Autoblog

The latest gizmo from Japan's Takata will tell you where to go, but not like those verbally abusive digital keychains from the '90s. The Takata CSW steering wheel is designed to interface with sensors in your vehicle and display different messages on an LCD screen in the 12 o'clock position. There are already lights and sirens to let you know if your door is ajar or the washer fluid is low, but the CSW wheel's best trick is that it will talk to the Navigon 7100 navigation system, should you have one. It's an interesting cross-brand lashup that is pushing the envelope of aftermarket integration.

The screen in the wheel works in conjunction with the larger screen in the navigation unit to display instructions, though the improvement over just the Navigon would likely be sufficient. Both the wheel and the Navi can reportedly poll vehicle sensors, though we're not sure exactly how, so the systems would be more aware of what the driver is doing beyond merely position data. Both companies hope the wheel will reduce driver distraction, though we're not convinced that looking down to the wheel rim is any safer or more convenient than the slight gaze diversion to the customary upper center of the dashboard. We don't know of any manufacturer plans to OEM-issue these units, but the effort could portend a future convergence in the gadget galaxy.

[Source: Navigadget via Kicking Tires; Photo: SoundDomain]

Among the never-ending sea of house-sized LCD TVs, untold navigation devices and cutesy robots at CES are more than a few cars. While last year the theme among custom-car builders was overwhelming gaudiness, this year someone must have written a rule mandating at least a little class.

We expected to see automotive LCD screens installed in more places than is acceptable, and we saw a few, but far fewer than 2007. We looked forward to a few exotics, but were surprised when we found Jay Lenno's EcoJet. Other surprises were a Year One Bandit, a Cadillac Escalade in flat gray primer, and a Morgan Aero 8.

As we approached the Dolby booth we were a bit intimidated by what we assume is a life-size model of the Transformer Bumblee. Very impressive indeed.

Perhaps the most surprising automotive find at CES was a Chery CrossEastar (shown at right) at the Delphi booth. Seating for eight, luxury to rival at least the Big Three, and an expected bargain-basement price has us looking forward to seeing what the company finally sends us. In the opinion of a dad, aside from the potential quality problems, it's an attractive vehicle. Delphi had it at CES to show its global reach, since it supplies its technology products to the Chinese automaker.

We're sure there were tons more we didn't see, but Ford and GM kept us busy this year. Check out our gallery of 60 high-res images for more cars we spotted CES.


All Photos Copyright ©2008 Chris Tutor / Weblogs, Inc.

As Ford, Lincoln and Mercury roll out their 2009 models, customers who opt for Ford's advanced GPS get six months of Sirius Travel Link service. Larry Pesce, senior VP of media services for Sirius (seen above) demonstrated Travel Link for us at CES on Monday night. We got to see how the system provides drivers and passengers with information about traffic, weather, entertainment, fuel prices and sports.

It's a slick system, that, at least in the demo we saw, responds quickly to touches of the screen and was impressive with how smoothly it worked.

Follow the jump to read more about how each feature of Travel Link works, as well as the company's official press release.

We had the opportunity to sit in a dark maroon Ford Flex at the Dolby booth for a demonstration of their 7.1 Surround Sound system they've developed with the Blue Oval, and the first thing I notice is the super-nice croc-print leather seats beneath me. Michael Becker, Dolby's Global Marketing Director, says something like, "Oh, yeah. This is Funkmaster Flex's Flex." So don't look for the sweet, lizard-like leather on the production version.

But we weren't actually at the Dolby booth to ogle celeb-designed cars, we were there to listen to them.

Becker says one of the premium audio options in the upcoming non-Funkmasterized Flex will be the Sony system we heard with 12 speakers and 7.1 surround sound. With 375 watts it's an awesome-sounding system, especially for what is essentially a station wagon. We can assure you, your parents' Vista Cruiser never sounded this good.

Which brings up the question, "Why put such a high-end sound system in a family car?" So Dolby's Becker demonstrated. If you want to retain some of the premium sound, but still keep the kids asleep in back, use the touch-screen fader to move the sound up front. In most cars, that would have produced sound a little better than a pocket-sized transistor radio. But the Flex's system retains Dolby 5.1 for the front system or the rear if the fader is moved towards the back. This means the sound is still far ahead of that Vista Cruiser, and probably better than what you're driving now.

We can't wait to see how this sounds with real-world noise outside instead of within the crowds of CES-goers. Speaking of which, Becker said the Flex had attracted major attention from show-goers, with one even way overestimating the list price above $100k. It's nice, but not that nice. As if to demonstrate what he meant, while in the car demonstrating the sound system, we had to lock the doors to keep out the curious, even with the car roped off. Possibly a very good sign for Ford's Flex.

To bring you every GPS device on display at CES, we'd need to start GPSblog. Instead we're gonna hit the ones we think stand out from the crowd, like the Navigon 7100 you see here.

While the thing to do these days for GPS manufacturers is to cram everything they can into that black box on your dash, Navigon is taking a simpler approach. No MP3, no video capability, no Bluetooth. The 7100 gives directions like a good GPS box should.

