Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[VIDEO: Stig scam gets you around for free]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/26/video-stig-scam-gets-you-around-for-free/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/26/video-stig-scam-gets-you-around-for-free/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/26/video-stig-scam-gets-you-around-for-free/#commentsFiled under: , ,


The Chaser's War on Everything fake Stig sketch -- Click above to watch video

Here's a fantastic challenge that the Top Gear team didn't think up: if you walked around London dressed as the Stig, how many strangers would let you drive their cars? Aussie comedy show The Chaser's War on Everything went to London to find out, in an attempt to find a cheaper way to travel. What ensued was a guy in a bad Stig getup poaching transport from a few Brits -- and it only got better from there. Follow the jump to see the vid. Hat tip: Scott

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading VIDEO: Stig scam gets you around for free

VIDEO: Stig scam gets you around for free originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>australiachasers war on everythingChasersWarOnEverythingentertainmenthumorstigthe stigTheStigtop gearTopGearukvideoFri, 26 Jun 2009 19:26:00 EST<![CDATA[Pioneer using WiMax to send content to your car]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/26/pioneer-using-wimax-to-send-content-to-your-car/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/26/pioneer-using-wimax-to-send-content-to-your-car/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/26/pioneer-using-wimax-to-send-content-to-your-car/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Pioneer's prototype mobile network AV playback system - Click above to view the video after the jump

With so many infotainment devices being created, we're beginning to wonder what people are actually doing in their cars -- or rather, if they ever get out of their cars. Pioneer has thrown another electronic log onto the in-car streaming entertainment fire with its prototype network A/V playback system that uses WiMax. That means that any media you keep digitally stored at home could conceivably be streamed to your car.

We say conceivably because it will be a while before cities have enough WiMax coverage to make it all work. But when they do, your TiVo can go along for the ride. Because the device is mobile, you could also use it to watch something in another area of your house, or while relaxing in your backyard. You know, places where it makes a little more sense to be watching movies... Follow the jump to see a short video on the system.

[Source: Engadget]

Continue reading Pioneer using WiMax to send content to your car

Pioneer using WiMax to send content to your car originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>electronicsentertainmentgadgetsin-carin-car entertainmentIn-carEntertainmentlifestylemoviespioneertechtechnologyFri, 26 Jun 2009 09:28:00 EST<![CDATA[Studios fighting for DeLorean biopic]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/12/studios-fighting-for-delorean-biopic/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/12/studios-fighting-for-delorean-biopic/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/12/studios-fighting-for-delorean-biopic/#commentsFiled under: ,



It doesn't take a genius to figure out why Hollywood is working on a film about a car company going kaput. You might wonder, however, why three different factions are working on another movie about John Z. DeLorean. Brett Ratner is collaborating with producer Robert Evans on one pic, and Face/Off producer David Permut has another version in the works. Now Time, Inc Studios becomes the third horse in the race, working from material published in Time and Fortune magazines and an unpublished memoir penned by DeLorean himself.

While Ratner's project has name recognition associated with it, Time appears to have the in-house material and the blessing of John's son Zachary, who is executor to the estate. Still, with three studios on the case, the DeLorean film's production isn't assured, even though one producer said, "It's almost like an updated Citizen Kane story of the great American entrepreneurial hero, and how it all went wrong." If the DeLorean biopic ever does get made, it'll probably be like Tucker, but with more women, more cocaine, and more stainless steel. Which isn't a bad thing. Thanks for the tip, Neil!

[Source: The Independent]

Studios fighting for DeLorean biopic originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Click above to watch video after the jump

It's hard to tell what's going on in this first trailer for the upcoming Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen sequel that will air tonight during the Super Bowl, but there are more psychotic Decepticons amped up for a rematch, lots of Autobots getting their mechanical asses kicked, and anything that can be blown up gets blown up. It's everything you'd expect in Michael Bay film... plus Megan Fox. Follow the jump to watch the first official trailer for TROF, and check out some high-res screen captures of the action in the gallery below. Thanks for the tip, 94 taurus owner!

