In Your Car
General Motors' Chevrolet Volt has scored a 93 miles per gallon (MPG) rating by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) while running purely on batteries. Once your 25-50 miles of driving on a full charge runs up - you'll experience an average of 37MPG using traditional fuel alone.
While not as high as the Nissan Leaf's 99MPG, or anywhere near the original promise of 230MPG, GM is optimistic the rating will help secure the Volt's position as leader of the electric car pack. Perhaps with good reason, in comparison to the Leaf and other competitors - the Volt seems like an actual sedan rather than a subcompact.
Perhaps the best news of all is that with the sticker finalized, after a series of delays, we may actually see these babies in showrooms.
While many (including myself) on the Internets have cried foul over the USB-stuffed Mac mini we saw last week, it seems the progenitor of the information is determined to prove to the world that it exists. This time, there's a video for proof of the "new Mac mini":
Either someone is being tracked by Apple's (probably white) secret helicopters, or they're really, really good at modding a Mac mini.
Video of 'Leaked' Next-Gen Mac Mini? [MacRumors]
Oh boy, I smell trouble: Tesla has bumped the price of their all electric roadster by $6,700. This wouldn't be such a big deal, if it didn't also affect the 400 people who already pre-ordered a Tesla and have been waiting on delivery for over a year.
The price bump comes from features that were standard when the cars were ordered but have now been declared *not* standard. The big ticket item that's now an "option": the rapid charge component that allows the Tesla roadster's battery to charge in 3 hours (without it, the battery would take upwards of 37 hours to charge.) The feature is now an added $3,000.
Wow. Way to go Tesla. You've done the most stupid move available to a nascent company: piss off the customers who are fanatic enough about your product to deposit thousands of dollars on a car and wait over a year to get it.
Way to kill your potential brand evangelists.
While I realise the price bumps may be necessary to keep the company running in the long term, specially with the state of the economy, the correct thing to do would be to only charge *new* pre-orders with the extra costs, not retroactively apply price bumps to people who put money down on features you promised them.
Look, I *want* you to succeed, Tesla, because you're actually producing an all electric car in the U.S., which is no small feat, so I suggest you hire a PR person with a brain; one that can tell you directly how stupid this is. Oh wait, I'm giving you this advice for free.
Bad Tesla!
Tesla Raises Prices To 'Guarantee Viability' [Wired]
[via: Gearlog]
New photos have leaked out of the new design for the 2010 Toyota Prius thanks to the intrepid users at the PriusChat.com forums.
The photos have been confirmed as real by the official Toyota blog, which promises more 2010 Prius information to come in January.
The pictures also hint at the new OnStar like feature Toyota has hinted will debut with the 2010 Prius, with a "SOS" button clearly visible.
Personally, I think hybrid/electric cars should aspire to look more like Aptera's offerings, but that's just my geeky little heart that wants the future to look like the techno-funky future I've been promised in so many sci-fi films.
What do you think of the new look?
Yesterday, Chevrolet unveiled the new production model for the Volt plug-in hybrid, revealing a less dramatic, but still nice looking car that hopefully will have lots of people driving to work with nary a drop of gas used.
A really interesting feature that was advertised yesterday was that the Volt will know how far you are from home (most likely through GPS) and will use that information along with routing software to figure exactly how long your trip will be, letting it determine exactly how long it needs to run the gas engine to recharge the batteries if you're going outside the 40 mile battery range.
Pretty damn cool.
GM chalked up the changes in body design from the show car previously shown to aerodynamics. This design, they said, offers a much lower drag coefficient that will lead to even better fuel efficiency, and they've released the video to prove it! Check out the Volt in a wind tunnel:
While another car purchase is still a couple of years away for me, I'll definitely be looking for a plug-in hybrid when the time comes. Hopefully the Volt is only the first of many to come.
GM's Lutz: Chevy Volt Will Use GPS To Determine Distance From Home, Adjust Engine Accordingly [Jalopnik]
AC Schnitzer has come up with the latest prime example of gratuitous and useless use of gadgetry: the LCD Shift Knob. Gaze upon its frivolous glory!
Look, don't get me wrong - I love my gadgetry. I write for a gadget site! However, I tend to approach gadgets from a more pragmatic point: how does this gadget improve my life? How does it make it easier?
This must have been designed by a driver of an automatic transmission, because for anyone that actually drives a stick shift, it's pretty obvious how useless the LCD Shift Knob is. For you automatic lazy drivers, I'll give you a hint: it's a bad idea to look down at your stick shift while changing gears, because (SURPRISE!) the metal cage around you is hurdling down the road in perfect harmony with the laws of Newtonian Physics.
I'm not sure what that screen is supposed to help you do, but it's certainly not helping you drive. At least, not safely.
If by some strange reason you still want the LCD Shift Knob, look for it in future BWM and Mini car models.
AC Schnitzer LCD Shift Knob - An LCD in A Gear Shifter [Likecool]
[via: Coolest-Gadgets]
This quick and impressive six minute speech by Rob Gruhl sums up all the golden rules for buying a new car without getting screwed (the bad way) at the dealer:
I'm quite proud that most of these rules I had developed myself, but the tactics on how to get a dealership to bid competitively without "bidding competitively" are certainly new to me, and pure gold.
