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Pandora may becoming a standard on every major OEM infotainment system, but all-you-can-eat subscription music services haven’t gained the same momentum or widespread adoption. MOG is aiming to change that with automotive partnerships with BMW and Mini, but its just-announced tie-up with Aha Radio extends MOG’s reach even further, and has wider implications, not just for the on-demand music service, but for Aha Radio as a whole.

The partnership with Aha Radio (now owned by Harman) is just the first of several MOG will be announcing in 2012. Aftermarket companies like JVC are also implementing the music service into their head units, but what’s more important is the usage of Aha Radio as the method of delivery.

Rather than going to an automaker, getting approval to use its API and then developing an app that only works with one infotainment system, MOG is integrating its service into Aha Radio, which delivers a range of content – from restaurant information to Facebook feeds – into a single app that’s ported and controlled through your in-dash touchscreen.

So Aha Radio is the platform – a one-stop conduit for content – and MOG, NPR, CNN, Twitter, Facebook and others deliver the substance.

Both Honda and Subaru have announced partnerships with Aha Radio and plan to integrate the service into their factory head units beginning this spring. But you don’t need to buy a 2013 Subaru BRZ (pictured above) to get in on the action. Kenwood will join Pioneer to begin offering Aha Radio on its head units later this year. and even better, Aha Radio runs and integrates with both iOS and Android devices, so no need to worry about connectivity issues. Hit the jump for the all the details.

Continue reading MOG comes to Aha Radio. Aha Radio comes to Honda, Subaru. Here’s why it matters.

MOG comes to Aha Radio. Aha Radio comes to Honda, Subaru. Here’s why it matters.

A new study commissioned by British parking lot operator NCP has found that nearly half of all UK drivers name their vehicles. Researchers questioned a total of 3,000 UK drivers ranging in age from 17 to 45 to determine whether or not they have a special moniker for their vehicle. The study also took the time to look into which names drivers chose.

In the UK, most drivers tend to prefer names derived from celebrities, with 24 percent of those surveyed opting for high-profile labels. Prince William and Lady Gaga are apparently two of the most popular vehicle names at the moment, though drivers also favor cartoon characters, sports figures and politicians.

Interestingly enough, three percent of those surveyed say they name their vehicle after coworkers. It makes us wonder what kind of vehicle Dwight Schrute from The Office would be. Clearly, not everyone feels attached enough to their car to give it a name, with 20 percent of those surveyed saying those who do are “sad.” Some people just don’t know how to have any fun, eh?

Our staff’s driveways are filled with plenty of unique vehicular characters, including one very determined ‘78 International Scout Terra that goes by the name Death Proof. Do you name your vehicles? Let the world know what you call your car in the Comments, but not before taking part in our brief poll below.

View Poll

Nearly half of Brits surveyed name their cars… do you? [w/poll]

General Motors is slowly pushing OnStar into the infotainment realm as it recognizes its telematics system needs to provide more than emergency services and navigation functionality to entice consumers. To that end, at CES this January OnStar is rolling out another connectivity concept employing 4G LTE broadband to bring even more media into the car.

Last year, GM outfitted a Buick LaCrosse with Verizon’s high-speed data service, but the 2012 concept is based around the more tech-centric Chevrolet Volt. Among the services fitted to the Volt are cloud-based streaming media and information, a duo of tablets mounted on the backs of the front seats and the same video chat functionality we sampled last year.

Additionally, Cadillac will be showing off a more refined version of its CUE entertainment system in Sin City, and we’ll have hands-on with both in a few week’s time. Hit the jump for the official release.

Continue reading OnStar bringing another 4G LTE concept to CES

OnStar bringing another 4G LTE concept to CES

We’re in the final hours of the six-hour ALMS race here at Laguna Seca, and while the real battle is playing out between Mazda and Aston Martin in LMP1 and BMW and Corvette in the GT class, we’re here to catch the west coast debut of the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid.