Gallery: Screen Captures from Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen trailer

Continue reading VIDEO - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen trailer released ahead of Super Bowl

VIDEO - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen trailer released ahead of Super Bowl originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 01 Feb 2009 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here's what you're doing tonight. You're going to your local big box retailer and walking out with a copy of Michael Bay's CG-extravaganza that was one of last summer's coolest ways to waste a couple hours: Transformers. We've all been inundated by the ad blitz, and now the DVD and HD-DVD are in stores now, still warm and offgassing from the pressing plant. You should do your homework to make sure you get the exclusive edition you want, though. Target's got the coolest, a DVD case that actually transforms into Optimus Prime, but Wal-Mart's got the prequel bundled with the film. If you're really hardcore and you need to have both, you'll end up with two copies of the feature. Or you could just go to Best Buy and get the two action figures and be done with it.

If you're in the Hollywood area, you can actually hang out with Bumblebee as he stands guard over the West Hollywood Gateway shopping center. It's an actual prop from the movie, and we think it's a brilliant idea to send Autobots out to promote their own DVD. After all, the life of unemployed Transformer can be tough (see video after the jump). The Hollywood Bumblebee is huge, you'd need Ironhide to tow it around, but you can also enter to win a Bumblebee Camaro when the model goes live in 2009.

[Source: Cinematical, Slashfilm, FilmSchoolRejects]

Continue reading Transformers on DVD has landed

Transformers on DVD has landed originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 17 Oct 2007 10:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Time to stretch your legs! Head to the snack bar and get something to munch on. Suggestions pop up on the screen in case you need some inspiration. The concessions are multitudinous, from sweet candy bars to crispy fish sandwiches (don't they look scrumptious?), you can push your cholesterol way into bad numbers for just a few bucks. If the first horror show got you all wound up, there's even a smorgasbord of cigarette selections to soothe your frayed nerves, just in time to run back before The Terror starts!

Missed Part 1? See it here.

Continue reading VIDEO: At the Autoblog Drive-In Part 2

VIDEO: At the Autoblog Drive-In Part 2 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 17 Aug 2007 15:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>50s60s70sdrive inDriveInentertainmentfiftiesfilmmoviesseventiessixtiesvideosvintageFri, 17 Aug 2007 15:04:00 EST<![CDATA[Only the beginning: hard drives in cars]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/10/only-the-beginning-hard-drives-in-cars/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/10/only-the-beginning-hard-drives-in-cars/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/10/only-the-beginning-hard-drives-in-cars/#commentsFiled under: , , ,



There's already been a silent technology explosion in automobiles over the last ten years. Command and control has become largely a computerized affair. With high and low speed data buses throughout the automobile, your car is basically a network. It used to be that you'd press the power window switch and current would flow to a motor, or it would trigger a relay. It was simple to execute in the design and manufacturing stages, and troubleshooting was a matter of time spent with a test light and a meter. Modern cars use protocols like CAN, or Controller Area Network, to facilitate the liberal smattering of increased functionality we all desire in our vehicles. Press that same window switch now, and a message is sent to the central processor that you desire a change in the window status. The central processor then alerts the window motor to energize in the proper direction, and then it's off to the races for the glass. Sounds overly complex at first blush, doesn't it?

The old way had some drawbacks that the new systems hopefully alleviate. Firstly, there were lots of potential failure points with analog control systems. Also, components had to be wired to each other for functionality, and that required lots of wire. Wire is expensive (checked the price of copper lately?), and it adds weight and takes up space. Networking protocols allow automakers to integrate functions as never before - check out the way the MazdaSpeed 3 dials down its power output depending on steering angle - while using less wire and having a system that's more reliable. These changes have gone on virtually unknown to most motorists, but the cool stuff is just around the bend.

[Source: Automotive Design Line]

Continue reading Only the beginning: hard drives in cars

Only the beginning: hard drives in cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 10 Jul 2007 18:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's better than Lee Iacocca saying something like "fo shizzle." Chrysler has joined up with Nickelodeon to shill their newly revamped minivans. With the addition of Sirius TV to beam content off the birds and into the backseat, it makes perfect sense for the two to team up. I'd rather interact with our child, but some parents just need a break from their little monsters, and video screens in the back seem to shut them up for a while. Cartoon characters have been used to sell cars before; even the Peanuts gang promoted Ford Falcons back in the '60s. Perhaps there will be some kind of Joe Camel effect, and the kids will specifically request that mom and pop take a ride at the Chrysler dealer when it's time for a new Wagon Queen Family Truckster. The new Chrysler minis are cool, with their video systems, flexible swivelly seats and if patriotism appeals to you, they're the last US brand in the game.

