Hasta La Gadget!

Daddy doesn’t have to take the T-Bird away, he can just take all the fun out of driving it. That is, if the T-Bird is actually a Taurus. Ford’s MyKey system has been engendering teen resentment since the release of the 2010 Focus, allowing parents to limit max speeds and cap radio volume, but parental control doesn’t stop there — the 2011 MyKey can selectively block radio stations. Starting next year, parents will have the option to block 16 Sirius radio channels from the car’s dial, among them Howard Stern, Playboy, and Hip-Hop Nation. Optional radio censorship isn’t the only new feature for MyKey, which allows owners to program a key to fit their specific level of paranoia — the new version allows parents to set top speeds between 65 and 80mph, instead of the previous fixed cap of 80mph. Other controls carrying over from the original system include a chime that sounds at 10mph intervals, starting at 45mph, and an advanced notice when fuel levels are low. The new features will come standard issue on the 2011 Ford Taurus and Ford Explorer, and will eventually reach across both the Ford and Lincoln brands.

Continue reading Ford MyKey adds radio censorship to further control teen driving habits

Ford MyKey adds radio censorship to further control teen driving habits originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 07:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The writers over at Busy Mommy Media have run the Nissan Leaf through a special battery of ‘family’ tests to produce the kind of review of the EV that we don’t see every day around here. Still, the family perspective is an especially interesting one for the electric vehicle, since widespread adoption will largely depend on how it fares in just such lifestyles. So how did the Leaf fare? Exceedingly well, it turns out, getting high marks for performance, cargo space, and interior space. The only problem raised was the fact that the reviewer could not fit all three of her required car seats into the back seat, but was able to change them out for slimmer models which did, in fact, fit. Check out the video after the break for the full mommy (and daddy) treatment.

Continue reading Nissan Leaf gets the ‘family’ review treatment, earns high marks

Nissan Leaf gets the ‘family’ review treatment, earns high marks originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 12:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Oh, sure — gas is bound to hit $4 a gallon before 2020, but you can buy an awful let of petrol with the money you’ll save from dodging Fisker’s increasingly expensive Karma. ‘Course, those looking to blow 100 grand on an eco-friendly automobile are probably doing so just to throw Ma Earth a bone, but still — money matters. Originally teased way back in the fall of 2007, Fisker’s first plug-in hybrid still hasn’t ended up anywhere near mass production, but it has managed to see two rather significant upticks in price all the while. Right around two years ago, we saw the $80,000 MSRP boosted by $7,000, and today, prospective customers are being notified via email that the Karma’s base price is now sitting at $95,900 before a $950 destination fee. Granted, the company insists that this includes an integrated solar roof panel (valued at $5,000), and it still starts at $1,400 less than a Panamera S. And yeah, that base price does shrink to $88,400 after you include federal tax incentives. That said, we’re doubting high-rollers that were dead-set on handing over $73,000 or so after tax breaks are currently stoked about an increase this large, particularly when there’s still no definitive ship date. To Fisker’s credit, we’ve seen General Motors go through similar trials and tribulations surrounding the Volt, and even at $95k, you’ll be hard pressed to find more sexy than this on four (street legal) wheels.

Fisker raises Karma plug-in hybrid base price to $95,900, brings that 750i back into consideration originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Dec 2010 05:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fast. Cool. Sleek. Advertisers spend a lot of time and money trying to plant buzz words into your head when selling you a product like an expensive car. “Rape,” for obvious reasons, has never been at the top of the list. Thanks to a little linguistic misunderstanding, however, the word has come to be associated with the Bugatti Veyron.

On Bugatti’s site, the company offers a number of customizable features for the top of the line roadster, including color choice. Until this week, one of the choices was the decidedly un-Crayola-friendly “Rape Yellow.”

The name was the result of an unfortunate mistranslation of a color derived from the rapeseed plant. The issue was brought to the attention of the French car manufacturer, which quickly–and embarrassedly–apologized.

“Although based upon the French name for the rapeseed plant, the translation is one that should have been given more thought from our side,” wrote John Hill, the carmaker’s U.S. director marketing. “We are thankful that it was brought to our attention and you will find that the name for this color has already been revised on our site.”

“Rape Yellow” has since been changed to “Traffic Yellow.”

Headed to Pawnee, Indiana anytime soon? Don’t lie, it’s a place that survives in only two places: your mind, and NBC’s studios. The only “Pawnee” in proximity of the Hoosier State lies in Illinois, but it’s cool, we can still pretend. After hearing that Think was planning to hawk its City electric vehicle in the Big Apple this year, it looks as if Indiana’s government will actually be first to acquire it. Fitting, though, given how Think’s primarily manufacturing facility is parked in Elkhart, IN. The first 15 City EVs — described by the company as “all-electric, zero-emission cars designed in Scandinavia for fleet applications and urban commuters” — have hit the ground running, delivered to the Department of Administration to be used principally by the Department of Natural Resources in the state’s park system. Naturally, Ron Swanson was at the ribbon-cutting ceremony with a mind to swipe one for his own personal use, but once he learned of Think’s plans to finally roll out retail distribution in select US cities in the second half of 2011, his conscience got the better of him. Phew.

Continue reading First Think City electric vehicles delivered to Indiana government, Leslie Knope calls dibs on all of ’em

First Think City electric vehicles delivered to Indiana government, Leslie Knope calls dibs on all of ’em originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 12:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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