Jan 30

Tesla Roadster to bid adieu in 2011, successor coming in 2013

Posted in: car, electric car, electric vehicle, ElectricCar, ElectricVehicle, ev, tesla, Today's Chili

Much like the replicants of Philip K Dick’s fertile imagination, it seems like Tesla’s Roadster will live a famous, but short life. In its pre-IPO filings to the SEC, the company has cited “tooling changes at a supplier” as the reason it will stop selling its current gen Roadster and Roadster Sport EVs after 2011. Given that all Roadsters are built at the Lotus factory in England, this probably suggests new Elise or Exige models are on the way and the manufacturing facilities are being updated accordingly. It also means Tesla will be left without any product to sell until the planned 2012 launch of the Model S sedan, while its next generation of two-door sporty supercars won’t be arriving until 2013. Sigh.

Tesla Roadster to bid adieu in 2011, successor coming in 2013 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Jan 2010 06:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 30

Mattel rolls out foldable Stealth Rides R/C cars

Posted in: car, Today's Chili, toy, Toys
We haven’t seen too many notable R/C cars since Takara Tomy’s wall-climbing AeroSpider RC turned our world upside down way back in late 2008, but it looks like Mattel thinks it might just have the next big thing with its new foldable Stealth Rides cars. Like a Transformer that turn into a box, these promise to spring into life at the push of a button, and should give you about 30 hours of playtime on a single charge. Naturally, Mattel also seems to have a number of licensing deals lined up, with a Batmobile Tumbler being one of the five models that will debut at next month’s Toy Fair in New York. You’ll have to wait until August to actually get your hands on them, however, when they’ll run you $25 apiece.

Mattel rolls out foldable Stealth Rides R/C cars originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Jan 2010 03:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 22

Tesla pulls in $465 million government loan to build Model S electric sedan

Posted in: automobile, car, Cars, electric, ev, tesla, Today's Chili
The Detroit News is reporting that Tesla has closed on a $465 million low-cost loans from the Energy Department to work on its next electric vehicle, the Model S sedan.The funds will apparently be used by the company to build manufacturing plants in California. The loan, which closed on Monday and was approved back in June, will come from the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program, which has about $25 billion to dole out to automakers manufacturing energy efficient vehicles. The Model S will, when complete, boast an up to 300-mile driving range, and will hit up to 60 mph in 5.5 seconds. It’s supposed to hit production in 2012 with an output of 20,000 units (that means cars) per year.

Tesla pulls in $465 million government loan to build Model S electric sedan originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 22

DIY smartphone car dock: 10 minutes, $2, and worthy of a MacGyver sense of accomplishment

Posted in: car, diy, smartphone, Today's Chili

The problem: you need a hands-free option for safely espying your smartphone while behind the wheel of a moving vehicle.

Your equipment: Ahesive-backed craft foam, heavy duty plastic coated wiring, assorted PVC tubes and pieces. (Total value: approximately $2.) A “goofy vacant space” in the car dash for placement.

Target time is 10 minutes or less. Hit up the Instructables source link for your solution!

DIY smartphone car dock: 10 minutes, $2, and worthy of a MacGyver sense of accomplishment originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 03:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 20

Trexa EV development platform is modular, extremely customizable

Posted in: car, Cars, electric car, electric vehicle, ElectricCar, ElectricVehicle, ev, Today's Chili

You know how you’ve been telling all your friends that, if you had the chance, you’d totally design the perfect electric vehicle? Well, here is that treasured opportunity. The modular Trexa EV, built by the eponymous startup company and designed by you, contains all the motor, battery and drivetrain basics within the low-profile base you see above, and lets you stack whatever optimizations you desire on top. That means customizable acceleration, suspension, torque and top speed, as well as the predictable versatility in outward appearance. In truth, it is really just aimed as a test mule for more professionally inclined (and presumably funded) EV designers, but we can’t help but admire the simple genius of it all. Hit the source link for more.

Gallery: Trexa EV

Trexa EV development platform is modular, extremely customizable originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 08:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 06

Pioneer AVIC-X920BT brings Pandora streaming music to your satnav via the iPhone

Posted in: Apple, breaking news, BreakingNews, car, gps, iPhone, Music, navigation, streaming, Today's Chili, Transportation

Your car’s dash just got a tad bit more interesting with the introduction of Pandora music streaming in Pioneer’s latest navigation unit. The double-DIN in-dash device exploits your iPhone’s cellular connection to glean tunes from the ether and comes with a 6.1-inch display, Bluetooth, 3D video accelerator, and 4GB of built-in memory expandable by MicroSD. Coming out in March for $1,200, this is slated to be a direct challenge to satellite and old school radio services, and for more on the greater market impact of its introduction, you can see the WSJ coverage below. For the full specs of this new flagship device, as well as a new AVIC-U220 add-on nav unit, hit the source link below.

