Hasta La Gadget!

Dave Phipps is like the Ben Heck of automobiles, only instead of putting the parts of old game consoles into newer, smaller boxes, Dave takes sweet-looking old cars and fills them with hi-tech electronics. This time he has wired his 1969 Pontiac GTO to be remote-controlled by his iPod Touch.

The video above, from Jalopnik, shows the system in action. Dave uses the “iTouch”, as he calls it, combined with the RedEye iPhone remote to roll the car’s windows up and down, fire up the ignition, pop the doors and trunk and even roll down the roof.

The RedEye, you may remember, is a box that receives its instructions from the iPhone or iPod over Wi-Fi and blasts them out to your home-theater components via infrared beams. Dave has used it to build a Wi-Fi network into his GTO which is hooked up to all the motors in the car. He even uses the macro function of the RedEye app. Wait ’til you see the “all down” function in the video. I guarantee you’ll crack a smile.

While this is undoubtedly an awesome mod, one of Dave’s previous versions sounds even better. He had a Bluetooth setup that did all the same things, only it was controlled by voice. That sounds suspiciously close to KITT from Knight Rider.

Electronics Whiz Controls ‘69 Pontiac GTO With iPod Touch [Jalopnik via Gadget Review]

Um, we’re sure there’s something sensible to be said about this Porsche concept, but we’re not altogether capable of coherent expression at present. We want to own one of these so badly, we don’t even care if it has an engine. And boy does the 918 Spyder have an engine. A 3.4-liter V8 petrol burner is combined with electric motors to put out 500bhp, while featuring the mind-altering acceleration to go from a standing start to 62mph in just 3.2 seconds. Topping out at 198mph and offering a very respectable 78mpg fuel economy, this is pretty much the stuff dreams are made, which is quite naturally why you shouldn’t expect to see it in any purchasable form any time soon. If you do care to see more of it, however, you can do so at the Geneva Motor Show this year or just past the break, the choice is yours.

[Thanks, Zach]

Continue reading Porsche 918 Spyder concept is the most beautiful hybrid we’ve ever seen

Porsche 918 Spyder concept is the most beautiful hybrid we’ve ever seen originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mercedes has just announced its latest “research vehicle,” the F800 Style, and as concepts are wont to do, it intersperses some extremely ambitious goals with plenty of viable and forthcoming improvements. The two powertrain options touted by the company represent this best. On the one hand, there’s a perfectly reasonable PHEV setup that will generate north of 400bhp combined grunt and offer an 18-mile range when abstaining from gas power. On the other, there’s an electric drive with fuel cells system that will get you a spectacular 375-mile cruising range — if only it’d make it to real products, which seems highly unlikely right now. All the same, as the company’s premium sedan concept, the F800 Style represents the direction of Mercedes’ future designs, both in its external styling and in the internal focus on becoming friendlier to the environment. We can find little reason to object to either. Check out a couple more pics after the break, then hit Autoblog for more details.

Continue reading Mercedes-Benz F800 Style teases us with fuel cells, aggressive new look

Mercedes-Benz F800 Style teases us with fuel cells, aggressive new look originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 08:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve already discussed the seemingly suicidal situation Tesla finds itself in with relation to its 2011 Roadster production cessation, but that SEC submission for the company’s IPO is a long, long affair (which you may read below), and there were more nuggets of madness to be found. Apparently, CEO Elon Musk is a busy man — with CEO and CTO functions at SpaceX and a chairmanship at SolarCity to attend to — and so he couldn’t possibly be expected to focus his full attention on ensuring that the half billion dollar state loan his company received gets spent as wisely as possible. Add Musk’s corporate bigamy to an expectation of “continuing losses” and dwindling waiting lists and you have to wonder who, other than the US government, will be buying shares when this offering goes public.

Tesla Motors CEO ‘does not devote his full time and attention to Tesla’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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.

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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