After its first North American appearance at Road Atlanta last October and its impressive 22+ hour run at the Nurbürgring 24 race earlier this year, the Hybrid and its crew packed up and headed west for this second to last race of the season. While the Hybrid isn’t a contender – it’s running in an exhibition class of one since the tech isn’t approved in the GT regulations – it continues to be a rolling and racing test-bed for Porsche’s high-performance hybrid technology. And it’s doing well.

So what’s next for the tech? LeMans, of course.

Continue reading Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid takes to Laguna, electric tech bound for 2014 LeMans

Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid takes to Laguna, electric tech bound for 2014 LeMans

What’s the difference between 56.2 and 54.5 miles per gallon? Way more than 1.7 mpg, that’s for sure.

The Detroit News is reporting that the Obama White House is dialing down the proposed 2025 fuel economy requirement to 54.5 mpg. Earlier, we had heard that 62 mpg would be the new target for 2025 – then that got slashed to 56.2. The numbers could, of course, change again, but this plan would effectively mean passenger cars will need to become, on average, five percent more fuel efficient every year between 2017 and 2025. Trucks will be allowed to get cleaner slower: three percent improvements each year between 2017 and 2021 and then five percent annually until 2025.

One of the contentious issues here is whether the higher fuel economy level will help or hurt the economy and the auto industry. The Auto Alliance, which represents most major automakers, says that the OEMs are already doing a fine job putting fuel efficient vehicles on the market. There are many voices, though, that don’t want the government to keep lowering the target. Go60mpg, for example, is an advertising campaign targeting lawmakers in D.C. and trying to push them to go high.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a study last fall that claimed a five-percent annual increase in fuel economy would drive up the cost of a new vehicle by $2,100. The Consumer Federation of America counters that a 56-mpg threshold would “save consumers over $6,000 per vehicle in gasoline costs over the vehicle’s lifetime” (details after the jump).

So, that 1.7-mpg drop contains a pretty big political fight. The number is moving in the direction that the automakers want, but whether they will accept it as low enough is not yet clear.

Continue reading White House lowers 2025 CAFE target to 54.5 mpg

White House lowers 2025 CAFE target to 54.5 mpg

At CES this year, we sat down with Johan de Nysschen and Dr. Peter Steiner from Audi to discuss the automaker’s future infotainment plans. At the time, Steiner mentioned that his team had looked into the possibility of an integrated app store built into the MMI system. And Audi isn’t alone.

According to a report by Automotive News Europe, Mercedes-Benz is looking into the possibility of its own software market, which the automaker’s chief designer, Gorden Wagener, says would release apps “that make the life of the Mercedes driver even more comfortable.”

Wagener didn’t get into specifics about what apps would be available and how they would be delivered, but he makes it clear that high-speed in-car wireless internet is a requirement. “It will take a while before we bring this into cars across the board,” says Wagener. “The big issue here is the infrastructure. Without a data infrastructure that permits fairly high transmission speeds into the car, it’s no fun and it doesn’t make sense.”

While Audi has already included 4G LTE in its product roadmap, the hardware won’t be available until 2015 at the earliest. And Mercedes has yet to announce plans to bring high-speed data connections to its vehicles (it toyed with the tech in 2009). Until that happens – and strict software guidelines are in place – don’t expect an embedded Mercedes app store for at least the next few years.

Mercedes considering automotive app store

The ongoing spat between a company known as LightSquared and a number of high-profile combatants including the Defense Department, the Federal Aviation Administration, John Deere and General Motors‘ OnStar service continues unabated.

The Federal Communications Commission, which has to approve of the company’s proposed broadband network, has placed LightSquared under some tight deadlines and has asked the company and its many detractors to put together a joint report on how to proceed with the network without interfering with GPS systems already in place.

In a series of 46 tests performed by the National Executive Committee for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation & Timing, the LightSqaured service disrupted communications from both OnStar and GPS devices used by the likes of the U.S. military.

GM and its OnStar subsidiary believes a workaround is possible. Says OnStar spokesperson Vijay Iyer, “We’d love to be part of that testing and validation and we believe there is potential mitigation solutions specifically geared toward that bandwidth that’s being used out there.”