Pioneer AVIC-X920BT brings Pandora streaming music to your satnav via the iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 15

Kepler Motion brings 800bhp using dual-engine hybrid magic

Posted in: car, electric car, electric vehicle, ElectricCar, ElectricVehicle, ev, Ford, hybrid, Today's Chili

Since we’re already on the topic of fairy dust, how about a new all-wheel drive supercar that can purportedly thrust you from nought to sixty in 2.5 seconds? New startup Kepler Motors is about to unveil its first vehicle and its ambition is nothing short of staggering. Employing a 550bhp Ford Ecoboost petrol engine to drive the rear wheels and a 250bhp electric motor for the front pair, this machine also comes with a carbon fiber chassis and carbon ceramic brakes to really make the theoretical numbers look ridiculous. Of course, it’s still only a concept for the Dubai International Motor Show, but production plans are already set for 2011. You’ll just have to make sure to be among the 50 richest people interested in owning one, because that’ll be the entire production run.

Kepler Motion brings 800bhp using dual-engine hybrid magic originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 14

Ford’s SYNCMyRide app forgives you for your lame phone, transfers contacts to your car

Posted in: car, Cars, Ford, sync, Today's Chili

Bluetooth connectivity between phones and SYNC-equipped Fords is nothing new, but the problem is that a good number of handsets out there in the wild don’t support phonebook download (seriously, check the compatibility chart) which means you can’t dial names by voice — and what’s the fun in calling anyone if there isn’t at least a small chance of your car confusing “Dad” for “Vlad“? That’s where Ford’s all-new SYNCMyRide comes into play, an app for Windows and Mac machines that’ll take the names and numbers (up to 2,000) off your lame vintage handset and stick ’em on a USB drive; from there, you just plug the drive into your SYNC’s port and kick off an upload. It’s compatible with every SYNC-equipped car on the road today, so we’ve hooked you up with a link to go grab it — but only begrudgingly, since we’d obviously love to see you upgrade to a better phone instead.

Ford’s SYNCMyRide app forgives you for your lame phone, transfers contacts to your car originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 21:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 03

Honda’s P-NUT concept is big on puns, short on realism

Posted in: car, concept, electric car, ElectricCar, hybrid, Today's Chili

We get it, Honda, you got some of your crack acronymists on the job and hobbled together Personal-Neo Urban Transport (P-NUT) to vaguely describe this new concept car. But the car itself? It’s interesting, we’ll give it that. The primary idea seems to be the single seat in front for the driver, with two rear seats in the leg-room optimized “flanking” positions. There’s also a modular rear engine bay for working with a regular internal combustion engine, hybrid setup or pure electric power, along with a heads up display in the front windshield. It seems fun, and we like all the legroom, but we won’t start building any locomotion dreams upon the thin, salty shell of P-NUT just yet. Video is after the break.

Continue reading Honda’s P-NUT concept is big on puns, short on realism

Honda’s P-NUT concept is big on puns, short on realism originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 02

Audi A8 MMI adds handwriting recognition to list of 2011 features

Posted in: car, gps, navigation, Today's Chili, touchpad, touchscreen, wifi, Wireless

The A8’s Multi Media Interface (a fancy name for a nav unit with media player attached) is already a pretty sophisticated piece of tech, but Audi has opted against resting on those laurels and has pushed out a new feature for the luxury saloon’s next iteration. The 2011 A8 (available in Spring 2010 — crazy, we know) will benefit from the same handwriting recognition as promised for the next-gen R8, wherein the user is able to scribble his destination all John Hancock-like and then use the touchscreen to complete his instructions. With Cyrillic, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean character support, this could be a particular boon for gadget lovers of a more Eastern persuasion. And just in case you’re fretting that the rest of your gear won’t get as much love, there are further plans afoot for connecting the car via UMTS and distributing WiFi goodness to the devices inside it. The only thing this is missing is a Snoop Dogg voiceover for the ultimate in convergence tech. Video after the break.

Continue reading Audi A8 MMI adds handwriting recognition to list of 2011 features

Audi A8 MMI adds handwriting recognition to list of 2011 features originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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