, the preview site showing off our next top-to-bottom redesign, is now open to anyone with eyeballs at . We had initially restricted access to just our community of Facebook followers, and we owe them a HUGE debt of gratitude.
We hated having to put a bouncer at the door, but those first few thousand people in the building gave us more quality feedback than we knew what to do with. Because of them pounding on the site to find its cracks, our developers were able to quickly fix problems and add new features that we hadn’t even thought of in the design phase.
But today we’re ready to show off to everyone. We hope you’ll pound on the site too, and use the new Beta Bar at the bottom of the site to send us feedback about what you like and don’t like, as well as alert us to anything that’s just not working. You can also use the Beta Bar to quickly switch back and forth between the current version of the site and Autoblog Beta. If the Beta Bar is taking up too much of your screen real estate, there’s a button on the bar’s right side to minimize it.
Beta Bar:
Remember, Autoblog Beta is just that, a beta site, which means there are areas still not finished, some features not available and other things just not working. That’s why we’re letting you check it out early, so we can iron out all the problems before the beta site becomes the real site.
In conjunction with this week’s Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple has updated its App Store Review Guidelines, and part of the new approval process includes a section that prohibits the inclusion of DUI checkpoints in iOS apps.
Section 22.8 states:
Apps which contain DUI checkpoints that are not published by law enforcement agencies, or encourage and enable drunk driving, will be rejected.
The updated terms come a few months , asking the smartphone companies to remove any and all apps that would inform users of DUI checkpoints.
While developers might be able to remove the DUI stop functionality from their apps, most of the programs that identify law enforcement activity and speed traps are crowd-sourced, meaning users could submit the checkpoints themselves without the app’s devs knowing what they’re identifying.
Neither Google or RIM have modified their app review guidelines yet, but if history holds true, where Apple goes, so goes the industry…
2011 Toyota Tundra – Click above for high-res image gallery
The product development cycle at can be frustrating. More specifically, the process can be frustrating for North American executives who don’t have total control over vehicles specifically marketed to their country. Engineers, developers and executives all have a say, but the final decisions have been made in Japan. Until now.
According to a report from Automotive News, Toyota has changed its product development process for North American vehicles. An example of such a vehicle is the Toyota Tundra. That pickup caters to the desires and needs of the U.S. car-buying public, and now Toyota USA will be given the leeway needed to make sure it meets those desires and needs.
The Japanese automaker says it has always listened to its U.S. counterparts. However, the process was stifled due to the requirement that decisions be finalized in Japan. Now, this process can flow more freely. Expect to see the effects of this change beginning with the next generation of the Tundra.
A Japanese research team led by Yusuke Sugahara at Tohoku University has built a robotic prototype of a free-flying, that floats within inches of the road. Called Aero Train, this ground-effects vehicle will be used to test an autonomous three-axis stabilization system.
Packing electric motors, the Aero Train hovers inches above the tarmac, eliminating any rolling resistance and allowing it to hit a top speed of 124 miles per hour. A U-shaped concrete channel controls air flow and provides the Aero Train’s robotic controls with a makeshift road to follow. On-board computers control pitch, roll and yaw of the prototype.
In the future – get this – the developers envision the Aero Train traveling within a tunnel capped with solar panels that send juice directly to the vehicle’s batteries. to catch video of the prototype Aero Train floating down the road.
Ford uses Google’s Prediction API to increase efficiency – Click above to watch the video
Yesterday that was tapping Google’s new Prediction API to provide location and routing services for its fleet of plug-in hybrids and full EVs. Today, Ford’s engineers are speaking at the Google I/O developers summit and they’ve released a video explaining how the system works and how they plan to implement it.
You can get , but the short-and-sweet version is this: Ford drivers can opt-in for the service, which tracks their daily driving routine, and, after building a database of destinations and waypoints, the system provides drivers with more efficient routing to optimize their powertrain, reduce range anxiety and decrease commute times. We’ve snagged a handful of slides from Ford’s presentation and you can check out the full video .
Androiddevelopers across the world have descended on San Francisco for this week’s Google I/O conference, and is getting in on the action with its announcement to utilize Google’s new Prediction API to increase efficiency and decrease commute times.
