Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[BMW taps Local Motors crowd-sourcing community to design the city car of 2025]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2012/09/20/bmw-taps-local-motors-crowd-sourcing-community-to-design-the-cit/http://www.autoblog.com/2012/09/20/bmw-taps-local-motors-crowd-sourcing-community-to-design-the-cit/http://www.autoblog.com/2012/09/20/bmw-taps-local-motors-crowd-sourcing-community-to-design-the-cit/#commentsFiled under: , , ,



Design-by-commitee. It is a term that we usually reserve for cars that are conceived by number-crunching product planners, rather than true designers, but this case might be different. What if that committee was every enthusiast on the planet? "Crowd-sourcing," or "open-sourcing" is a concept employed by upstart automaker Local Motors. The first spawn of this process was the insanely cool Rally Fighter, so you can't argue with the results, right?

BMW agrees, and has announced that it is teaming up with Local Motors to put on the BMW "Urban Driving Experience Challenge." It is a competition, conducted by Local Motors through its extensive crowd-sourcing community, to develop a city car for the year 2025. According to Local Motors, the competition gives its community "the opportunity to identify and design the premium vehicle features and functions that will enhance the urban driving experience of the future."

Phase One of the competition begins September 25 and runs to October 16. The second phase starts in mid-November. A total of $30,000 in prize money will be awarded in the competition, and the top winners will each travel to Munich, Germany to meet BMW's director of research and development.

There's a good bit of synergy between these two automakers. Following the Rally Fighter, Local Motors voiced its interest in crowd-sourcing a city car, which is a shared interest with BMW, given the automaker's i3 concept. Also, before the 6.2-liter GM V8 ended up under the hood of the Rally Fighter, the original powerplant was a BMW diesel 3.0-liter straight-six.

Scroll below to check out the promo video and press release.

Continue reading BMW taps Local Motors crowd-sourcing community to design the city car of 2025

BMW taps Local Motors crowd-sourcing community to design the city car of 2025 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 Sep 2012 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bmwbmw i3city carcrowd sourcecrowdsourcei3local motorslocal motors rally fighteropen sourcerally fighterurban driving experience challengeThu, 20 Sep 2012 08:29:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/20325899/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2012/09/20/bmw-taps-local-motors-crowd-sourcing-community-to-design-the-cit/20325899/article-detail.xml 20325899 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/09/bmw-urban-banner-628_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/09/bmw-urban-banner-628.jpg <![CDATA[Nissan shows off crowdsourced 370Z]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2012/08/09/nissan-shows-off-crowdsourced-370z/http://www.autoblog.com/2012/08/09/nissan-shows-off-crowdsourced-370z/http://www.autoblog.com/2012/08/09/nissan-shows-off-crowdsourced-370z/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Nissan's crowd-sourced 370z

How often do you leave a comment on a post, "It would be cool if that car had (insert Part X)." It's always fun to think "what if?" Well, Nissan has taken advantage of the creative minds of enthusiasts everywhere by crowdsourcing the build of a custom 370Z. Nothing was off limits for modification. The engine, wheels, tires, interior, and exterior were all subject to vote. Nissan even asked you what suspension to use.

The build is finally complete and Nissan is ready to show off the fruits of your choices. In stage one, Steven Lam and his team of fellow mechanics removed the front clip and hoses in order to pull the engine. Once out, the 3.7-liter six was fitted with a Greddy twin turbo kit that Lam estimates will push output over 500 horsepower. To complement the twin snails, fans chose a Greddy Ti-C catback system for more freely flowing exhaust.

Next up was the suspension, which was left to a vote by Autoblog readers (you're just gonna have to click on the first video below to see which one was selected), followed by a Stoptech big brake kit.

In stage two, the car was dyno'd, the fuel/air mix tweaked, and the aesthetics were addressed. Click on the second video to see their progress, and the final video for the eventual reveal of the crowd-customized 370Z.

