Hasta La Gadget!

What’s the simplest way to improve fuel efficiency? Build a lighter car, of course. That’s GM’s plan, at least, and it’s taking its first step toward a more efficient future by investing in a nano-structured materials design firm called NanoSteel. “Over the next several years, light-weighting of vehicles will be a major focus area to improve fuel economy.” GM’s Jon Lauckner said of the deal. The nano-structured Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS) GM’s betting on has the potential to shave excess pounds off of a vehicle without sacrificing structural integrity. It’s easier to work with too, and can be shaped and cut without being heated. The size of GM’s contribution to the cause hasn’t been disclosed, but NanoSteel CEO Dave Paratore seems encouraged by the partnership, stating that it will allow them to “accelerate the final phases of development” for its nano-structured AHSS. Maybe together, the two firms can meet President Obama’s 2025 mileage goal. Read on for the official press release.

Continue reading General Motors invests in NanoSteel, hopes to lighten its load

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Transportation

General Motors invests in NanoSteel, hopes to lighten its load originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Aug 2012 15:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Wired  |   | Email this | Comments

Would you loan your car to complete stranger? I wouldn’t loan my car to my own cousin, much less a random person off the street. However, if you’re the trusting sort driving a General Motors OnStar equipped vehicle, OnStar and RealyRides have teamed up to make it easy for you to rent your vehicle. RelayRides is a peer-to-peer car sharing market.

Drivers list their vehicle along with an hourly rate. The idea is that when the car owner doesn’t need the vehicle, they can rent it out to other people by the hour and make extra money. The interesting part of this tie up between OnStar and RelayRides is that the driver doesn’t have to meet the person renting the car to hand off keys, as OnStar can remotely lock and unlock the car.

Presumably, the renter would also be able to get OnStar to start the vehicle and turn it off remotely as well. The thing that bothers me about this is that I think it would be hard to get a renter to pay for any damage caused your vehicle or to prevent them from taking things out of your vehicle.

General Motors has a new way for drivers of its vehicles to earn some money on the side – by renting out their under utilized rides thanks to the OnStar service which basically enables potential renters to unlock the doors with nothing other than their smartphones. General Motors mentioned that they are working in tandem with RelayRides, an online car-sharing marketplace which was first introduced in Boston sometime in June a couple of years ago. GM’s venture-capital arm threw in some money into the company as an investment at the end of last year as a show of faith in the business model.

Just to recap, OnStar is an in-vehicle service that is most famous for hokoing up drivers to live operators who are then able to offer directions or even summon emergency help in the event of an accident. Developers of RelayRides were given access to several OnStar services, where among them include features which are able to locate the vehicle and unlock the doors remotely. Those who are renting will be able to do so using their smartphone, or simply replying to text messages. Chevrolet, GMC, Buick and Cadillac cars and trucks owners are said to be able to pocket up to “hundreds of dollars per month” through RelayRides – not half bad, no?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: OnStar FMV mirror is strutted, OnStar Supports Google Maps To Enhance Turn-by-Turn Navigation,

GM’s Vauxhall has revealed its latest urban car, the Vauxhall ADAM, complete with cutesy looks and a bagful of technology to suit the smartphone-addicted. Set to hit roads in January 2013, the ADAM will be offered as a three-door, five-seater with a distinctive “floating roof” design and what Vauxhall claims are “almost unlimited visual combinations” outside and in. That even includes an LED “starlight” roof lining.

Two different roof colors, optional LED running lights, various interior trims and a lengthy sheet of add-ons to be ticked add up to around a million combinations, the GM subsidiary reckons. Under the hood will be one of three ecoFLEX four-cylinder petrol engines – a 1.2-litre 70PS and two 1.4-litre engines with either 87PS or 100PS – putting power down through a five-speed manual gearbox with optional stop/start for driving in traffic. A six-speed box is in the pipeline, and the ADAM will be first of the company’s range to get its next-gen direct injection and forced induction petrol engine.

Inside, there’s a top-spec audio, navigation and entertainment system (if you tick the box on the spec-sheet, of course) that centers on a 7-inch touchscreen LCD and uses Bluetooth among other things to hook up to your iPhone or Android device. It’ll pull in content from internet-based services, such as traffic updates in navigation apps, using their data connection too.

A heated steering wheel, Advanced Park Assist II (which identifies suitably-sized parking spots and then helps the driver navigate into them), and that fancy LED ceiling are all options, while front, side and head curtain airbags are all standard, together with ESP and hill-start assist. A “CITY mode” lightens the electronic power steering.

Vauxhall will begin taking ADAM orders after the car makes its debut appearance in the metal at the Paris Motor Show in September. Pricing is unconfirmed, but it’s expected to be around £11,000 ($17,000) for an entry-level model; GM hasn’t said whether it has any plans to bring ADAM to the US market.

Vauxhall ADAM city car offers smartphone hub and LED star ceiling is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Back in May, General Motors suddenly ceased advertising on Facebook. No specific details were given, although it was believed that the advertising campaign had little impact. Now the Wall Street Journal reports that GM and Facebook are in talks to resume advertising on the social network. Senior executives have confirmed that both companies are currently in talks.

GM’s global marketing chief, Joel Ewanick, and Carolyn Everson, Facebook’s worldwide head of sales, met at an event in Cannes sometime in June. According to sources familiar with the matter, Facebook is trying to bring GM back as an advertiser, promising to provide better data on how it can turn commercials into cash. It won’t give GM preferential treatment over other advertisers, though.

According to sources, GM hasn’t decided to return to Facebook just yet as it has yet to see any form of advertising effectiveness from the platform. GM has also reportedly been meeting with digital advertising firms in order to gain a better idea of how to market its products for Facebook. GM is said to have spent $10 million on advertising with Facebook, a fraction of its $1.8 billion US ad spending, and also a very small part of Facebook’s $3.7 billion revenue in 2011.

GM and Facebook said to be rekindling advertising flame is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.