Assuming these companies and agencies can all get their issues worked out, LightSquared hopes to have its service commercially available to 100 million subscribers by 2012. A series of hearings on the matter have been announced for June 23rd by two subcommittees from the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Stay tuned.

OnStar asks FCC to investigate LightSquared over GPS interference

Some concepts debut at an auto show and are never heard from again. Some make the rounds of minor local car shows. A small number make it into production. But it’s full speed ahead for the Aston Martin V12 Zagato.

The collaborative effort between Aston Martin and Zagato was unveiled at the prestigious Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the original DB4GT Zagato. A stunning creation, the show car handily won the award for concepts at the Italian lakeside concours. The next step? Racing.

Right from the start, Aston announced that the V12 Zagato would be hitting the race track in no less rigorous a test than Germany’s Nürburgring. And so it will, starting this weekend and returning in tandem next month for a second outing. But before it does, Aston’s released these images of the car.

The car that debuted in Villa d’Este ditched the diamond-finish wheels from the advance pictures for blacked-out ones, but it has kept the front splitter, full roll cage and sliding plastic driver’s-side window. The image above shows an even larger splitter, along with a giant rear wing. Otherwise, the racecar looks essentially the same as the coupe that won the Concorso D’Eleganza Design Award at Villa d’Este, but it’ll likely feature a full competition livery when it makes its race debut this weekend. Check out the updated image gallery and the award announcement after the jump.

Continue reading Aston Martin V12 Zagato heads from Villa d’Este to the race track

Aston Martin V12 Zagato heads from Villa d’Este to the race track

During a shakedown run before the 2011 Rally of Portugal, Ken Block wrecked his Ford Fiesta WRC car in a big way. The high-sprung rally car clipped a berm at the start of a turn, and the resulting series of flips were both violent and scary. Block and his teammate Alex Gelsomino checked out of the hospital with a clean bill of health, but the same prognosis can’t be said of the car.

That means we don’t feel guilty for showing you more footage of the wreck, which comes courtesy of the Monster World Rally team. The post-jump clip is over two minutes long, with the oddball goofiness we’ve come to expect from Block and Co. We’re thinking the theme here is that of a near-death experience – we can’t fathom another reason why Block would be floating around a pool, in full racing gear, with an angelic glow all around him.

Hit the jump to watch the horrific crash, which makes its entrance at 2:13, followed by a slow-motion replay.

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: New footage of Ken Block’s crash in Portugal

Video: New footage of Ken Block’s crash in Portugal

There’s a whole world of radio frequencies and space-based signals that most of us don’t care to know much about. But when it comes to our cell phones and GPS units, what we don’t know may just hurt us… or at least hurt our ability to find the nearest fast food restaurant.

Consumer Reports says a signal conflict between a Reston, VA 4G network by a company called LightSquared and the GPS systems that we’ve come to rely on could be a very bad thing. Opponents ranging from GPS makers to the U.S. military object to the LightSquared network, which is said to have too close a signal to GPS signals. And since GPS is satellite-only and the 4G system will use both satellites and thousands of local towers, the 4G service could drown out GPS signals. Without GPS, the military, first responders and trucking companies could have a difficult time serving, saving and monitoring, which could endanger lives. That’s not good.

LightSquared is reportedly saying the two systems can both work together, and the company has the Federal Communications Commission on its side. For the near term, though, government officials have reportedly told the Associated Press that LightSquared systems won’t be turned on until there are assurances that GPS signals won’t be lost.

[Source: Consumer Reports]

New nationwide 4G network to interfere with GPS units?

Audi has announced that T-Mobile will supply wireless data for its growing line of net-connected vehicles, allowing drivers to access a range of Audi Connect services on the go. That’s the good news. And there’s a bit more.

The service will debut on the 2012 Audi A7 (with integration for the 2012 A8, A6, Q7 and Q5 Hybrid coming later) and allow drivers to access Google Local Search and Sirius Traffic data, which combined with voice-controlled Google Earth integration will provide drivers with topographical and satellite imagery – the first of its kind in the industry.

