Filed under: Gadgets , Green , Safety , Tech The Tire Technology of the Year award, handed out at the Tire Technology Expo in Hamburg, Germany, has been awarded to the creators of the Self-Inflating Tire at Coda Development. While “self-inflating” tires aren’t new to the market (especially in the commercial industry), nearly all of the existing systems utilize compressed air to inflate or maintain tire pressure. This requires a compressor or reservoir tank to feed air to the tires. Coda’s “SIT” system uses a peristaltic pump built directly into the tire that uses the spinning wheel to force air through a liquid-filled tube to maintain pressure at a set level. Designed to aid fuel economy and improve safety, the SIT system claims to maintain a constant inflation pressure over the lifetime of the tire. Simple, lightweight, inexpensive, and not requiring any power source, we liked the idea last year . Twelve months later, and now with an award under its belt, we think it’s time to get the SIT system rolling. Press release after the jump, gallery below. Gallery: Coda self-inflating tire technology Continue reading Self-inflating tire technology captures innovation award Self-inflating tire technology captures innovation award originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Comments

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Filed under: Gadgets , Tech , Mitsubishi Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (MEC) wants to be able to offer a 1 DIN Blu-ray DVD player in the 2009 fiscal year. The unit, 1/3 the size of an at-home Blue-ray player, will not only fit in a standard dash slot but will also play BD-ROM, BD-R, and BD-RE discs. MEC says the kit is expected to go along with in-car navigation systems, but since it runs on Linux it remains to be seen how - and who - will be integrating it with the Windows CE that generally runs navigation software. If and when they do get it to work, they want to bundle it with a TV tuner that can display digital terrestrial broadcasts at up to 120 mph. Because when you’ve finished watching Transformers 2 at illegal speeds, you’ll need something to do… other than drive… [Source: Tech On via Engadget ] Mitsubishi unveils in-dash Blu Ray player originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 07:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read ?|? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Comments

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Filed under: Gadgets , Tech What’s good for the iPhone is apparently good for the sedan. Hughes Telematics is working up a suite of programs that will work with its in-car communications technology and allow you to download applications for your car. From tailored data collection to controlling your car’s systems with your phone to repurposing your car’s features, the possibilities will turn your humble transport into the ultimate programmable appliance when Hughes releases the software to be ready in 2010. Let the betting begin on how long it will take someone to make an app that makes your car fart. [Source: New York Times ] Hughes Telematics working on downloadable apps for vehicles originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 19 Feb 2009 08:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read ?|? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Comments

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Filed under: Gadgets , Porsche Click above to view the Porsche Design P’9522 mobile phone in high resolution Say what you will about Porsche’s automotive design, its product design is at the cutting edge of style and technology. The company’s merchandizing division, Porsche Design, has just upped the ante with its latest release, the P’9522 mobile phone. Unlike Porsche Design’s previous phone, the slick P’9521 clamshell , the P’9522 is designed around a straightforward “candy-bar” form factor, milled from a solid block of aluminum with a scratch-resistant touchscreen glass display. Avoiding getting your fingerprints all over this slick piece of tech would be an exercise in futility, so Porsche Design has incorporated a fingerprint reader to keep unwelcome users out. The P’9522 also features a five-megapixel camera with flash, GPS module, stereo MP3 player, WiFi and quad-band antennas for use around the world (except Japan and Korea). At €600 (approx. $774), it ain’t cheap, but it’s about half the price of the P’9521 flip-phone. To celebrate the launch of the new phone, Porsche Design has commissioned nine photographers from around the world to shoot the P’9522 (though presumably not with the phone’s built-in camera). The photos will appear in a travel exhibition touring the world, but you can see them all in the gallery below along with the more straightforward shots of the phone from every angle, with full details in the press release after the jump. Gallery: Porsche Design P’9522 [Source: Porsche Design] Continue reading Smooth Operator: Porsche Design releases new P’9522 phone Smooth Operator: Porsche Design releases new P’9522 phone originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 08:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Comments