The tech angle? For many of us, a car purchase is one of the biggest gadget purchases we make, especially when you trick out your car with all the goodies!
[via: Lifehacker]
If you're a technophilic nomad like I am, you might be delighted by this four port USB charger that plugs into your car's lighter to juice up your bag of gadgets.
I was extremely disappointed lately when I plugged my new iPhone 3G into my old iPod/iPhone car charger only to be greeted by a screen telling me my charger was not compatible with the iPhone 3G. Damn you, Apple!
However, this new little wonder will allow me to charge my power hungry iPhone 3G using Apple's iPhone 3G "blessed" USB power cord and avoid any more stupid money grubbing issues in the future.
It also allows for up to three other gadgets to charge at the same time, with a user replaceable fuse to protect your gadgets as well!
You can grab it at USBFever for $23, though at the time of writing they're currently out of stock until September.
Product Page [USB Fever]
In car charger with 4 USB ports, great gadget juicer for frequent car travelers [TechChee]
[via: Coolest-Gadgets]
Looks like Chrysler is preparing to launch their Uconnect in-car WiFi this year that we told you about, a year ahead of the scheduled 2009 launch date. The only difference here being that people that pick up the $499 option with the $29 a month fee will not be able to have their Uconnect box built into the vehicle, instead their car will be retro fitted to accommodate the EV-DO transmitter.
This is great news! Now I can go get that Jeep I've been wanting, mount up my laptop, then take that bad boy for an all-out, off-roading/masturbation session! Oh, don't look at me like that, you know the only reason guys are going to get this option installed is for porn on the go. Yeah, it may be good for "business trips" (read: vacations with that hot intern) and "car pools" (read: orgies), but if I can get a bit torrent client to connect and provide a (pefectly legal, of course) constant stream of Falcon and Sean Cody, why the hell wouldn't I?
In any case, the company behind the EV-DO signal, Autonet Mobile, promises you'll never lose a signal. Which, for the price tag, you better damn well believe I won't lose a signal. I've got some hot, national-championship-title-having-college-wrestlers-turned-porn-stars to download (yeah, I'm just gonna say that link isn't quite SFW… just saying)!
RechargeIT, an investment programme run by Google.org, Google's philanthropic arm, has announced that it will be providing Aptera, makers of the 230mpg beautiful object of my car gadget lust you see pictured, with a $2.75 million infusion of cash to help them get the Aptera Typ-1 to buyers.
At a price tag of $30,000, the ridiculously huge fuel economy (refuel my car 10x less? Yes, please!), and looks that tickle the same spot Apple has been hitting for years, the Aptera Typ-1 is looking poised to provide welcome relief from soaring gas prices.
Google.org also provided another $2.75 million to ActaCell, makers of the battery technology that is going into some of the new hybrids and electrics coming out in the next few years.
Bravo, Google!
Google.org gives electric cars a push, with investments in Aptera and ActaCell [VentureBeat]
[via: Engadget]
If you live in one of those misguided states that seems to think outlawing handset usage and mandating headsets will actually improve driving (many studies are now concluding using a headset is basically just as bad - it's the divided attention that's the problem, not the physically holding a cellphone part), and you've gotten a ticket for your wanton cellphone usage on the road, Aliph is now extending a discount to ease your pain: a $20 discount on their Jawbone noise cancelling bluetooth headset.
Aliph's site is apparently hooked into the ticket database for each state that outlaws handset usage while driving and if you enter your ticket number, they'll automatically slap on a $20 discount to your order. A neat marketing gimmick, but even with the $20 discount, you're still laying out $110 for the luxury headset.
Me? I just refuse to answer the phone while I'm driving. No phone call is worth my life.
What about you folks? Do you use a headset while driving, or do you play it safe like I do?
Product Page [Jawbone]
[via: BBG]
I've come to the conclusion in that advertising people are screwed out of their minds. Completely. And I desperately want to be one. Just like Augusten Burroughs... wait. OK, maybe not just like him, but you get the idea.
Why do I bring this up? Because when I see campaigns like this and realize I had ideas identical to this in college and nearly failed my advertising courses because I was too crude (well, that's upper education in Kentucky for you).
This campaign is for the Prius. The "At Least He Drives A Prius" campaign is probably designed to counter the idea that people who drive Prius' are elitist bastards, but instead it makes you think they're all low-life's or schmucks. But whatever, it an awesome campaign and I want more!
Not that I'm in the market to buy a car, but I tell you what, knowing that I can drive my Prius up to the lake and dispose of bodies while playing "Al Capone" with my friends here in Chicago is a good enough sell to me!
Toyota Prius Campaign - Prostitute, Lover, Killer [Trendhunter]
[via: Geekologie]
And girls who like girls who like fembots!
Gadget of the Week
3D iPhone glasses. Why?
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General Motors' Chevrolet Volt has scored a 93 miles per gallon (MPG) rating by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) while running purely on batteries. Once your 25-50 miles of driving on a full charge runs up - you'll experience an average of 37MPG using traditional fuel alone.
