We’ve seen vehicles on more than one occasion over the past few years, but most connected cars and trucks aren’t much more than a rolling hot-spot for passengers and (very) distracted drivers. That promises to change over the next decade as automakers and suppliers work to connect cars to the world around them. has already begun to connect vehicles to the rest of the planet with SYNC and a smart phone, delivering information like traffic alerts, vehicle health reports, news updates and soon (above). Senior technology leader K. Venkatesh Prasad tells CNET that the automaker plans to keep the momentum going.
Venkatesh says in a video interview (available after the jump) that in-car connectivity is currently “tuned to zero miles per hour,” adding that there is an opportunity to connect vehicles to applications that enable the Internet to work for the occupants of the vehicle. Ford has been testing safety technology where vehicles communicate with traffic signals through WI-FI and GPS, and that could just be the tip of the iceberg. Electric cars, for example, could one day communicate with the electric grid and your home to find the optimal time to charge. to watch the Venkatech interview.
Ready for another iteration? In April, Nissan said it would be working with third parties to that would offer members track-ready Godzillas, and this is apparently the result: the Track Club Edition GT-R, a product of the minds at Nissan, NISMO, NOVA Engineering in Shizuka and Nordring tuning in Saitama, Japan.
A Japan-only endeavor, the umbrella organization is called The Prestige Club of GT-R, and to run in it will require a cave-full of yen: the car itself is ¥10,479,000 ($120,725 U.S.); membership in The Prestige Club membership is ¥2 million ($23,024 U.S.) and annual dues are a further ¥1 million ($11,513 U.S.). For all of that you get the special GT-R, a race number and inclusion in two race days and an annual gathering.
As for the racer itself, performance upgrades include new ECM, traction control, ABS and VCD programming, two-way adjustable Bilstein dampers and revised upper front links, a front lip spoiler, NACA duct and brake air guides among other things. Inside, there’s a four-point harness with a six-point retention system available over a , automatic fire suppression system and NISMO data logging kit. The twin-turbo motor puts out in excess of 493 horsepower and 434 pound-feet, and the package rides on 20-inch Rays Forged Aluminum wheels from the SpecM shod with Dunlop Direzza Long Life Slicks. If you’re going to be in Japan and want in on the series, applications are being accepted until September 20. Check out GT-R World at the links below for more images and information. Thanks to everyone for the tips!
Nissan object detection and Forward Collision Avoidance Assist Concept – click above for high-res image gallery
Vehicles from an increasing number of automakers are becoming more aware of their surroundings than the drivers that operate them. The latest is , which has announced several new safety technologies set to be added to its lineup, including a Forward Collision Avoidance Assist Concept. The system works like similar systems from other manufacturers including , , and , but evolves the concept even further.
A front-mounted radar sensor detects when the vehicle is closing too quickly and first warns the driver and then applies the brakes automatically to avoid or minimize the effects of a crash.
Additionally, the moving object detection uses the surround-view camera system to determine if there are pedestrians or other objects moving in proximity of the vehicle. Unlike pedestrian detection systems from and Lexus, this system only functions at very low speeds and doesn’t apply the brakes. Instead, the driver gets an audible and visual warning of anything moving around them. No specific vehicle applications or timing have been announced, but it’s safe to assume we’ll be seeing this tech featured on Infiniti’s wares sometime next year.
OnStar mobile applications – Click above for high-res image gallery
Early this year, ‘ OnStar telematics unit it had developed for the that allows drivers to remotely manage the charging, locking and unlocking of their vehicle and pre-warm or cool it while plugged in. OnStar is now extending that basic concept to nearly the entire General Motors lineup for 2011.
One of the key hardware differences between OnStar and Sync technology is that GM integrates cellular radios into the car while Ford relies on the driver’s existing phone connected via Bluetooth or a cable. This allows Ford to offer services like turn-by-turn directions without charging a subscription fee. OnStar has long struggled to find a way to convince customers to continue paying the subscription after the initial complimentary period expires.
The integrated cellular radio allows OnStar to offer services like remote starting, car location and lock/unlock from anywhere that can’t be done with Sync or just a short-range key fob. The applications will also provide access to vehicle data like tire pressures and oil levels, and allow owners to call an OnStar adviser or schedule service appointments with a dealer. The applications will be available for Androids and iPhones. You can check out a video .
