If somebody told you a few months ago that you can now start your car straight from your iPhone, you’d be probably think that dude was nuts. Well, crazier things have happened because, apparently, you can now in fact start your car from your iPhone, thanks to a new application called the Viper SmarStart.
Ok, the idea isn’t exactly revolutionary – electronic car ignitions have been around for a while – but never has the technology come from a mobile phone. The application, which you can get for free, connects to the SmartStart hardware that has been installed in your car and the really cool thing about this particular system is that it does more than just start your car. It can also turn on the car’s heater, unlock the doors, and systematically manages the car’s alarm, ensuring you that it’s up and about at all times.
Unfortunately, while the application itself is free, the hardware isn’t. Word has gone out that the Viper SmartStart will go for around $300 and after getting a first-year service free of charge, users will have to shell out $30 a year to avail of the service. It’s a lot more expensive than we initially thought, but then again, you have to pay to avail of good service so everything pretty much rounds up.
In the ever-evolving world of automobiles, technological innovations are as important – maybe even more – as putting together a powerful engine. There’s always that thin line between being an innovator and being a follower and if you ask all car manufacturers all over the world, all of them would prefer being the former than the latter. For the past couple of months, Honda, together with scientists from Purdue University, may have discovered the next breakthrough in vehicular development after discovering that microscopic carbon nanotubes just might become a quicker and more efficient way of distributing electricity in cars. In addition to that, the newly-discovered nanotubes are also being touted as a better – lighter yet stronger - material than carbon fiber.
The discovery of carbon nanotubes has the capacity to revolutionize the way cars are going to be produced in the future, especially when it comes to the production of batteries, cables, fuel cells, and solar cells. But what’s more important than all of that is the fact that this new breakthrough can also become beneficial on other industries like robotics, and supercapacitors. According to Dr. Hideaki Tsuru, the project director of the Honda Research Institute USA, "Our goal is not only the creation of new and better technologies and products, but to fulfill Honda’s commitment to environment sustainability.”
Like we said, sometimes there are scientific discoveries that go beyond the realm of the industry it is in and this is one of those times. Whether or not the discovery of carbon nanotubes results in more efficient cars remains to be seen, but it does open a world of other possibilities not just in the auto industry, but in others as well.
It’s been a month now since the TomTom navigation app for the iPhone went on sale for about $99.99 a pop, but despite being out on the market already, a lot of people have yet to avail for themselves a unit, partly because most of them are waiting for the GPS’ iPhone car kit that’s expected to drop sometime in October.
The kit, which will come with another GPS receiver in addition to an iPhone car mount, is expected to improve and enhance the TomTom navigation app. If you don’t know how this whole thing works, the TomTom nav app allows your iPhone to perform the full duties of navigation system, giving the iPhone yet another new function that seems to be increasing by the day.
With the incoming car kit that’s coming out, you can now mount your iPhone into your car like a fully-independent navigation system, although we assume that while it’s being used as such, you’ll have an extra difficult time trying to text with or call someone with it.
But those are thoughts for another day and time. What’s important is that the new kit is scheduled to hit in October and will reportedly cost $119.95 (or €99.95 in Europe), which of course is exclusive of the charges you’ll pay for the application itself.
We didn’t know that two items would be sold separately but apparently it is. It’s a steeper price to pay than most of us would’ve expected – around $220 – but then again, it’s still cheaper than a lot of third-party nav systems going out on the market these days.
Thermaltake, together with BMW DesignWorks, is set to finally release the Level 10, a high-tech concept computer case that’s fast becoming a hot item among techies all over the world.
Back in June, the Level 10 was first introduced to the public but it wasn’t until a few days ago when deliveries of the computer were made to various tech outlets. Despite the longer-than-expected wait, it seems that the computer has more than lived up to its billing.
Contrary to standard aluminum boxes that PCs are being housed in these days, Thermaltake took a different approach with the Level 10 by incorporating a central pillar, together with a number of individual compartments that houses the motherboard, the PSU, and optical and hard drives.
Audi has combined for the first time in a model the start-stop system and the S-tronic dual-clutch transmission. This application will be used for the first time in the Audi A3 1.6 TDI with 105 hp and the 1.4 TFSI with 125 hp.
Thanks to this new technology the Audi A3 TDI will have a fuel economy if 56.00 US mpg and the TFSI version of 44.38 US mpg.
The start-stop system turns the engine off as soon as the vehicle comes to a stop; the engine stays off as long as the driver depresses the brake pedal. As soon as the driver removes their foot from the brake pedal, start-stop turns the engine back on – quietly, conveniently and quickly.
We’ve seen a lot of really cool desktop computers over the years, but never have we encountered something that totally reeks of awesomeness, that is, until we chanced upon this Dodge Charger SRT8-inspired desktop computer from PC Rides.
This computer is, without question, a must-have for every car-blogging, auto-website surfing piston head on the face of this earth. Seriously. We’re not even kidding.
