As you probably know by now, General Motors has decided to discontinue producing the Saab brand after failing to make a sell to European manufacturers Spyker and Koenigsegg Group. Whether it's a lack of resources to produce the Saab brand, or just general disinterest in doing so, GM is about to swing the axe on the Saab imprint, and soon there will be no more Saab.
I personally have never found Saab to be anything to do cartwheels about, but there are many European car aficionados who appreciate the subtle beauty of Saab over the years, and this web video is a slideshow tribute to the soon-to-be fallen European automobile. While Saab has never been a sexy car, upon reflective review it does have a uniquely succinct flavor and aura. Thanks for everything, Saab. It was fun while it lasted. Cheers!
Ford this week announced it is partnering with MIT's AgeLab, on a project to identify specific stress-inducing driving situations, monitor a driver's reaction to the situations using biometrics, and evaluate methods to incorporate new stress-reducing features into the next generation of Ford products. The six-month effort will begin in January and will focus on human interaction with a specially equipped 2010 Lincoln MKS.
Ford's goal for the program is to take this a step further by creating the most comfortable driving environment possible so that the driver is always relaxed and calm.
By using the Lincoln MKS, MIT AgeLab researchers will have a rolling test vehicle loaded with innovations such as BLIS (Blind Spot Information System) with Cross Traffic Alert, Adaptive Cruise Control and Collision Warning with Brake Support, MyKey, Voice-Activated Navigation and SYNC.
Since 2004, Ford and MIT's AgeLab - in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Transportation's New England University Transportation Center - have been working to develop vehicle systems that detect the stress level of the driver at key points in time. The goal is to use the information to adjust systems in the car in ways that reduce driver stress.
Tonight most of us will be counting down to the birth of the New Year, 2010. However, it appears that General Motors will be counting down to the last Saab produced by the company, as it was announced a couple of weeks ago that the automotive manufacturer will be discontinuing the making of the Saab imprint due to its inability to sell the line to prospective European car makers. As it appears, nothing will be changing on this front prior to the self-imposed deadline of December 31, 2009 and it seems all but certain now that the Saab car and name is to be a thing of the past in the near future.
I know this isn't exactly breaking news with the official announcement coming down the pike almost two weeks ago, but for those who've yet to get the low down on this low blow to the Saab brand I've got this web video produced by The Associated Press to quickly give viewers a quick glimpse on how and why GM has decided to shed the Saab brand from production. While I've never been big on Saab, they still issued many classy and reliable vehicles over the years and my guess is GM doesn't see Saab as a marketable name to prospective American buyers to invest in. I'll pour out a little champagne for you tonight, Saab. May 2010 be much better than 2009. Happy New Year everyone!
Yesterday's video blog featured Venezuelan-born race car driver Milka Duno making her first attempt at stock car testing for the Automobile Racing Club of America at Daytona International Speedway a little over a week ago - a foray that turned out to be pretty successful. But it seems it's hard to write about or discuss Milka without IndyCar superstar Danica Patrick being referenced or mentioned in some form or another. Well, sure enough the TV commercial sexpot and would-be NASCAR-bound Patrick was also getting in on the stock car fun at the ARCA's Daytona event over the weekend of December 18-20, 2009 which is reportedly also Danica's first stab at stock car testing.
With her qualification during this test race, Danica is now slated to appear in an ARCA race on February 6, 2010 at the world-famous Daytona Speedway while she is scheduled to debut in a NASCAR event later in the month at California Auto Club Speedway. While this video isn't the most exciting thing in the world, it presents Danica giving her insights on her first official stock car event and her orange and green Chevy blazing around the track. If nothing else, this video and the news around it should officially mark Danica's entry into the world of stock car racing.
The XM SkyDock is among the 2010 CES Innovation Award Honorees.
(Credit: Josh P. Miller/CNET)The Consumer Electronics Association has named its 2010 Best of Innovations award winners. Amongst them is the XM SkyDock, an iPhone/iPod Touch XM Radio Tuner.