Other services include real-time news, weather data and fuel prices, and if your passengers have a WiFi-capable device, Audi Connect will turn the vehicle into a secure, rolling hotspot. All of this will be accessed directly through Audi’s MMI control system, with a T-Mobile sim card provided by the dealer, plugged into the dash and owners given a six-month trial period for the service. After that, you’ll have to sign up for a monthly plan, which Audi and T-Mobile have yet to announce pricing for. So… all good stuff. Now for the bad news.

Markus Putze, VW/Audi’s Senior Engineer on the program, told Autoblog from the CTIA Wireless show that Audi’s much-hyped implementation of 4G LTE connectivity won’t be coming anytime soon. “There are no automotive grade [LTE] modules available at this time,” says Putze, and because of that, integration of high-speed wireless broadband into Audi’s lineup isn’t due to arrive until 2015. At the earliest.

And before the naysayers jump in and say T-Mobile already offers 4G, we’ll stop you right there. According to the definition provided by the International Telecommunication Union, T-Mobile’s HSPA+ system doesn’t provide the speeds necessary to be defined as 4G – that’s at least 100 Mbps down and T-Mobile’s “4G” service only clocks in at 12 Mbps.

However, the agreement between Audi and T-Mobile is set for a minimum of eight years – plenty of time for the carrier to roll out its own real 4G LTE network – and if the deal with AT&T goes through (at least nine months to a year away), that could escalate the development of the service.

Continue reading T-Mobile tapped for Audi Connect service, LTE not coming until 2015

T-Mobile tapped for Audi Connect service, LTE not coming until 2015

With the 2011 Chicago Auto Show out of the way, manufacturers can now turn their attentions toward Geneva. Apparently, Gumpert has done just that. As we’ve heard, the supercar manufacturer is planning to yank the sheets back on its Tornante next month, and we now have a decent idea of what the bruiser will bring to the table when it arrives. The newest Gumpert will offer up a little more refinement than the speed-above-all-else Apollo, and the grand tourer will likely boast a more comfortable cabin and civil ride as a result.

Don’t expect performance to fall off by any massive degree, though. Buyers will still get to sink their teeth into the juicy 4.2-liter twin-turbo V8 engine responsible for sending the Apollo’s tires to the smoky beyond. The mill will still be bolted to the same TT40e transmission, though a new set of paddle shifters will handle cog-swapping detail.

There is some word that Gumpert is also working on an alternative-power drivetrain, but details are skimpy on that machine at the moment. Feel free to click past the break for the official press release.

Photos copyright (C)2011 Jonathon Ramsey / AOL

[Source: Gumpert]

Continue reading Gumpert Tornante details come into focus ahead of Geneva

Gumpert Tornante details come into focus ahead of Geneva

There are plenty of companies making a single line of supercars. Pagani, Weismann, Spyker, McLaren… we could go on and on. But if you’re going to pick a serious fight with established names like Ferrari and Lamborghini, you’re going to need a second line. And that’s precisely what Gumpert has in store for us at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show.

You may recognize the name Gumpert as the company behind the Apollo, a ridiculously fast and extreme exotic supercar. It was founded by one Roland Gumpert, former head of the motorsport division at Audi, whose engine powers the Apollo with as much as 800 horsepower.

The Apollo, however, is derided as having been thoroughly worked over by the ugly stick. And that’s where Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera comes in. The Milanese coachbuilder has designed a new mid-engined V8 “fast tourer” called the Tortante with a composite shell over a space frame and carbon fiber monocoque. Enticing to be sure, and you can read the full announcement after the jump, but for the moment that’s all we have to go by.