It's not a low-end device, though. Navigon helps you get where you're going efficiently and safely. Imagine speeding down the interstate and your nav system says "take next exit." If you're stuck in the center lane, which way do you go? Navigon tells you which lane you need to be in, and on the screen shows representations of the overhead exit signs you'll be seeing.

The 7100 will keep you out of trouble, too. In the upper left corner of its screen is displayed the speed at which you should be driving if you want to avoid the cops. It'll keep you out of trouble when searching for a place to eat, too. Navigon has exclusive rights to use Zagat data to help you make decisions on restaurants while on the road.

The 7100 potentially saves you money as well, with a lifetime subscription to traffic data. No more paying monthly fees to know how congested your route is because the price of traffic info is covered in the $500 street price.

It's a good looking device, too, as you can see from our gallery of high-res photos. The company's full press release is available after the jump.

Well, sorta. The not-at-all unattractive Indy Car driver is at CES with one of her sponsors, GoDaddy. We figured Indy Cars are fully within our beat and raced over to get a couple of shots of Ms. Patrick.

And, whatdya know? Once she saw the Autoblog press badge she went nuts, grabbed a t-shirt and a Sharpie and went to town. We were able to stop her before covering the t-shirt in loving missives expressing her adoration of Autoblog, and refused to give her our autographs, too. We just can't go handing those out to everyone ya know.

OK, truth. She grudgingly signed our shirt after about a gazillion others and then even more grudgingly did the Autoblog thing. But the not-at-all unattractive bit is true.

In addition to announcing that General Motors plans to have invest heavily on research of driverless vehicle technology in the coming decade, GM CEO Rick Wagoner will also debut a concept vehicle tomorrow at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas called the Cadillac Provoq. While very few details were released, GM says that the Provoq will be "free from petroleum fuel and emissions." That means the Provoq could be either an all-electric vehicle or possibly another variant of the automaker's E-flex platform that has spawned the Chevy Volt and Opel Flextreme. Those two concepts are both series hybrids with a gas engine and diesel range extender, respectively. While GM did show off the E-flex platform with a hydrogen fuel-cell range extender at last year's Shanghai Motor Show, we've yet to see it paired with a body. Perhaps then the Provoq will be the hydrogen fuel-cell series hybrid concept that we've been waiting to see. There's one more day to go before Wagoner takes the podium in Vegas and reveals all.

[Source: GM]

General Motors' CEO Rick Wagoner won't be making his keynote address at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show until Tuesday, but word is that a big talking point in his speech will be driverless cars. According to CNN Money/Autos, Wagoner is expected to reveal that GM will be testing driverless cars by 2015 and have cars on the road by 2018. What is meant by "on the road" remains to be seen, as buying a real production Tahoe with this technology within ten years seems like a stretch. Still, the success of the DARPA Grand Challenge these past three years in which driverless vehicles pilot themselves through a miles-long course shows that we do have the technology to take our hands off the wheel. GM played its own part in sponsoring the Carnegie Mellon team that has done well in each competition, including the most recent one in which the university's driverless Tahoe called the "Boss" won the whole thing. We've confirmed that CMU's Boss will be on stage with Wagoner as he gives his speech on Tuesday. Thanks to its association with Carnegie Mellon and the DARPA Grand Challenge competitions, GM is definitely on the forefront of developing driverless tech, but promising hands-free driving in ten years is a bold move. We'll just have to wait and see what the Ricker says when he takes the stage on Tuesday.

[Source: CNN Money/Autos]

click above for more high-res preshow pics of CES 2008

CES doesn't officially open until Monday morning, but we were able to get a really quick, escorted tour of the Las Vegas Convention Center's north hall where all of the automotive booths are concentrated.

Many of the photos are badly focused, almost all are badly lit, but you can get an early glimpse of what CES has to offer automotive enthusiasts before anyone else does.

GPS navigation is big again this year, as is MP3 connectivity. The bigger thing, though is rolling both of them together with voice control and Bluetooth. And for those who haven't already bedecked every inch of their cars with LCD screens (inside and out), we saw plenty in our quick walk through.

We saw a Tesla being charged in anticipation of the big show, a bright orange SUV with ridiculously large wheels being navigated through the displays and a Cadillac limo possibly being assembled from scratch on the show floor. We caught BMW prepping its huge F1 display including a life-size clear plastic Formula One car.

We're interested to see how all of the booths look completed when the doors officially open in a few hours and hope to bring you numerous photos of the Cars of CES 2008.

Pioneer speakers have been outputting headache-inducing rock for decades. But the company has just announced its TS-D line of speakers with cones made of basalt fabric. The company says the volcanic stone is pulverized and melted at 2700 degrees before being drawn into fibers. The resulting fabric increases the speaker cone's rigidity and strength while keeping weight low.
In a press release, Larry Rougas, Pioneer mobile business group's VP of marketing, said, "Our speaker engineers are extremely passionate in their quest to build speakers that reproduce the highest sound quality possible. They are constantly looking at different materials that can be used to make a more efficient speaker with a stronger more rigid cone. The basalt rock achieves this goal without adding weight to the cone, resulting in an open and smooth frequency response."

Their are 13 speakers in the TS-D lineup, will be on sale soon at prices starting at $150.

Read the entire press release after the jump.