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[Source: General Motors]
control to most 2011 General Motors vehicles [w/Video]
Ford F-150 – Click above for high-res image gallery
When the arrives this Fall, it will reportedly get an all-new powertrain lineup. already that the light-duty pickups would be getting the first rear-wheel drive application of the 3.5-liter Ecoboost V6. The transaxles in the current Ecoboost applications are torque-limited, so when the twin turbocharged and direct injected V6 lands in the truck, it could produce as much as 400 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque.
The current 4.6-liter and 5.4-liter are also expected to be supplanted by the newer, more powerful and efficient engines that debuted in the earlier this year. The F-150’s new base engine will reportedly be the 3.7-liter V6 with 305 hp and 280 lb-ft of torque, while the top engine will be the new 5.0-liter Coyote V8. The 5.0-liter will likely be re-tuned from the Mustang’s 412 hp and 390 lb-ft to give it more torque and further elevate the model’s 11,000+ pound towing capacity. The V6-powered trucks could be the first light-duty full-size trucks to hit 25 mpg on the highway, a figure that’s even better than .
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Photos by Sam Abuelsamid / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.
Don’t count out the good old internal combustion engine just yet. A number of companies are working on new engine designs that can help pick up the slack until other alternatives, like electric motors, better batteries and a hydrogen infrastructure, are ready for mass consumption. One such venture is , which just got a rather large investment from none other than Bill Gates.
A total of $23.5 million was invested by the aforementioned Chairman of Microsoft along with Silicon Valley investor Vinod Khosla, who’s Khosla Ventures firm reportedly owns 47 percent of EcoMotors. According to the company, its opposed piston and cylinder Opoc engine technology was developed by Peter Hofbauer, who previously headed powertrain development at and designed the German automaker’s clean diesel technology.
EcoMotors claims that its new mill weighs 50 percent less than other internal combustion engines while using 50 percent less fuel. Planned for applications include cars, trucks and any other machine utilizing an engine. Get all the details in the press release after the break.
BMW’s iDrive features for the iPod – Click above to watch video
One of the next steps to evolve ’s iDrive into is increasing the communication the car has with peripherals. In this case, work is nearly complete on you being able to control your iPod Touch (and, we’re guessing, your iPhone) and all of its applications using the same Apple interface on the car’s console screen.
Not only might it make navigation of your music files easier, but it would make any application you download for your iPod Touch immediately usable in your Bimmer. BMW doesn’t give much away in terms of how this all comes together, but does say that the feature will be available on BMW’s as soon as early 2011. to see the vid.
has been making some headlines over the past few months with its commitment to carbon fiber construction, opening a in Washington State and as the first mass-produced carbon fiber vehicle. But there’s always a back story to the headlines.
As you might have guessed, BMW has been toying around with the lightweight construction material for some time, seeing just how far it could push the envelop and what practical applications it could have. In this case, it turns out that, back around 2003, the Bavarian automaker re-constructed a first-gen sport-ute with a carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) unibody. Every panel on the X5 was replaced with CFRP, save the doors which retained their conventional steel construction. The result was a weight savings of 440 pounds, without – according to BMW – sacrificing structural rigidity and crash-worthiness.
Of course the carbon X5 was never put into production, but it reportedly underwent some 40,000 kilometers (25,000 miles) of testing, and the knowledge gleaned will surely find its way into BMW’s production vehicles in the future.
Dagger GT – Click above for a high-res image gallery
All right, so pipe dream might be a little strong – after all, the computer you’re probably reading this post on was once a pipe dream less than a decade ago. But color us shocked at the number of supercar start-ups that have lately been claiming they’re going to erase any thought of Michael Jackson when the word “Thriller!” pops up in conversation. Next in line we have Transtar Racing which, with little more than a template web site, stock photography and a few renderings is already “proud to introduce America’s greatest, most powerful, world record-setting Supercar: the Dagger GT.”
The supercar itself is a custom-designed, 3,000-pound two-seat roadster with a 2,000-horsepower engine. That powerplant would (will?) be the work of Tom Nelson, who builds a wide range of 1,000-plus hp mills for all manner of go-fast conveyances. With those specs and, we’re guessing, some number crunching, Transtar has listed “calculated*” performance specs: 0-to-60 in 1.5 seconds, 0-to-60-to-0 in four seconds, 1/4-mile in 6.6 seconds at 204 mph, and a top speed of 314 miles-per-hour.