Photos copyright (C)2011 Jonathon Ramsey / AOL

[Source: Gumpert]

Continue reading Gumpert announces Touring-designed Tornante for Geneva

Gumpert announces Touring-designed Tornante for Geneva

A derby-and-mask shod Seth Rogen and a mask-wearing Jay Chou owned the weekend box office reprising roles that were originally created in 1936: The Green Hornet and Kato, a superhero and his martial-arts-maven sidekick that began as a radio show in the 1930s. If the trailers are to be believed, this is the first superhero film in which the sidekick is more badass than his boss. It actually makes sense, though, because the first actor to play the role of Kato onscreen was none other than Bruce Lee in his first big American role. But what is perhaps most important about our current duo is the wheeled fiend they’ll be driving: a Chrylser Imperial called Black Beauty. A supercar long before there were Murcielagos and Veyrons, Black Beauty is so significant to the story that it gets just as much time and space as the superhumans in the trailers and on the billboards.

For The Green Hornet television show of 1966 and 1967, with Van Williams as the stinger leading Bruce Lee, two Black Beauties were built by star Hollywood carmaker Dean Jeffries, both based on 1966 Imperials. The first of those cars, the driving car, has disappeared into the void that we assume also contains Amelia Earheart and the aliens who made crop circles. But the second car, the hero car with all the gadgets – that still work, mind you – that one is parked in The Petersen Museum in Los Angeles. And because Autoblog enjoys doing its homework before going to see a film, we went to see it.

Continue reading…

Photos copyright (C)2011 Jonathon Ramsey / AOL

Continue reading Meet The Green Hornet’s original Black Beauty

Meet The Green Hornet’s original Black Beauty

Toyota wants to change our view of the Prius. It’s no longer a singular car but now an entire family of vehicles. The standard Prius that we all know and love will soon be joined by the Prius V, Prius C and plug-in Prius. Clearly, Toyota isn’t just building new cars, it’s attempting to build a new word… and it needs your help.

What is the plural of Prius? That’s a question that has been asked ever since the little hybrid hatchback hit the market, and the truth is that even Toyota doesn’t exactly know… but they do have some suggestions. It might be Prii, Priuses, Prium, Prien or just Prius. You can head over to the Prius web site and vote for your favorite. Voting ends on February 20th, and as of this posting, the early leader is Prii. However, our own Chris Paukert suggested that a group of Prii should be referred to as a smug, and the rest of us tend to agree.

Hop the jump to check out a video explaining Toyota’s conundrum… but don’t blame us when the song gets stuck in your head.

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Toyota asks, what is the plural of Prius?

Video: Toyota asks, what is the plural of Prius?

Jeep has proclaimed itself as “one of the world’s few, true icons.” Normally, we’d take issue with such a brazen statement, but in the case of Jeep, we don’t really disagree. In fact, in a good portion of the developed world, the word ‘Jeep” is synonymous with sport utility vehicles in general… like Kleenex or Coke.

With that in mind, Chrysler think it’s time to celebrate Jeep’s 70th anniversary in 2011, and as you might expect, the off-road specialist is releasing a slew of special editions to commemorate the occasion. All of the new 2011 models – one each of Jeep’s five models – will be available in a unique Bronze Star exterior paint in addition to Bright Silver and Black along with the appropriate spate of 70th Anniversary badges.

All five 70th Anniversary Jeeps will come with a dark perforated leather interior (either Dark Slate or Dark Olive, depending on the model) with Chestnut stitching, Berber carpeting (yes, really), unique cluster overlays and 70th Anniversary logos on the radio. Past that, each model gets its own set of touches that will set it apart from its non-Anniverarized siblings.

We’ll grab some live photos of these machines here at the Detroit Auto Show soon enough. In the meantime, get the complete details in the press release after the break, and also be sure to peruse all the milestones in Jeep’s 70 years of history.

[Source: Jeep]

Continue reading Detroit 2011: Jeep celebrates 70th Anniversary with special edition models

Detroit 2011: Jeep celebrates 70th Anniversary with special edition models

Verizon just rolled out its 4G LTE wireless broadband network, and with General Motors using Big Red for its OnStar system for over 15 years, GM is asking itself: What can we do with all this bandwidth?