The Prediction API has a range of location-based uses, but Ford’s plan involves tapping into your driving habits, gathering historical commute and errand data, and then optimize your route depending on traffic, weather and a host of other information.
Cutting down commute times and increasing fuel efficiency are at the top of the list, but it’s obvious Ford is primarily planning to use the tech for its future all-electric and plug-in hybrid-driving vehicles. By determining drive routes ahead of time, storing that information in the cloud and directing drivers to the most efficient roads, Ford can eliminate some of the range anxiety EV drivers have to contend with.
Tomorrow, a group of Ford researchers will be showing off concept version of the system at Google I/O, complete with a prototype use case that involves the driver opting in for the service (Ford is adamant that personal information security is of the utmost importance) and then utilizing the Google Prediction service to determine the most efficient route. The vehicle would ask the driver, “Good morning. Are you going to work?” and if the driver responds, “Yes,” the system will choose a route that’s optimized for the powertrain. This could also include EV-only zones, something that’s being experimented with throughout Europe.
We’ll have more on Ford’s implementation of the Predictive API tomorrow, but in the meantime, check out the press release for more.
At last week’s Where 2.0 conference in Santa Clara, CA, and a team of tech elites crowned four students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as the winners of the inaugural OnStar Student Developers Challenge.
The competition tasked five universities to create the next great app for OnStar’s latest voice-controlled telematics system, and the crew from MIT beat out teams from Carnegie Mellon and the universities of Michigan, Texas and Toledo with its EatOn app. The app is essentially a mobile-friendly version of Yelp, allowing users to search for nearby restaurants, get ratings, make a reservation through OpenTable and send navigation instructions to the vehicle while alerting their friends and followers through text messaging and Twitter.
The four-member team from MIT were selected by a tech-savvy panel of judges, including Daniel Jacobson of NetFlix and the interminable Robert Scoble, and awarded a $10,000 “Developer Dream Package” consisting of an Apple iPad, MacBooks and a host of other geeky goodies. for the full details.
The internal combustion engine for automotive use is highly engineered and run by advanced electro-mechanical systems that have been refined over a century of development. That fact hasn’t stood in the way of breathless reports about being the next big thing. Fast Company goes as far as to disparage the gasoline engine as antiquated and filthy while calling exotic and expensive laser ignitors “the gas engine’s last gasp before the electric revolution comes.”
Laser spark plugs do sound pretty neat. In Japan, researchers at the have cooked up an exceptionally compact laser that’s robust enough for automotive use. With lots of strong ceramics and two different , one doped with neodymium and the other chromium, the lasers are capable of being pulsed more quickly and more accurately than current spark plug technology allows. Another benefit of lasers in the combustion chamber is the ability to ignite the air/fuel mixture with more power than a spark plug can reliably dissipate.
Modern engine management systems and direct fuel injection are capable of exceptional efficiency and more complete combustion than ever before, and gasoline contains a lot more energy per pound than any current automotive battery technology. While spark plugs might seem antiquated, they’re far cheaper than fitting lasers for ignition, and the ignition systems attached to those plugs continue to get more and more sophisticated.
None of this research work has been applied to an actual engine yet, making any claims of superiority mere academia at this point. The NINS work will be presented at the that’s happening in early May. While there’s great potential for small lasers that can stand up to harsh environments, and the developers are working with suppliers and automakers, it’s not likely that your engine will be lit off by an any time soon, despite what the car-haters who skim over engineering facts might have to say.
TomTom is giving developers a big gift at the CTIA wireless show in Orlando, Florida. The navigation company will begin providing access to its speed camera database, allowing devs to incorporate the location of speed traps into their own smartphoneapplications.
TomTom claims it has more than 50,000 speed cameras in its ever-expanding database, covering some 34 countries, including the U.S. The goal is to allow developers to tap into the fixed speed, red light, average speed and toll road cameras, enabling motorists to avoid the fuzz throughout the world. And with developers gaining access to the database, it’s not hard to imagine major automakers incorporating the data into their own in-dash navigation systems.
TomTom will be rolling out the API in the coming months and you can get all the details in the press blast .
