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[Google Street View confirms Elephantitis strikes deer population in Canada]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/08/google-street-view-confirms-elephantitis-strikes-deer-population/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/08/google-street-view-confirms-elephantitis-strikes-deer-population/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/08/google-street-view-confirms-elephantitis-strikes-deer-population/#commentsFiled under:



Let's all collectively thank the glorious bit of technology that is Google Street View for letting the world know about the rare and mostly undocumented breakout of Elephantitis in Canada's deer population. Unlike the human form of the disease which is generally characterized by the swelling of a single body part, deer Elephantitis apparently morphs the hapless affected creatures into real-life elephants. If you're driving in the area, extra caution is advisable.

It seems that this street sign was spotted by a Google Street View camera car somewhere in Vancouver. We're not sure how it got there or if it's nothing more than a funny prank, but it is most definitely real. Oh, and for the record, the proper medical term is really Elephantiasis (thanks, Wikipedia!).

[Source: Google Street View via Jalopnik]

Google Street View confirms Elephantitis strikes deer population in Canada originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>canadadeerdeer crossingdeer crossing signDeerCrossingDeerCrossingSignelephantelephant crossingelephant crossing signElephantCrossingElephantCrossingSignelephantsgoogle street viewgoogle street view signGoogleStreetViewGoogleStreetViewSignStreet view humorstreet view mapsStreetviewstreetview humorStreetViewHumorStreetViewMapsvancouverThu, 08 Oct 2009 17:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Circuit Logic: Mazda captures Laguna Seca on Google Street View]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/08/circuit-logic-mazda-captures-laguna-seca-on-google-street-view/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/08/circuit-logic-mazda-captures-laguna-seca-on-google-street-view/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/08/circuit-logic-mazda-captures-laguna-seca-on-google-street-view/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on Google StreetView - Click above to jump to the interactive map

Looking for a corkscrew? If it's a bottle of wine you're looking to open, we're afraid we can't help you there, pal. But if you want to take an interactive look at one of America's best race tracks, Mazda and Google have come to the rescue.

The Japanese automaker has captured the Laguna Seca race track (which it sponsors) from every which angle and placed it on Google Street View, making it the first circuit available on the online service. The interactive feature allows you to check out the track from start to finish, Andretti hairpin to the famous Corkscrew downhill kink, all from the comfort of your own home. In fact, we've placed the widget together with the press release right after the jump for your convenience, along with a brace of high-resolution images in the gallery below.


Gallery: Laguna Seca on Google StreetView

laguna-seca_street-view01__jpg72laguna-seca_street-view03__jpg72laguna-seca_street-view02__jpg72laguna-seca_street-view04__jpg72

[Source: Mazda]

Continue reading Circuit Logic: Mazda captures Laguna Seca on Google Street View

Circuit Logic: Mazda captures Laguna Seca on Google Street View originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We happen to love Google StreetView for the fun things that can be found using the free service. Ugly Buicks, Porsches testing in Colorado and even a rare split-window Corvette barn find are just a few of the many, many things uncovered by Google's free service, which snaps 360-degree images at eye level using specially equipped cars with roof-mounted cameras. Of course, there are going to be privacy concerns when you hire people to drive around with a camera on a stick and take pictures, and complaints coming out of Japan have reportedly forced Google to go back to the drawing board and reshoot the entire country.

The complaints center around the fact that the camera taking pictures is mounted high enough to see over fences and into yards, thereby violating certain expectations of privacy. Google has already shot 12 major Japanese cities, including Tokyo, but will be scrapping everything and starting over after modifications have been made to the camera mounts to lower their field of vision. Google StreetView was recently banned in Greece over privacy issues and other regions around the world have also not looked kindly on being invaded by the all-seeing swarm of Google cars. How do you see it?


View Poll


[Source: JapanToday.com, Photo by carolmond | CC2.0]

REPORT: Google forced to re-shoot all of Japan's StreetView images [w/POLL] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 18 May 2009 16:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After revolutionizing search, advertising, and e-mail, Google is changing the way police in Greater Manchester keep track of motorists: Filming them a la StreetView.

After having seen Google's StreetView car doing its Cylon sweep of everything, everywhere, the local authorities were apparently inspired to outfit Smart ForTwos with high-rise cameras to capture data. The cars will focus their views near "a high occurrence of 'driver distraction' collisions and where officers have regularly observed offenses being committed."

The police aren't trying to hide anything -- the ForTwos are evidently outfitted in official livery, and besides, there's that gigantic telephone pole of a camera mast sticking out of the roof as a less-than-subtle tipoff. What the police are hoping is that you won't be able to hide anything, either.

The surveiling Smart cars are only part of a pilot program for now, but you can bet that if they're effective, you've only seen the beginning of them.

Thanks, Google...