The answer is ‘plenty’… but nothing immediately.

Instead, GM and Verizon equipped a Buick LaCrosse with a 4G LTE modem and a host of cameras, sensors and controls and is trotting it out at CES to demonstrate how the broadband tech could be implemented.

Among the possible applications is a vehicle monitoring system that utilizes a handful of lipstick cameras to transmit video to the driver to see what’s going on both inside and outside the vehicle while they’re away. On the same front, the system can be paired with Verizon’s 4Home service, which connects with home security cameras, lights and thermostats and transmits information back to the driver.

Other features include voice search, a traffic view that streams live traffic-cam images, Skype with video chat and a impact detection system that would identify if your car was hit in a parking lot, and would then turn on all the exterior cameras and capture an image of the offending vehicle as it drove away.

Hit the jump for a video of the various systems in action along with the press blast, and look for our initial impressions from CES later this week.

Continue reading CES 2011: GM shows off OnStar equipped with 4G, Skype, video monitoring and more [w/video]

CES 2011: GM shows off OnStar equipped with 4G, Skype, video monitoring and more [w/video]

No one ever said getting behind the wheel of a Porsche was going to be cheap. Especially not a 911 GT2. But if the $245k that the new GT2 RS road car would set you back strikes you as a bit steep, check out the latest rig from Fanatec.

The German gamewear concern has a penchant for making steering wheel set-ups for your favorite gaming platform, like the 911 Turbo and Turbo S wheels we’re reported on previously. But the latest takes the cake.

Modeled on the 911 GT2, this wheel gets all the details down pat, and then some. The 12-inch rim is covered in hand-stitched Alcantara, and three force-feedback motors are there to provide as darn-near-real an experience as we’ve ever seen.

It can work with the XBox 360, PlayStation 3 or your computer, but like the car it’s modeled on, it don’t come cheap: $250 is the retail price for the wheel alone, which can be hooked up with pedals and shifter if you’ve got those already. If you don’t, the full $500 Clubsport edition gives you the foot gear and a variety of shifting choices, including paddles, a sequential lever and an H-gate. Check it out for yourself in the gallery below.

[Source: Fanatec via Engadget]

Fanatec’s latest Porsche 911 GT2 gaming wheel gives your virtual that much more reality

Car and Driver’s German correspondent delivered some bad news to enthusiasts with the revelation that the Audi RS4 won’t get a “direct successor” because the RS5 is enough for all-wheel drive performance junkies. How the Audi brass came to that conclusion is beyond us – a fighting four door is just as entertaining and vastly more practical than its coupe counterpart. Just ask BMW. It was smart enough to offer the E92 M3 in both sedan and coupe form.

In related news, C/D’s “Continental” says that the RS6 will live on, likely with a twin-turbocharged V8. Our own sources suggest that engine will displace 4.0 liters and output close to 600 horsepower. So, one out of two ain’t bad…

[Source: Car and Driver]

Say It Ain’t So: No next-generation Audi RS4?

General Motors’ heavy-duty truck twins – the GMC Sierra HD and Chevrolet Silverado HD – were reworked for 2011 with the addition of an all-new chassis and an upgraded 6.6-liter Duramax diesel engine. But while the capable trucks’ guts were given a transplant, the vehicle’s blue-collar exterior and aging interior were left unchanged. With Ford and Ram updating the look and feel of their heavy duty pickups over the past year, we’re thinking GM won’t stand idly by forever, and we may have a peak at the next Sierra sooner than you think.

Our friends over at PickupTrucks.com are reporting that sources within GM have said that we can expect a Sierra HD concept at the North American International Auto Show in January. The super-sized concept will likely show one possible design direction for the haul-happy pickup, giving it new sheetmetal to accompany its already very capable hardware. Will the concept look production-ready, or will it be a pie in the sky rendering on wheels? We’ll have to wait until January to find out.

Photos copyright (C)2010 Sam Abuelsamid / AOL

[Source: PickupTrucks.com]

Report: GMC Sierra HD concept coming to Detroit