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Smooth Operator: Porsche Design releases new P’9522 phone

Filed under: Gadgets , Marketing/Advertising , Citroen Click above to view the Citroen DS line of accessories in high resolution The time has come for the Citroen DS to rise out of the ashes. While the classic French automobile was being named the most beautiful in history by a panel of the world’s top automotive designers and a rare example sold at auction for some $440,000, Citroen was preparing to announce the revival of the classic badge with a new sub-brand, to be launched at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show with the DS Inside concept . Citroen’s not about to let the opportunity pass it by, and to that end has already announced the launch of a line of DS merchandise to piggy-back on the line’s revival. The line takes the same neo-retro approach as the concept car, obviously targeted at the same trendy, young. upscale demographic as Citroen will be pursuing with its new sub-brand. The line includes items as diverse as snowboards, sunglasses and luggage, which you can check out in the gallery below. Gallery: Citroen DS merchandise [Source: CarScoop ] French Connection: Citroen launches merchandise line to coincide with DS revival originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 17 Feb 2009 08:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read ?|? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Comments

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Filed under: Aftermarket , Gadgets , Etc. , Green Say you’ve got a company making plastic vehicle wraps for advertising. One day, you drive your graphic’d-up car to the golf course, and after losing three balls trying to drive across a water hazard, you get to pondering the golf ball itself. Those distinctive dimples on the surface of a golf ball reduce aerodynamic drag, allowing your Titleist to sail over the fairway. What if you wrapped a car in a similar dimpled layer? Thus was born FastSkinz , a new venture of SkinzWraps . Instead of turning vehicles into garish mobile billboards for radio stations, FastSkinz applies a dimpled covering that is supposed to “trip” the boundary layer, changing airflow around the vehicle from laminar to turbulent, reducing wake turbulence, just like those dimples on a golf ball, or the fancy new Olympic swimsuits that mimic shark skin. Call us skeptical, but what works for a round ball flying through the air might not have equal success when applied to an automobile. Not being aerodynamicists, we’ll wait for independent test results to either verify or debunk the FastSkinz claims of an 18-to-20-percent fuel economy improvement. In the past, such large gains have been merely fantastical PR noise, and FastSkinz’s own documentation is buried in acronyms and tends toward the obfuscatory; basically purporting that a vehicle wrap will substitute for reduced frontal area and a low coefficient of drag. There are also some equally uninformative videos , none offering the sustaining manna of clear understanding. Automotive airflow techniques are at the highest level of practice in racing, and you don’t see mottled F1 cars. What those racing cars do sport, however, are other techniques of controlling and manipulating airflow, which are actually effective. [Source: FastSkinz via MaxGladwell ] New vehicle wraps claim to increase fuel economy by as much as 25% originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read ?|? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Comments

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Filed under: Gadgets , Tech Click above to enlarge The tried-and-true needle and dial dash has been a staple of the modern automobile, and aside from a brief stint in the ’80s when digital gauges were a popular (if not entirely reliable) option, not much has changed in the dash department. Recognizing that another revolution is on the horizon, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute are developing a 3D dashboard to show drivers where the vehicle is in relation to its surroundings. Best of all, no funny red and blue glasses will be required for the technology to work since it’s generated by a slew of cameras that track the position of the driver’s eyes. Other tidbits of information can be specified by the pilot, including a fuel gauge, speedometer, tire pressure warning or the title of the song currently playing. Early prototypes are scheduled to be displayed at next month’s CeBIT convention. [Source: Fraunhofer Institute via Engadget ] Fraunhofer developing 3D dashboard originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 13 Feb 2009 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read ?|? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Comments