That isn’t merely heady performance, that’s fainty. But when it takes a Veyron 16.4 Super Sport and its billions in product development and testing to , we’ll need the entire Bonneville Salt Flats to swallow the Dagger GT’s 314 mph claim. Oh, and the Transtar team boasts of a “No Risk Policy – No R&D” philosophy; since they’re assembling parts that have already been proven in other applications, they don’t need to spend ridiculous sums testing how they work together in the Dagger GT. That’s for suckers, apparently.
We’re not saying the Dagger GT won’t ever exist. But we’ll be visiting our great grandkids on Mars by the time a street-legal Dagger GT with a one-year/12,000-mile warranty for retail sale does 314 mph. (And yes, Transtar, that is a challenge…) While we wait, you can have a look at it in the gallery of high-res pics below.
With the 458 Italia, , 612 Scaglietti, 599 GTB Fiorano and numerous derivations thereof, ’s juggling more distinct models than it has since the days of the 328, Mondial, 412 and Testarossa. So while updating its line-up on an ad-hoc basis has worked for the company previously, Maranello has now revealed a solid product life-cycle scheme that will see a new model revealed every year.
The plan calls for each model to live for eight years, with an updated version to arrive four years after a model’s introduction. With four models in the range, that will allow Ferrari to debut an all-new or significantly updated core model every year. And that doesn’t include introductions of convertible or lightweight Scuderia-style variants along the way, to say nothing of the limited-production Enzo-class supercars slated to top the range every ten years.
The news casts further light on the which Ferrari revealed just a couple of months ago. On top of that, Ferrari reportedly confirms that, although the prices will remain similar, the replacements for the 612 and 599 will be further differentiated from each other. As for hybrids, Ferrari’s got a few applications of its HY-KERS system in the pipeline, but it will take at least five years to bring them to market.
2011 Saab 9-5 – Click above for high-res image gallery
Except for a few very low volume manufacturers, it’s almost impossible to sell any significant number of cars without spending some dollars on advertising and promotion. Yet that’s exactly what has been doing in the months since it was sold by . Apparently, that’s all about to change in a really big way as Saab prepares to start selling its all-new . Because the 9-5 is at the heart of the company’s efforts to reclaim the sales volume it has lost in the last several years, it makes sense that Saab would wait until the new car was ready for customers.
Saab is planning to spend $150 million on marketing its handsome large sedan, starting with its home-market introduction in Sweden this weekend and continuing through the U.S. introduction in August. According to BusinessWeek, Saab also plans to cut its worldwide dealer body by up to 10 percent by the end of next year to cut costs as it aims for profitability in 2012.
Since this is 2010, the marketing push will go well beyond the usual print and broadcast advertising with a major online and mobile push that includes applications for the Apple iPad and iPhone. Later this year, we can probably expect a similar effort for the introduction of the 9-4x crossover.
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Photos by Chris Paukert / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.
The resounding successes of the iPhone and iPad have Apple shareholders dancing in the streets, but one area in which Apple hasn’t been as successful, however, has been business applications. In fact, until recently, Apple retail stores used Windows-based devices to ring up orders. Now, aims to be among the first companies to change that paradigm by bringing the popular iPad tablet into its showrooms.
The program, called Mercedes-Benz Advantage, puts the iPad into the hands of the automaker’s sales force. With the iPad and Mercedes’ new sales tool app, associates will have lightning-fast access to the latest deals, while also providing a quicker turnaround time for customer credit application processes. Benz also says the iPad will help speed up the time it takes to turn-in a leased vehicle. Andreas Hinrichs, Vice President of Marketing for Mercedes-Benz Financial, contends the Apple tablet will “provide a competitive advantage to our dealers by increasing their service levels through a more flexible financing process.”
We dig that Mercedes is thinking outside the box to deliver an expedited shopping experience, but even better, we love the fact that the Apple iPad might help customers avoid the dreaded trip to dealership’s finance room. Hit the jump to read over the press release.
More tech in your car? Oh, that’s inevitable. But automakers are trying to figure out the best way to implement it. There are two main architectures currently; tethered and embedded. SYNC is an example of a tethered tech-integration system that uses Bluetooth to connect to mobile devices consumers already own and carry with them. OnStar system is an embedded setup that builds the technology into the car. Going forward, the consensus seems to be that we’re going to see systems that combine elements of both.