Volkswagen and Nokia’s Terminal Mode – Click above to watch video
Bluetooth connectivity is getting better all the time. No longer content with just connect your phone, new systems also allow you to wirelessly stream music to your car’s speakers. is working on a system which takes the idea of pairing a phone to your car, and brings it to a whole new level. The system, called Terminal Mode, allows VW’s touchscreen display to become an extension of the your smartphone – weather, GPS, music, phone and text messaging are right at your fingertips in a highly visible location.
Currently, the system is still under development and promises to get better as Volkswagen upgrades its infotainment screens. The current units use resistive touchscreens which can be slightly slower to respond compared with the capacitive units, which will make their way into VWs in the near future.
The Terminal Mode system opens up a potential Pandora’s box of opportunity. Developers could build a whole slew of apps designed for use in automobiles and phones could be built with this integration in mind. There are many pluses to this concept, however this easily falls into the distracted-driving discussion. How soon before we see anti-Facebooking-while-driving laws? to watch video of the system in action.
For a show from another country that only produces 14 episodes a year, Top Gear is everywhere. And it’s going to be even more everywhere soon, thanks to a licensed video game reportedly being developed for PC, console, mobile and tabletplatforms. There’s no word on exactly how the developers plan to game-ify the Top Gear television experience, but we guess we’ll find out soon enough – it’s due by the end of the year.
has chosen a winner for its . Out of all of the clever coding submitted, one shining piece of software rose above the rest – DUDE. Think of it as a handy in-car butler that assists the driver with a number of tasks. For instance, the app measures vehicle speed, location and fuel consumption to offer up suggestions on driving style. You even get a handy little floating avatar to torment with your driving. Volkswagen hasn’t said who developed the DUDE app, though a user named Page is listed as the creator on the .
As you may recall, the German automaker in an attempt to craft the next piece of integrated on-board software. The contest winner was picked by the community of app developers at large and a panel of VW execs, and was awarded cash prizes. The lucky coder will also take part in a special Volkswagen vehicle debut. You can play around with the DUDE app by stopping by the program’s development page , though we honestly couldn’t get it to do much.
Aston Martin Super Sport by Star Electric Cars France – Click above for high-res image gallery
Yes, the past couple of months have been a little heavy on the supercar-dreamed-up-by-inside-dude’s-keister news, but this one is simply too compelling to pass up. A company called is the European subsidiary of Star Electric Cars U.S. They make golf carts that look like and and the like, and the French firm also sells electric bikes and skateboards and a fascinating contraption called the .
The company also claims to “design unique cars built for presidents, kings and princes around the world,” and this would have to be one of them. Called the Aston Martin Super Sport, it’s a coachbuilt, mid-engined Aston powered by a 5.4-liter, twin-turbo V8 putting out up to 950 horsepower. The bespoke bodywork is carbon fiber and sports scissor doors, an alcantara-coated interior and Recaro buckets. Naturally, production is… up in the air.
The price of this imaginary slice of supercar pie, €7.5 million ($9.53M U.S.) – a sum so impossible to comprehend it deserves its own episode of Lost. According to the car’s developers, though, only eight will be made, with each color being unique. Word is that “sky blue is available immediately.” Of course it is… Hat tip to Bawlz
Nissan Leaf iAd on 4th generation iPhone – Click above for high-res image gallery
One or two of you may have noticed that Apple CEO Steve Jobs “officially” revealed today at the Apple World Wide Developers Conference. What you may not know is that the played a small part in his demonstration of Apple’s new iAd mobile advertising platform. Nissan will apparently be using the iAd system to promote its upcoming electric car with some cool interactive features.
The ad begins with a small banner that shows up at the bottom of the iPhone screen. iPhone users can tap the banner to expand the ad to full screen where they will find the Leaf on a pedestal. A swipe across the screen will spin the pedestal to reveal different features of the car. One of the pages allows users to register for the Leaf reservation list and even enter an iAd-exclusive contest to win a Leaf.
Users will be able to check out the ad on iPhones, iPod touches and iPads after it goes live on July 1.
Turkey’s Autopia Europa – Click above for high-res image gallery
Istanbul, Turkey will reportedly be home to the world’s largest auto dealership, called Autopia Europia. The space is so big it’s probably more convenient to think of it as an industrial complex, rather than an auto dealer: more than two million square feet, each of the five floors almost 20 feet high, 200 auto sales outlets hawking new and used metal, shot through with 56 eateries, 48 repair shops, 24 banks and 42 insurance companies. And that’s just a taste of the options.