[Source: Daily Mail via CNET | Image: Manchester Evening News]

Google StreetView inspires copycat Smart ForTwo police patrol in UK originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>englandeuroeuropegooglegoogle streetviewGoogleStreetviewgovernmentlegalmanchesterpolicesmartstreetviewukThu, 09 Apr 2009 14:39:00 EST<![CDATA[They're Watching: Google StreetView catches Porsches testing in Colorado]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/30/theyre-watching-google-streetview-catches-porsches-testing-in/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/30/theyre-watching-google-streetview-catches-porsches-testing-in/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/30/theyre-watching-google-streetview-catches-porsches-testing-in/#commentsFiled under: , ,



There's no hiding these days from Big Brother. The nutcases in the tin-foil hats would tell you there never was, but now even automakers have to watch out. Development teams out testing prototypes on public roads used to have to watch out for professional spy photographers, but with the advent camera phones and now Google Street View, there's no hiding anywhere. That's what the boys at Garage419 discovered when they found shots of several Porsche prototypes on service while searching for a good driving road in Colorado.

Hard to tell much from the shots of the Boxsters, Caymans and 911s, except to say that the automakers' dev teams and the paparazzi alike have a new kid on the block to watch out for.

[Source: Garage419]

They're Watching: Google StreetView catches Porsches testing in Colorado originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 30 Dec 2008 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thanks to inventions like GPS Navigation and online directions, it's getting harder to get lost by the day. Google Maps has been a big hit for folks trying to navigate to new destinations, and the free service just got cooler with the integration of Street-View into driving directions. Now when you enter a destination and get step by step directions, you can also click on a camera icon on the map to get a street-level view of the roads you'll be traveling.

Street Maps allows you to rotate the view, click arrows to virtually travel the route, and even check out landmarks that you'll be passing along the way. That way you'll have a distinct visual to look out for when you're going to turn, instead of seeing the tiny street sign at the last possible minute. The photo resolution is so clear, you can check out where there are one-way streets, read parking signs, and even keep tabs on speed limits on your route. The only draw-back is that you need to be within one of the 44 regions of the US to use the feature, but most metropolitan areas have the feature.

[Source: Carscoop]

Google Maps Street-View features upgraded visuals for directions originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 02 May 2008 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wasting time scouring Google Maps with the company's new Street View feature has become our new favorite hobby. Earlier today we showed you one of the vehicles that's used to take the street level pictures. It turns out these vehicles capture some amazing things, and since they're on the ground rather than orbiting the earth, we can actually make out some cool stuff in the pics.

For instance, some mom must be so proud that her son parks his modified Buick Regal right in front of the house for all to see. He probably leaves the doors unlocked, because there's little chance anyone would approach that paint job voluntarily.

Thanks to a commenter, we found a site that's collecting all of the interesting photos the Street View cars find, and some of them are, of course, auto related. Take, for instance, the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine van that was snapped in a Palo Alto, CA parking lot. Or how about the license plate-less Mercedes-Benz of Steve Jobs? Then there are some incriminating photos that could get the Street View in trouble with their bosses. This one caught them in the drive thruhanging out at McDonalds, and this pic shows them amidst a flow of traffic that's exceeding the posted speed limit.

If you find something interesting related to autos while using Google Maps' new Street View feature, make sure to hit the Tip button above and send us the link.

Thanks to anonymous for the tip! (You know who you are)

Google Street View finds one fugly Buick and more originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 01 Jun 2007 20:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While it was much more fun to think of the little hover-droid flying around New York City waiting to snap pictures for you of the surrounding city-scape, the reality is a bit less interesting, although more realistic. The vehicle you see in the picture above is one of Immersive Media's camera wielding cars, a Volkswagen New Beetle to be exact. These are the cars that Google is using to populate their new Street View function with pictures of major cities, or as Immersive Media themselves refer to it: 360° georeferenced spherical video. Ummm... yeah.

Since I just ruined John's fantasy of the little hover-droid, I propose this stunning possibility: Maybe this is the real Bumblebee from Transformers! He's no Camaro, he was a Bug all along. He's come to earth in an attempt to map out possible... alright, nevermind. I'll just go back to thinking of the hover-droid.

[Source: Immersive Media via Engadget]

Google's Street View Car: Take a look at the vehicle that's looking at you! originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 01 Jun 2007 13:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Using Google Maps to peer down from the heavens and zoom into your best friend's back yard never gets old. Today Google further fed our God complex by introducing a brand new feature to its all-encompassing maps called Street View. Though it only appears to be working in major cities like the Big Apple, Street View allows you to drag a little yellow figure (kind of looks like the AOL dude) around the map, and wherever you drop him a window pops up showing you a 360-degree image around which you can pan to see what the figure sees at that location. It also shows you which direction each street flows, and whether it's two-way or one-way.

My overactive imagination explains the technology this way. As you drag the figure around the map, a small hover droid is activated and follows your movements over the cityscape of New York City. When you let go over, say, 436 11th Ave., the droid rapidly descends in front of the Jacob Javits Center and quickly takes a series of snaps around its spheroid body, which are then uploaded via a sat-com link to the servers at Google HQ.

Seriously, it's a pretty trick feature that should make driving to your destination much easier since you will actually know what your destination looks like. Hopefully the feature quickly rolls out in other cities besides the biggest ones.

[Source: Google Maps via Digg]

Google Maps adds Street View function originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 May 2007 15:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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