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Filed under: Gadgets , Ferrari While Ferrari prepares the replacement to the F430 and its racing team continues to fine-tune the new F60 ahead of the Formula One season opener, the company’s tech partner Acer has released the latest addition to its Prancing Horse-emblazoned laptop range . Called the Acer Ferrari 1200, the new ultraportable succeeds the 1100 (pictured above) introduced last year. It comes packed with an AMD Turion X2 Ultra CPU, four gigs of RAM, a SATA HDD, 12.1-inch LED-backlit screen, WiFi, fingerprint reader, bundled Bluetooth mouse and optional VOIP one, all packed inside a partial carbon-fiber case, with vents supposedly inspired by an F1 exhaust and an anodized metal touchpad styled after the pedals on a Ferrari sportscar. A load of BS? That depends entirely on your perspective, but Acer and Ferrari have lead a trend in automotive-themed laptops , and you can bet they’re going to push through every corner to stay ahead of the pack. Pricing has yet to be released as the laptop nears market launch in the UK, with the rest of the world to follow. See the press release after the jump for more details. [Source: Engadget and Inside Line ] Continue reading One Fast Hard Drive: Acer’s latest Ferrari 1200 laptop One Fast Hard Drive: Acer’s latest Ferrari 1200 laptop originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 09 Feb 2009 07:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read ?|? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Comments

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Filed under: Concept Cars , Gadgets , Special/Limited Editions Spend two million bucks on a car, and you’ll get to have whatever the hell you want as a horn tone. Alfred DiMora is back, adding more splashy aftermarket items to the list of standard equipment on his Natalia vaporware sport luxury sedan. DiMora Motorcar has decided that the Horntones system will be factory-fitted to every V16 Natalia SLS 2 produced. So far, that’s none. This isn’t the first time the Natalia has specified an item cherrypicked from SEMA awards , and we suspect it won’t be the last. The Horntones system has 256MB of flash memory that can be loaded up with MP3 files. Once your files are in the Horntones system, there’s a 150-watt speaker to delight everyone within a quarter mile by blaring your audio with a 110dB sound pressure level. DiMora contends that the Horntones rig is the most significant development in car horns in the last 100 years. We disagree - after all, the Dukes of Hazzard General Lee had that bitchin’ setup that played Dixie. Perhaps the biggest news here is that there’s a new rendering, this time, a rear three-quarter view. Press release after the jump. Gallery: DiMora Motorcar Natalia SLS 2 [Source: DiMora Motorcars ] Continue reading $2M DiMora Natalia SLS 2 to get - wait for it - world’s first MP3-enabled horn $2M DiMora Natalia SLS 2 to get - wait for it - world’s first MP3-enabled horn originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Feb 2009 19:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read ?|? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Comments

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$2M DiMora Natalia SLS 2 to get - wait for it - world’s first MP3-enabled horn

Filed under: Gadgets , Euro , Government/Legal Red may be their national racing color, but there’s little Italians hate more than red lights. And with good reason, it turns out: Stefano Arrighetti, creator of the T-Redspeed “smart” traffic system implemented across Italy, is under investigation for fraud on suspicion that he illegally forged transport ministry certification for his system. In place in over 300 municipalities, the system reportedly cuts the yellow-light time by half to ensnare motorists and charge them with running red lights. According to reports, some camera locations jumped from issuing 15 fines per day to more than 1,000. The net-net? The scheme may have fleeced motorists for more than $1.68 million dollars. Arrighetti isn’t the only one under investigation. Along with him are 63 chiefs of police and 39 local government officials. Local police are charged with rubber-stamping the automated tickets and sending them out without proper review. If the T-Redspeed system is indeed fraudulently issuing moving violations, it would be the local authorities reaping the benefit from the extra charges incurred. [Sources: BBC News ; Motor Authority ] Italian traffic cameras investigated for red-light rigging that may have cost motorists $1.7M originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Feb 2009 18:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read ?|? Permalink ?|? Email this ?|? Comments

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Italian traffic cameras investigated for red-light rigging that may have cost motorists $1.7M