Hasta La Gadget!

Audiovox Electronics Corporation has announced that its new Car Connection telematics device is now available in retail stores around the country. The Car Connection is a small dongle that plugs into the vehicle OBD2 port and allows drivers to monitor, manage, and maintain vehicle health and numerous other things.

The Car Connection device allows the user to keep an eye on vehicle health, driving habits, location, and even offers the ability to restrict cell phone usage while driving. The Car Connection device uses the Sprint wireless network in the US and offers real-time monitoring capability through OmniLink. The Car Connection device will roll out to retailers across the country during Q4 2012.

The device is designed to use an interface that is accessible from laptops, tablets, or smartphones allowing the monitoring of driving habits and vehicle location. The system allows drivers and parents to set up Safety Zones using geo-fences to monitor where teenage drivers are and to assist in stolen vehicle recovery.

The device also has a Lot Spot feature that helps you find your vehicle in a crowded parking lot. The device requires a service plan with one option at $9.95 per month plus a $19.95 one-time activation fee. The yearly plan is also available and $89.95 per year with the same $19.95 activation fee. The device can limit cell phone use as far as voice calls while the vehicle is operating, and it can also eliminate the driver’s ability to text from behind the wheel. The Car Connection will cost $169.99.

Audiovox Car Connection Telematics device available at retail now is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

McLaren isn’t a brand that most would associate with eco-friendly motoring. That very nearly makes it a surprise to see the supercar builder throw itself wholeheartedly into performance EVs with a new deal for Formula E racing: it’s supplying all the motors, electronics and transmissions for Spark Racing Technology-made cars to be used in the pure-electric league’s inaugural 2014 season. Full technical details await, but the championship’s choice of noise-sensitive urban racetracks guarantees that we won’t hear attempts to recreate an F1 engine’s high-RPM buzz anytime soon — we’re more likely to hear the tire noise. We’ll deal with any lost romanticism if it means giving Formula E, and performance EVs, a healthy dose of credibility.

Filed under: Transportation

McLaren to supply EV groundwork for Formula E cars, take pro racing electric originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 23:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford has been integrating voice control technology into its vehicles for years. The voice control technology was made in cooperation with Microsoft and is called Sync. Ford and Microsoft are celebrating five years of Sync availability and the 5 millionth vehicle to roll off the assembly line featuring Sync.

The collaboration between Ford and Microsoft began in 2005. Ford says that with its partner for software, Microsoft, it was able to turn the car into a platform with opportunities for developers to work with Ford to add value and features in the vehicle to support mobile phones and other devices. One of the key features of Ford Sync is the system’s ability to be upgraded allowing new features, and at times fixes, to be applied to the system.

Sync does many things for drivers, including supporting hands-free communication via Bluetooth technology with the smartphone. Sync is also tightly integrated to the vehicle controls allowing drivers to press a steering wheel mounted button and tell the car what radio station they want to listen to or the temperature to set the climate control system. Ford says that the ability to upgrade the system was important because a vehicle spends on average 10 years driving the roads where as mobile phones and electronics are upgraded every one to two years on average.

Sync was first announced at CES in January of 2007. The first Ford vehicle to come with available Sync was the 2008 Focus. The voice commands functionality of the system is powered by Nuance voice control technology. The Sync system continues to evolve and now allows drivers to control their smartphone and some apps using voice commands.

Ford and Microsoft celebrate 5 millionth Sync equipped vehicle is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

A few weeks back we mentioned a customized Kia Optima SX Limited done in partnership between Kia and DC Entertainment in a Batman theme. I don’t think a billionaire/playboy/superhero would be seen cruising around in a Kia personally. Still the Batman car was pretty cool.

Kia has now unveiled four more super hero themed customized cars at SEMA 2012. The other four cars are styled after other core members of the Justice League include the Flash Forte Koup, Aquaman Rio 5-door, Cyborg Forte 5-door, and Green Lantern Soul. All four of the new cars have customized exteriors with cues from the superheroes outfits as well as customized interiors.

Most of the cars were done in cooperation with West Coast Customs, with help from RIDES and Super Street for others. All five customized superhero vehicles are on display in Las Vegas right now. I guess this will reveal my comic book ineptitude – but I’ve never even heard of Cyborg. I hear there’s a Wonder Woman car somewhere in that picture parked next to her jet. I can totally imagine Doctor Sheldon Cooper cruising the streets in the Flash Forte Koupe, even though he doesn’t like to drive.

I think we can all agree that no one expected the Porsche 918 Spyder supercar to be cheap, but did anyone expect it to be OMG WTF expensive? Pricing for the car had been rumored in the $600,000-$800,000 price range from the get-go, which already puts it out of the reach of us normal folk. Pricing has leaked in Europe that shows the car will be even more expensive than believed.

According to the leaked pricing, the car will start at €768,026, which works out to $995,976 in the US. If you opt for something called the Weissach Package, pricing starts at €839,426 or about $1,088,567. That pricing certainly guarantees that only the mega rich will ever get to see the inside of a 918 Spyder.

It’s only the base price the vehicle that’s crazy expensive though, pricing for optional equipment is just insane. The 918 has an option for magnesium wheels costing €29,750 or about $38,500 in the US. The quick charger option will cost another €20,230 or $26,234.

The most expensive option is some sort of special liquid metal paint starting at €47,600. That works out to $61,727 for a special paint color. It’s hard to believe that the paint on your Porsche costs more than a Corvette.

[via Jalopnik]

Porsche 918 Spyder pricing leaks (even the rich moan) is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.