-screen track info and navigating your music with the wireless remote. Sure, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen most of these features jammed into a head unit, and at $400, it’s still not the cheapest, but we thought it might help hold you over until the CD-ripping 2007 Infinity G35 starts showing up on sketchy used car lots.

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Filed under: Transportation

Alright, maybe we’re just turned off by the totally sketchy concept renders, but we were really hoping the car of the future would look a bit better than some high schooler’s CAD project. All the same, LaBiche’s claims that “A real Flying Car is finally here!” have piqued our interest, and we’re pleased to hear that this FSC-1TM flying sports car thing should be able to hit an airspeed in excess of 275 mph, not bad at all for a pair of retractable wings. So far the most testing this thing has gotten is in the X-Plane flight simulator software, and in a 1/10th scale model plane prototype. A full-size mockup is in the works, and apparently they’re all ready to take your money for a $175,000 build-it-yourself kit, but we’re guessing it’ll be a few years until someone is foolhardy enough to try and get the real deal off the ground.

[Via The Raw Feed]

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Filed under: Peripherals, Nokia, Symbian

In what seems to be a brilliant marketing maneuver, Nokia is hyping its new CK-20W Car Kit as the "first integrated hands-free solution to combine high-quality communication, music, navigation and push-to-talk in the car," when all you're really getting is a dash-mounted dock and a remote. According to Nokia, you need to supply your own GPS Bluetooth receiver if you want navigation functionality (they suggest the forthcoming Nokia LD-2 Navigation Pack), although music streaming and hands-free chatting are achievable right out of the box. The kit is compatible with most Nokia phones and even standalone MP3 players if all you want are some tunes, but adding the nav pack requires you to own a S60-powered device to run the Route 66 mapping software. Prices have not been announced yet, but both the car kit and GPS receiver are expected to be available next quarter.

[Via Wired Blogs]

Filed under: Portable Audio

We’ve seen big iPod cases, small iPod cases, cheap ones and expensive ones. But at about $15,000, with seating for four, the Play edition of Mitsubishi’s i (eye) Car has to be one of the most expensive and biggest iPod cases we’ve ever seen. Eschewing the typical dock-based iPod/car integration scheme, the car includes a dash-based slot designed specifically for the iPod nano. And, if you want your case, er, car to truly match your nano, you can get it in white, for a mere $190 more. Considering that Apple wants about $150 to paint a MacBook black, that may not be such a bad deal. As long as it includes a scratch proof coating, that is.

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Filed under: Portable Video, Transportation, Wireless

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Filed under: Robots, Transportation

alt="" src="http://www.engadget.com/media/2006/04/prius8458951_240X180.jpg" />While we may be stuck waiting until
2008 to see GM’s self-driving
car, US drivers may soon be able to sit back and let Toyota’s Prius href="http://www.engadget.com/2006/02/22/toyota-prius-hands-free-parallel-parking/">do the parking for them, as
drivers in the UK and Japan can already do, using a $700 "parking assist" option. With the option, drivers
need only sit back and control the speed of the car with the brake pedal while the car takes control of the wheel and
maneuvers itself into place. According to Toyota, 70% of the vehicle’s owners in Britain have chosen the option.
Availability in the US hasn’t been announced yet, only that it should arrive "soon." We — and the owners of
cars parked in front of and behind ours — can’t wait.

[Via href="http://slashdot.org/articles/06/04/05/0222209.shtml">Slashdot]

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I don't know about this, but it looks like Siemens is working on some weird sci-fi car-parking solution called Park Mate. Using sensors, the product will not only alert you when you pass a space that your car will fit into, but it will then take over and actually park it for you—steering all on its own. Er, ok. Now show me the money.

Siemens VDO Park Mate to end your parking woes [New Launches]

Filed under: Handsets, Motorola

Yeah, we knew Motorola was still committed to making old-school car phones — heck, Telus carries one of ‘em — but we still can’t help but chuckle a little when we catch wind of a new one in the pipeline. The latest, dubbed M710, rides on Motorola’s own iDEN, suggesting that it might find its way to Nextel at some point (or not; after all, Telus operates an iDEN network north of the border, as do a good number of carriers across the world). Given the M710’s supposed lease in life as a commercial device, iDEN seems like the perfect fit considering that corporate customers account for an overwhelming majority of their base, but we’re still somehow having a difficult time picturing anyone taking this over an i880.

[Via Slashphone and infoSync World]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.