[Source: Kicking Tires]

Town & Country, Jimmy Neutron edition originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 27 Jun 2007 10:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>backseatchildrenchildren'schryslerdvdentertainmentjrjuniorkidsmarketingminivansnicknick jrnickelodeonNickJrprogrammingsiriustvWed, 27 Jun 2007 10:03:00 EST<![CDATA[Good riddance: The demise of the in-dash CD player is nigh]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/06/08/good-riddance-the-demise-of-the-in-dash-cd-player-is-nigh/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/06/08/good-riddance-the-demise-of-the-in-dash-cd-player-is-nigh/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/06/08/good-riddance-the-demise-of-the-in-dash-cd-player-is-nigh/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,



A few short years ago, getting a CD player or better yet, a multidisc changer in your car was an upgrade. Now, the little silver disc has taken up residence with cassettes as cast-off technology. Even with the cheap digital to analog converters that are in car stereos, CDs have a sound advantage over lossy data codecs like MPEG, but only us geeks seem to care that hi-hats sound like someone whisking an egg. Besides, portability and flexibility easily trumps esoteric sound quality. Truth be told, even though the original CDs sound better, my mp3 player is so much more convenient that I'll be adding an auxiliary input to my factory stereo - no small feat on some cars.

Ward's Automotive Interior show, currently underway at the Cobo center, is allowing automakers to show their wares to the masses over the next few days, with the realization that future vehicles are bound to dispatch that awkward center control unit for something more intuitive and user-programmable. Several automakers have already realized that people have all sorts of portable devices, and as such, new car interiors bristle with input jacks and 12-volt power sockets.

[Source: Detroit News]

Continue reading Good riddance: The demise of the in-dash CD player is nigh

Good riddance: The demise of the in-dash CD player is nigh originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 08 Jun 2007 10:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's like Pandora for your car! Slacker, a new web-based radio website has just launched this week. The channel selection is very similar to what's available on XM or Sirius, and we liken it to Pandora because the number of songs you can skip is limited, but the selection is large and the experience is flexible and customizeable. The website alone is a nice little diversion anywhere you've got a browser and bandwidth, but the exciting news is that there will soon be an iPod-like device so you can take your Slacker with you. That means never having to listen to the angry guy talk channel while stuck in a traffic jam again. It's also better than the four-song playlists each FM genre now spins, too. The portable device will store songs, and later this year Slacker will be unveiling a car dock that will be able to receive music from satellite signals.

Pulling down music from the birds is the same trick that Sirius and XM manage, but they cost money. Slacker is free once you purchase the hardware. How is that possible? Why, the very same way broadcast television and radio are free: advertising. If you're willing to sit through some ads, you get free music. In fact, the music is merely there to keep you interested enough that you'll continue to listen through the spots - of course, many of us are obsessive channel flippers (or worse yet, NPR junkies). You can have your Slacking and no commercials, too. For about half the price of Sirius, your $7.50 per month will keep the music rolling in and offer you unlimited skips and no ads. The price is so much lower because Slacker doesn't have big loans for satellites to pay off. The quality is in the MP3 realm, and sounds decent, which is encouraging. Some of us with finely tuned ears have a hard time listening to SatRad because of the digital compression artifacts. We'll see what happens if Slacker is able to popularize it's offerings, and deliver on the promise they're dangling tantalizingly in front of our noses.

[Source: Kicking Tires]

Slacker brings internet radio into your car originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 16 Mar 2007 11:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>audioentertainmenticein car electronicsin car entertainmentInCarElectronicsInCarEntertainmentinternetmusicradiosatellitesatellite radioSatelliteRadiosiriusxmFri, 16 Mar 2007 11:05:00 EST