Continue reading Nissan shows off crowdsourced 370Z

Nissan shows off crowdsourced 370Z originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 09 Aug 2012 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>2013 nissan 370z370 z370zcrowd-sourcedcrowdsourcecrowdsourcingmodified znismo znissannissan zturbocharged nissanThu, 09 Aug 2012 14:58:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/20297201/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2012/08/09/nissan-shows-off-crowdsourced-370z/20297201/article-detail.xml 20297201 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/08/croud-z-628_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/08/croud-z-628.jpg <![CDATA[Apple gives Google Maps the boot, adds free turn-by-turn navigation to iPhone]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2012/06/12/apple-gives-google-maps-the-boot-adds-free-turn-by-turn-navigat/http://www.autoblog.com/2012/06/12/apple-gives-google-maps-the-boot-adds-free-turn-by-turn-navigat/http://www.autoblog.com/2012/06/12/apple-gives-google-maps-the-boot-adds-free-turn-by-turn-navigat/#commentsFiled under:

Apple Maps shown on iPad 2The big news in the tech world right now is the World Wide Developer's Conference which Apple just concluded. That's where the House that Jobs Built unveiled its latest operating systems for both computers and mobile devices, its latest laptop computer design and more. But what does this all have to do with cars, you ask? Plenty.

First off, Apple used the high-profile press conference extravaganza to announce the integration of its Siri voice service into cars, starting with nine automakers (among them the massive General Motors group) that will be putting a dedicated button on their steering wheels to allow drivers to activate the service on their iPhones and iPads without taking their hands off the wheel or their eyes off the road. But that's not all that's of relevance to motorists from WWDC 2012.

Apple has also announced the launch of its own Maps application, replacing the Google Maps utility it had begrudgingly integrated into its devices until now. Resulting from Apple's acquisition of several erstwhile independent digital cartography operations, Maps aims to improve on the popular Google service with such features as spoken turn-by-turn directions with real-time ETA, smooth-scrolling 3D imaging, aerial flyover views of city centers and important landmarks, Siri integration and real-time traffic information.

The latter is reportedly crowdsourced anonymously from other users, leaving us with some questions regarding privacy issues. But we'll leave that to the guys with the tin-foil hats while we blissfully revel in Big Brother's latest offering to the masses. Follow the links below to see what Apple has in store in greater detail.

Apple gives Google Maps the boot, adds free turn-by-turn navigation to iPhone originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 12 Jun 2012 10:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>appleapple mapscrowdsourcecrowdsourcingiosipadiphonemapsnavigationsat navsat-navsatellite navigationworld wide developers conferencewwdcwwdc12Tue, 12 Jun 2012 10:44:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/20256566/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2012/06/12/apple-gives-google-maps-the-boot-adds-free-turn-by-turn-navigat/20256566/article-detail.xml 20256566 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/06/ios-maps_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/06/ios-maps.jpg <![CDATA[Local Motors builds XC2V Flypmode prototype for DARPA]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2011/06/27/local-motors-builds-xc2v-flypmode-prototype-for-darpa/http://www.autoblog.com/2011/06/27/local-motors-builds-xc2v-flypmode-prototype-for-darpa/http://www.autoblog.com/2011/06/27/local-motors-builds-xc2v-flypmode-prototype-for-darpa/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Local Motors DARPA XC2V
Local Motors DARPA XC2V - Click above to watch the video after the jump

Typically when the Pentagon puts out a tender for a new contract, it goes to to established defense contractors. Not so with the new XC2V FlypMode combat vehicle. This time, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) crowd-sourced the project, meaning that it opened up the contract to the general public to design.

The result is the vehicle you see here. Designed by the same Local Motors behind the Rally Fighter, the XC2V - shorthand for Experimental Crowd-derived Combat-support Vehicle - is, for the time being at least, a "proof of principle project," so we're not likely to see it go into production any time soon.

Whatever becomes of this impressively capable-looking vehicle, that Local Motors managed to put the whole thing together in just 14 weeks could be the most impressive part of all. Especially considering it would probably take us longer to build a kit car, and those have all the components and instructions ready to go. Follow the jump to watch the time-lapse video of the build from start to finish.

Continue reading Local Motors builds XC2V Flypmode prototype for DARPA

Local Motors builds XC2V Flypmode prototype for DARPA originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>crowdsourcecrowdsourcingdarpalocal motorsmilitary vehiclexc2vxc2v flypmodeMon, 27 Jun 2011 16:30:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/19977230/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2011/06/27/local-motors-builds-xc2v-flypmode-prototype-for-darpa/19977230/article-detail.xml 19977230 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/06/darpa-xc2v_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/06/darpa-xc2v.jpg -1 2