A tethered system is typically less costly than an embedded alternative, and it works with equipment you already own and know how to use. Systems like Sync can extend the functionality of your gear and is an attractive option to tech-savvy consumers. The lower cost makes it possible to proliferate these kind of features into more models, instead of just being a high-end feature. However, embedded systems offer advantages of their own. With communications hardware built in to the vehicle, performance is more reliable, and safety can be enhanced by tying in to the vehicle’s crash sensors and stability control to automatically call for help if it detects a severe accident.
True to the cliche, it seems that the young’ins are more comfortable with tethered systems, while older generations prefer embedded systems. OnStar is already starting to do this, opening up the system in applications with a mobile app that lets drivers connect to their car even when they’re away from it. The future likely holds a system that combines aspects of both, enhancing safety, beating back obsolescence and drawing on the strength of each technology to deliver the best experience as cars continue to become more sophisticated.
During the 17 years this writer worked on braking and stability control systems, we occasionally joked about being able to remotely update the software in people’s vehicles and bring them to a halt. At that time, the technology didn’t really exist to actually do that. Today that’s no longer true. Researchers the Universities of California and Washington will present a paper at a security conference in Oakland, California next week outlining how they were able to hack into vehicle computer systems.
When electronic control units were first added to cars in the 1970s, the firmware was all in masked read-only-memory that couldn’t be modified once it fabricated. In the late 1990s, as systems became more complex, engineers began using flash memory so that firmware could be updated with bug-fixes and other changes. With most current vehicles you have to be plugged into the OBD-II diagnostic port in order to communicate with the ECUs, which are now connected over a vehicle-wide controller area network.
Now that we’re starting to move into the age of connected vehicles, the risks are rapidly increasing. already has the ability to remotely slow a stolen vehicle. is currently demonstrating to broadcast vehicle information. Without putting adequate security into vehicle ECUs, it’s possible that someone could download a malicious application with the potential to disable or otherwise damage the vehicle.
AJ the Fiesta – Click above for high-res image gallery
While engineering students at the were figuring out how to turn the into a rolling iPad, engineers from Ford’s infortronics research group were doing the same thing. On Thursday, those engineers and students will set out from Dearborn on a road trip in separate though equally wired (wireless?) Fiestas to San Mateo, CA for the . The Ford engineers will be driving a green Fiesta they’ve dubbed AJ for American Journey 2.0.
AJ has a trunk full of computer gear including a router and two different mobile broadband modems to keep it connected. The Ford car will have three in-house developed applications in addition to a caravan tracker application developed by the UM students. Ford has launched a web-site at where people can follow the trip and participate as the two Fiestas make their way across the country. Read on to learn more about Ford’s effort to connect this Fiesta to the Internet.
If you’re even marginally interested in mobile technology, you know the future is in the cloud. Remote servers store your data, allowing you to access everything from contacts to music from a range of devices. That technology has largely been limited to mobile phones and PCs, but pioneering a new system that’s set to connect the cloud to your car.
Six teams of students enrolled in Cloud Computing in the Commute at the University of Michigan have partnered with Ford’s Research and Advanced Engineering program to develop a handful of applications utilizing real-time vehicle data, GPS and social networking to create a connected in-car experience like no other.
The software, dubbed “Fiestaware” and built atop Windows 7 and Microsoft’s Robotics Developer Studio, allowed the teams to create services and software that utilize the vehicle’s on-board internet connection to deliver a variety of information to the driver.
Each team created an app they felt would best utilize the available services, and the programs included everything from a real-time fuel consumption tool to traffic alerts and point-of-interest sharing. All the programs were tested and honed by Ford’s user interface engineers, and a panel judges from FoMoCo, U-M and Microsoft picked one app as the winner.
(pictured above) allows drivers to set a route on a website, track participating vehicles and send the driver hazard notifications, along with a host of other information. The team that created the program will get to test out their app on the road when they depart from Ann Arbor, MI on May 14th and drive cross-country to the Maker Faire in San Mateo, CA in a kitted-out .
Judging by the pace of development and Ford’s continued innovations in the infotainment space, expect similar cloud-based services to be included in future Blue Oval products. A data-over-voice system will be available on the 2011 Fiesta and upgrades to the SYNC system are sure to make connectivity even easier going forward. Get all the details on the system, the teams and their creations after the jump.
Alpinestars Tech Air Race prototype suit – Click above to watch the video
We traveled out to Alpinestars’ U.S. headquarters near Los Angeles, California today so that the giant manufacturer of automotive and motorcycle safety gear could show us its latest high-tech hardware. The most important aspect of the visit was a closely held trade secret, but it’s now out in the open: the Tech Air Race motorcycle suit.