And it’s not like this desktop is something straight out of a novelty bin. Just like a real Charger SRT8, this desktop has a ton of power under its hood…err…casing. What’s more, you can find all the necessary desktop features at the most amazing of places. For starters, that front bumper is more than just a design, it’s actually the optical drive where you can insert all your CDs and such. The headlights turn on everytime you power up and if that’s not cool enough, at the back of the ‘car’, where the rear lights and exhaust should be, has some of the basic plug-in bases you need in a desktop, including DVI, HDMI, audio and network ports, VGA, and last but not least, six independent USB ports.
And just as if you’re piecing together a real Charger SRT8, the desktop version can be fine tuned depending on your performance preference. Base prices go at around $1,850 with the tricked-out versions hovering in and around $2,495.
It’s a little steep for desktop computer, especially now when prices for PCs are dropping like flies. Nevertheless, the idea of owning one – especially if you consider yourself a pistonhead – sure makes spending over $2,000 on a desktop computer seem worth it.
We’ve covered a lot of cars that have promised to provide everything a driver wants in a vehicle. The lofty expectations placed on these vehicles have become a case of hit-or-miss and as much as we’d like to believe these manufacturers and their haughty claims, more often than not, we’re left with that sinking feeling of wanting more.
That being said, there’s a Spanish company that has made claims about a new car technology that, quite frankly, trumps anything we’ve ever heard of before.
The company is IFR Automotive, who you might recall produced the featherweight coupe, Aspid. Well, IFR’s new creation technological creation is designed to give drivers to fine-tune every aspect of their car’s set-up on a touch screen, virtually providing the car with a smorgasbord of different settings.
We all know that Jay Leno loves his cars. After all, he probably has enough cars – modern and vintage – to make his own showroom. But despite owning a fleet of some of the most expensive and prestigious vehicles in the world, we still don’t know as to how much of a car fanatic Jay Leno is. That’s until we found out that our favorite ex-late night talk show host has his own 3D scanner, which he uses to scan and print rare and irreplaceable car parts from his vintage classics. Now, that’s something you’ve never heard before.
Leno’s revolutionary gadget is a NextEngine 3D Scanner, which can scan a fully-functioning auto part in 20 minutes at 160,000 dots per inch resolution. After doing so, he takes his scanned image and prints it into a plastic 3D model using his Dimension 3D Printer. While the resulting part isn’t the final piece of the exercise – he takes the plastic, which can be scanned and printed in three hours, and uses it to make a mold that will eventually produce the metal, which he uses on the car.
We know a lot of car aficionados the world over that would go to great lengths to restore their precious vehicles, but we’ve never seen anyone that has an device that can actually make a 3D image of a vintage car part. But that’s why Jay Leno is who he is.
Damiano Michelli, and engineer at Alfa Romeo’s FIAT Powertrain Technologies explains the MultiAir unit that will find its way under the valve cover of the 170 HP version of the 1.4 Liter MiTo.
The MultiAir system eliminates the need for a throttle body and allows the engineers infinite control over the valves that bring fresh air into the combustion chamber. The design places the lobes for both intake and exhaust on the same camshaft. The exhaust operates as it would in a convention four stroke internal combustion engine, but the third bump actuates a roller rocker arm attached to the MultiAir setup which is then electronically controlled to open and close the intake valve by the flow of pressurized engine oil.
The idea is similar to other automakers variable valve timing systems, except that MultiAir can adapt to any situation and individually tune each cylinder if necessary. The FPT unit not only allows the ECU the intake valve lift and duration, but also throw in a couple tricks like: late intake valve opening when sitting at idle, early intake valve closing for a more complete burn of the fuel soaked charged and there is even a multi lift function that brings fresh air into the combustion chamber at multiple points in the engine’s cycle ensuring minimal waste and to maximize the efficiency of the intake charge.
Overall, MultiAir equipped engines benefit from a 10% reduction in CO2 emissions, 10% more power and a 15% torque improvement; but mainly a much more dynamic driving experience. Just like direct fuel injection, the system is more efficient than a conventional internal combustion engine and at the same time makes more power.
Mercedes Benz has been known for its revolutionary standards of safety. After all, as one of the most luxurious and widely-respected car brands in the world, it has a reputation to protect.
That’s why the German-based automakers have introduced a new safety features on their 2010 E-class luxury-sedan. Called the Attention Assist, this new safety technology is intended to keep tired and weary drivers from dozing off into lala land.
The Attention Assist is capable of detecting abrupt steering corrections – a classic case of drowsy driving – done on the car and responds by emitting a low-frequency beep to alert the driver of his recklessness. If the beep isn’t enough to get the driver’s attention, an espresso cup – don’t ask us why – lights up on the dashboard reminding the driver to get his wits about himself if he wants to get home in one piece.
We’re all proponents for safe driving and understand the ramifications of falling asleep while behind the wheel of a car – it accounts for over 100,000 crashes, 71,000 injuries and 1,550 deaths every year in the US. Hopefully, Mercedes Benz’s new Attention Assist safety feature can cut down on those staggering numbers.
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