Autoblog

In Part IV, the final installment in our CES Car Show, you get VW Beetles and a four-door GTI used as a guitar amp, a Roush Mustang, a mostly untouched (thank god!), bright red Lotus Exige and various other autos we saw around the show.

While we didn't get to hear the GTI in play, but the Beetles actually sounded quite good. We know some amateur bands that have amps that sound much worse than the car's speakers. Then again, it could be their guitar-playing abilities. We can't wait until someone puts together a concert with about 20 Beetles on stage as amplifiers. Could you bill it as The Beetles United?

Enjoy all 22 high-res 1280x photos in our gallery.

Ford is touting SYNC's popularity at CES, where attendees voted to give the technology the CNET People's Voice Award, while Popular Mechanics magazine gave SYNC their Editor's Choice award.

While at CES we got a personal demonstration of the technology from Scott Porter, lead program manager for Microsoft Auto. The system did everything it is advertised to do, from taking voice commands, to integrating Bluetooth phones with the car to reading text messages received on your mobile phone. The most impressive thing it did was work just as well with Apple's iPod as it did with Microsoft's Zune. None of those tricks are anything different from what dozens of other electronics and even automotive companies are currently offering. One difference is the lack of GPS on SYNC. Could the Microsoft and Ford PR campaign pushing SYNC be the biggest reason for the People's Voice award? Then again, maybe we just don't "get" being able to have " :) " read out loud to us by a feminine digital voice as "smiley face," or the usefulness of taking 30 seconds or more to interrupt the music to ask SYNC what song is currently playing. We're looking forward to reading Popular Mechanics reasons for liking SYNC. Perhaps they saw something we didn't.

For the full Ford press release, click through to the jump.

In Part III you get a Qvale, a Bentley, a speaker-and-LCD-filled Mercedes and a bright blue BMW that either has a horrible mass of malignancy growing in the back seat, or a speaker box that resembles, um, what the hell does it resemble? Oh and a few pics of West Coast Customs' primer black two-door CLS. Sweet. The highlight, however, has got to be the convertible version of Jeff Gordon's NASCAR ride. Bill France, if you're reading this, we really want to see these things on the track. Either in its own class or right there alongside the coupe versions. Just imagine the excitement (not to mention dealer sales) these cars could bring to the NASCAR brand. Get back to us, we've got some ideas about helmet-optional motorcycle racing too.

Enjoy this gallery of 30 high-res 1280x photos from CES.

Btw, we do apologize for the lack of full-on shots from CES. The place is so crowded, it's very difficult to get decent shots without someone walking into the frame. We tried mace, a large stick, even some guy named Guido we found on the Strip to try to keep people out of our shots, but, as you might imagine, CES officials were unhappy. Next year, we're thinking positive reinforcement. Maybe distract the crowds with cookies. Or swag bags full of USB drives.

More cow-sized speakers, more LCDs, more more more more. And some really odd appliques for your car's otherwise blandly smooth body panels. The gray VW Beetle's ground shaking booms could be heard all over the show floor. Amazing such impressive sound could come from such a tiny car.

Check out the gallery for 34 more 1280x photos of flash and whiplash from CES 2007.

How many times have we heard our dads say, "These new cars, you just can't work on 'em." He's right. Instead of blue smoke out the tailpipe and a chatter under the hood, modern cars have vague "check engine" lights and incomprehensible error codes. At CES we saw two devices that translate at least some of those ones and zeros.

Both the Actron AutoScanner Plus and the CarMD have the same goals. For those who have more money than time and prefer someone else poke around under the hood, these two competing devices give some knowledge of your car's problem before turning it over to a pro. No reason to get hosed $4,000 for a fouled plug anymore. DIYers can take those translated codes to the Internet where each company provides database solutions to your problem.

Follow the jump for details on each device.

Even within the international geekfest that is CES, we found a few interesting machines. From old school to new school, to no school, the vehicles of CES ran the gamut of taste. About the only place we didn't see an LCD monitor installed in a car was under the gas cap. We've seen car trunks filled with monitors, but on the underside of the trunk lid? Really? Is that necessary? Maybe your kidnap victims can entertain themselves with a music video.

Speakers are a tremendously popular trend -- the more the better and the bigger the badder. Extra points are awarded for the number of seats taken up by your sound system, apparently. One Scion xB even had an extendable rear hatch full of speakers and the requisite LCDs. The only thing bigger than the CES cars' speakers were their shoes. The largest might have been the 30s seen on the Alpine RLS, but others came close. Popular colors were orange, orange, and a dark orange-like orange. And who knew automotive nitrous came in solid-rocket-booster-sized bottles? The Batmobile and Monkee mobile were in attendance, as was one pavement-rubbing, mega-slammed classic Caddy.

Check out the high-res (1280x) gallery of 33 photos of all the wild CES vehicles, with more to come.



UPDATE: After checking out the Part I gallery, Parts II, III, and IV are now available if you haven't had enough.

Pioneer electronics rolled out two custom cars as platforms to show off their latest mobile electronics.

Keith Losier and his team of plasma-torch-wielding Canadians converted an 2006 Pontiac Solstice to a neon green hardtop street racer with a 500 hp supercharged powerplant, 20s on the front, 22s on the back, and a completely reworked plush interior. And, of course, it's packed with Pioneer gadgets. A 6-disc DVD changer feeds numerous monitors, while Pioneer's Premier amps overcome the wind noise from all those body mods (and, we assume, the road noise from those 22s).

The 2005 tC was custom-built by Sixth Avenue Electronics using 19-inch wheels, and, in the tC's trunk, you'll find two 10-inch subs visible through the car's rear window connected to four PRS amps cranking out a heart-stopping 4,000 watts of power.

Check out the gallery for 25 more high-res, 1280x photos available for your personal use.