Airbags in motorcycle suits aren’t necessarily anything new, but the big breakthrough here is that the system is small enough to be integrated directly into the Electronic Airbag Protection Suit and is controlled by a high-tech electronic brain. As Alpinestars says, a motorcycle crash isn’t all that difficult to describe in words, but in mathematical terms, things get much more difficult.
As such, there is a very complicated set of algorithms that are constantly monitoring the rider’s movements, and there are five levels of programing that ensures the airbag doesn’t deploy when it’s not necessary. First and foremost, though, the system does not arm unless it senses the rider is moving and the engine is running. Interestingly, it’s been tested on machines powered by both internal combustion engines and electric motors.
It takes a total of about eight milliseconds for the electronic brain to determine whether a crash is imminent. Once the seven sensors placed all over the suit trigger the airbag system, it takes just 50 milliseconds to fully inflate and stays fully inflated for about five seconds. After 25 seconds or so, the bag completely deflates. After the event, a GPS system is used to help determine exactly where the accident took place.
Alpinestars’ airbag system includes two separate cylinders that set off a cold charge of nitrogen. It takes roughly one minute for the system to rearm itself after the initial firing. Currently, Ben Spies, Mika Kallio and Dani Pedrosa are running the data logging suits at MotoGP races.
So, what does the future hold for the Tech Air technology? Alpinestars promises that there will be applications for racing, street and even off-road riding. Currently, the initial consumer-ready suits are targeted for June of 2011, and other applications will follow in the coming years.
Time will tell how effective such active safety technologies prove, but Alpinestars’ data certainly looks compelling. At present, the technology is expected to add roughly $2,500 to the cost of a standard suit. A hefty tag for sure, but it’s tough to put a price on safety.
to watch a video of the airbag being deployed on a rider.
Autoblog builds an LS9 V8 – Click above for high-res image gallery
Ah yes, the classic small block . No other engine in history carries as much nostalgia and looks poised to push its mouse motor well into the future by adding new technologies designed to clean up the mill’s emissions and improve fuel mileage. Expect these engines to show up in applications from sportscars like the and to pickup trucks and SUVs.
According to GM, all of its next-generation small block V8s will use aluminum engine blocks in addition to being E85 compatible. We can also expect to see direct injection added to the small block’s repertoire for improved efficiency and power production. Finally, the combustion chambers will see a redesign that will promote fuel efficiency.
Naturally, an update to an existing engine line requires a suitable investment, and this one is no different. GM will be investing nearly $900 million and will add or retain more than 1,600 jobs in Towanda, NY; St. Catherines, Ontario; Defiance, Ohio; Bedford, Indiana and Bay City, Michigan. More details can be found in the press release after the break.
Car and Driver on the iPad – Click above for high-res image gallery
Despite my better judgement, I had an iPad delivered to my house last weekend. The reasons for the purchase varied from the inexplicable to the absurd, but one of my primary interests was how magazines would adopt/adapt to the new format. Like it or not, Apple’s a leader in mobile content delivery and any publishing house is going to want to be on the “it” platform, just as developers downloaded the iPhone SDK in hoards and the App store became the dominant force for mobile applications.
I’ve checked out some of the general interest pubs (NYT, Time, etc.), which are obviously still getting their sea-legs (and falling on their faces, in many cases), but for gearheads the pickings are non-existent – save ().
For all the success that Japanese automakers have had in the U.S. market over the past thirty years, there remains one very important segment they’ve never really managed to break through: full-size trucks. The big pickups from and have remained at the top of the sales charts for decades. While has made a minor dent in the segment with the Tundra, Nissan’s Titan has just never really caught fire.
Despite that, Nissan still wants a piece of the pie. The potential profit margins and volumes continue to make this market too attractive to abandon. After a deal to share the platform was abandoned during the runup to Chrysler’s bankruptcy, it was decided to keep the current Titan alive for the foreseeable future.
While Nissan has not announced what direction it will take with the next Titan, we’d expect it to share a lot with the recently-introduced NV2500 commercial van. The NV2500 is built in the same Canton, Mississippi plant with the Titan and has an architecture that’s more like a pickup than a traditional van, which could make it a suitable starting point. The NV chassis has already been designed for heavy duty applications, so it’s possible that it could finally spawn an HD pickup as well to compete with similar models from Detroit.
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