Perhaps the most unusual feature of Autopia Europia is the test-drive track on the roof of the building. The building’s developers expect six million visitors per year, and we can only imagine they’re including a lot of foot traffic in that estimate. With a 900-car parking garage, even with three people in every car, it would take nearly seven years to accommodate that many guests. Construction has just begun so they’ve probably got a couple of years to crunch those numbers again.
You can have a look at it in the gallery of high-res renderings below, or in the video . Hat tip to Brian!
If you read our on the prospect for a Formula One race against a Manhattan backdrop and thought, That’ll be the day, well…that day may be coming sooner than you think. Destination Jersey City has submitted plans to build a racing circuit to host the United States Grand Prix in Liberty Park.
Now we know, Jersey’s not New York, but before you go dismissing the Garden State and it’s (stereotype alert) Firebird-driving, wifebeater-wearing, Miller-swilling, Bon Jovi-blasting residents, consider that Liberty Park is the gateway to both Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, two of the New York harbor’s most iconic landmarks, and offers spectacular views of the Big Apple across the river. And notwithstanding that (awesome as it was), closing down Manhattan city streets so a few F1 cars can run laps through Times Square would be practically unfeasible.
So what does Jersey City have in mind? A 3.6-mile circuit that could be ready as soon as 2012. Developers are seeking a five-year contract to bring Bernie Ecclestone’s dream to fruition. A group of citizens is already raising its voice in opposition to the proposal, fearing that the state park will be forever transformed into a racing venue. But even they’ll likely go along if the state puts on a free Springsteen concert or two at the site. Hey, the Boss is the Boss. *Update: Apparently, the proposal was nixed by the major of New Jersey less than 24 hours after it was unveiled. So… there goes that idea.
If you read our on the prospect for a Formula One race against a Manhattan backdrop and thought, That’ll be the day, well…that day may be coming sooner than you think. Destination Jersey City has submitted plans to build a racing circuit to host the United States Grand Prix in Liberty Park.
Now we know, Jersey’s not New York, but before you go dismissing the Garden State and it’s (stereotype alert) Firebird-driving, wifebeater-wearing, Miller-swilling, Bon Jovi-blasting residents, consider that Liberty Park is the gateway to both Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, two of the New York harbor’s most iconic landmarks, and offers spectacular views of the Big Apple across the river. And notwithstanding that (awesome as it was), closing down Manhattan city streets so a few F1 cars can run laps through Times Square would be practically unfeasible.
So what does Jersey City have in mind? A 3.6-mile circuit that could be ready as soon as 2012. Developers are seeking a five-year contract to bring Bernie Ecclestone’s dream to fruition. A group of citizens is already raising its voice in opposition to the proposal, fearing that the state park will be forever transformed into a racing venue. But even they’ll likely go along if the state puts on a free Springsteen concert or two at the site. Hey, the Boss is the Boss.
is taking a page from the playbook by inviting softwaredevelopers to help shape the face of the automaker’s infotainment systems. The German manufacturer is holding an “App My Ride” contest where anyone can submit an application that they think would work well in future VW products. The ultimate goal is to put a little more control into the hands of the company’s customers in order to create an infotainment system that’s functional and easy to use, but there’s also around $18,600 worth of prizes on the table for the best apps.
On May 3rd, VW will launch a new web site where users can upload their apps and submit ideas. Volkswagen is hoping that a collaborative community will spring from the project where developers can discuss apps the company currently uses as well as hone their concepts.
In order to jump into the fray, you’ll need to come up with an idea for your very own app, a graphic design of the user interface and the appropriate programming in Adobe Flash or Flex. As part of the contest, VW is offering winning students a unique opportunity to study with the Research Group in Tokyo, Shanghai, California or Wolfsburg.
Winners will be picked by the “App My Ride” community and a panel of VW execs. One lucky developer will get to take part in a special vehicle unveil with their flight and hotel on the Volkswagen tab on top of cash prizes. Make the jump for the full press release.
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 ().