In our recent review of the XM SkyDock, we found that its ease of installation and use and, to some degree, portability made it a good choice for iPhone users who want to add XM radio to their vehicles without the complication and expense of a permanent installation. However, we weren't thrilled with the fact that the SkyDock didn't continue to stream while, for example, navigating.
The XM SkyDock joins other in-vehicle technologies honored in the 2010 CES Innovation Awards, such as Ford's Work Solutions in-dash computer, a new Rand-McNally GPS device, and Audiovox's Flo TV system.
An in-car HD Radio device from Jensen.
(Credit: Ibiquity Digital)Ford Motor just can't seem to get enough lately of high-tech flourishes for the dashboard.
Earlier this month, the automaker unveiled plans to integrate Wi-Fi into its Sync entertainment systems so that drivers can turn their cars into wireless Internet hot spots. On Tuesday, Ford said that starting in 2010, car buyers will be able to get a factory-installed HD Radio receiver with iTunes Tagging capabilities:
"Through the Sync system," Ford said in its press release, "iTunes Tagging will provide Ford customers with the ability to capture a song they hear on the HD Radio receiver for later purchase. With a simple push of the 'TAG' button on the radio display, the song information will be stored in the radio's memory."Up to 100 tags can be stored on Sync until the iPod is connected to receive the download of metadata. When the iPod is then synced to iTunes, a playlist of 'tagged' songs will appear. Customers then can preview and, if desired, ... Read more
The new Audi A8 incorporates innovative new tech features, along with LED headlights.
(Credit: Audi)
In case the automotive press was in any doubt about Audi's message for its new A8 sedan, the company chose to launch the latest iteration of its flagship model at this year's Design Miami art festival in Miami Beach. The third generation of the A8 does deserve some credit for its new design language: its clean side profile and squat front end chime with many of the cues we've seen on other updated models in the automaker's lineup. Audi has a thing for lights recently, and the A8's LEDs got plenty of airtime at the launch ceremony, with British designer Tom Dixon crooning over the car's "anti-gravity luminosity." We're not quite sure what that is, but any headlight assembly that packs in more than 40 LEDs on each corner has to be something special.
In the cabin, Audi's new luxobarge offers the usual lineup of entertainment and ... Read more
Hello dear Car Tech video blog readers! I hope y'all drank a buttload of eggnog and had a great Xmas holiday (or Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa or whatever it is you celebrate). But we weren't alone in celebrating all the good things (yeah, all three of them) about 2009, but Venezuelan-born race car driver Milka Duno had a couple more things to celebrate in late December. Roughly a week ago, Duno made history (again) by becoming the first woman of Hispanic descent to do stock car testing for the Automobile Racing Club of America.
It all went down on December 19, 2009 at world famous Daytona International Speedway as depicted in this short but sweet web clip. Milka suits up and hops into her Braun Racing #90 Toyota Camry for her first ARCA Racing Series test. This was also reportedly the first time Milka had attempted to officially race a stock car, as she is best known for racing open-wheeled vehicles. Still, she finished in 13th place out of 60+ competitors and it seems ... Read more
Drivers in China can now subscribe to OnStar. The service welcomed its first subscriber earlier this month. Chinese subscribers receive 14 services through Shanghai OnStar Telematics Co. Some of the services include: automatic crash response, emergency services, automatic airbag response, vehicle diagnostics, stolen vehicle location, remote door unlock, turn-by-turn navigation, destination download.
The service is available throughout mainland China in Mandarin Chinese.
OnStar has more than 5.6 million customers and 253 million customer interactions to date.
Top tech cars of the year remembered, a look at the state of the art in concept car design, and a ride in the all new 2010 Cadillac SRX.
Listen now: Download today's podcast
Subscribe with iTunes (audio)
Subscribe with iTunes (video)
Subscribe with RSS (audio)
Subscribe with RSS (video)
EPISODE 150
SHOW NOTES• Vote for Tech Car of the Year
• CNET review of the 2010 Cadillac SRX
• Car tech will be big at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in January
