Ford gives its maps a much-needed update in the MyFord system, and stores it on SD Card.
(Credit: Ford)
LAS VEGAS - Ford built up a good cabin tech lead amongst its competitors when it adopted Sync and Sirius Travel Link in 2008, and we didn't think the company could come up with something new for CES 2010. But boy, were we wrong. Ford radically redesigned its cabin tech interface while at the same time adding new features and completely revamping its navigation systems, branding the whole shebang as MyFord.
Ford vehicles equipped with MyFord will get two 4.2-inch color LCDs, one mounted in the instrument cluster and one in the center of the dashboard. The instrument cluster display shows vehicle information such as engine speed, temperature, and trip data, and the one in the dashboard shows audio, phone, and navigation information.
This system can be upgraded to MyFord Touch, which puts the two 4.2-inch LCDs on either side of the speedometer and adds an 8-inch touch-screen LCD to the center of the dashboard.
The Ford Fusion Hybrid served as a test-bed for this new interface, as it has similar LCDs in the instrument cluster, although they don't show nearly as much information. What both allow is driver customization, letting you choose to view the tachometer as an analog gauge or as a simple bar graph, for example.
Ford's old interface was legible, but ugly.
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET)In designing the new interface, Ford aimed to flatten the menu structure, making it safer for drivers to choose music or place phone calls without having to dig through multiple screens. MyFord also uses a color scheme so the driver can easily see which function is on display, with orange for the phone, green for navigation, red for music, and blue for climate control. These four major menu areas also get a touch-screen button at each corner of the 8-inch LCD, letting driver or passenger quickly access each one.
Another big change involves switching map storage from hard drive to SD card. Ford had been an early adopter of onboard hard drives, which allowed quicker map access for the navigation system than DVDs could. But moving from hard drive to SD card, with a navigation application and maps from Telenav, will be cheaper to manufacture, make it easier for an owner to update the maps, and be more durable, as a hard drive is more likely to fail in an automotive environment than an SD card.
... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
We usually enjoy test driving the various Mercedes-Benz cars we get in at CNET headquarters, but the 2010 C350 that recently arrived was the exception. Although the C-class can be a comfortable cruiser and highly competent in the corners, this one was minimally optioned, making us long for the smaller-engine C300 we had tested previously. Lacking a navigation system, the included iPod integration kit had a horrible interface. And without that Harmon Kardon audio upgrade, the sound quality was mediocre. Our car did sport good-looking AMG wheels, but we would much rather have had decent cabin tech.
(Credit:
Antuan Goodwin/CNET)
A few weeks ago we got the opportunity to drive the 2010 Bentley Continental Supersports. When we get a particularly nice car such as this one, we like to take it somewhere special. And with the sculpted body of this coupe, the sights of San Francisco seemed the appropriate background for many photo opportunities. We drove the car along San Franciscco's 49-mile Scenic Drive, a route that winds through the city, hitting the major attractions, stopping the car where we could.
The painted grille and bulging fenders of the new Suzuki Kizashi give it an aggressive look. With tail pipes integrated into the rear bumper, you might think this is a new sport-luxury driver. But no, it is just another midsize sedan in a crowded market, with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine under the hood. It does include a well-equipped cabin, with standard Bluetooth phone support, iPod integration, and a thumping Rockford Fosgate audio system.
High-performance cars will get a nod at the North American International Auto Show next week, but electrics and hybrids will get the buzz.
Volkswagen and Toyota will show hybrid concepts; Audi, BMW, and Fiat will unveil electric concepts. Honda will show the production version of the CR-Z hybrid hatchback.
The Detroit auto show will put together many electric cars and technology in one area called Electric Avenue.
Meanwhile, the high-performance crowd will get their due with the CTS-V coupe from Cadillac and a performance sedan concept from Buick.
Mercedes-Benz will take the wraps off of the fourth variant of its new E class--a production convertible that replaces the CLK.
... 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 information systems with a few head-turning features, including an optional handwriting recognition system for navigation inputs, an updated MMI interface, and an optional 1,400-watt Bang and Olufsen audio system. Other notable innovations include an intelligent link between the car's navigation system and other onboard systems, including the adaptive cruise control, gearbox, and--of course--the headlights. Check out the photos to see the latest that Ingolstadt has to offer.
We know that we should be concerned with the CR-Z's performance, but the possibility of a new Honda nav system has us excited.
(Credit: Temple of VTEC)Scans of the brochure for the Honda CR-Z have been making the rounds on the Net, giving us a peak at what you get when you apply the terms performance, compact, and hybrid to a production car.
However, upon taking a look at the interior photos, we were hit with what looks like even more good news: the navigation system's new button layout seems to suggest that the CR-Z may be getting a new system. Which is great, considering Honda's current goes-in-everything navigation system is over half a decade old. Does this mean no more DVD-based navigation? Are we finally going to get traffic data? Is this the end of the funky PC-card slots behind the motorized touch screen? Hopefully, yes.
It also looks like the digital instrument cluster is sporting some heavy LCD usage, which also gets us all hot and bothered...um, sorry.
If the CR-Z can match the expectations of a generation of rabid CRX lovers and deliver zippy performance, a tossable chassis, and decent fuel economy, an upgraded cabin tech package could be the feather in its cap. But we won't know for sure until we get some time behind the wheel after the CR-Z is unveiled at the 2010 Detroit auto show.
The SRX name may not be new at Cadillac, but the car wearing it certainly is. The 2010 SRX is radically redesigned from earlier versions, opting for a more carlike suspension, while retaining a five-passenger SUV-like body. Borrowing much from the CTS sedan, the SRX has angular design cues around its body, and a very modern cabin tech suite, anchored by a very good navigation system. Power comes from a direct injection 3-liter V-6.
The Bentley Continental Supersports is the fastest car Bentley makes.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)
OK, we are going to get something out of the way from the beginning. The 2010 Bentley Continental Supersports may be the most extreme example of sport luxury available today, putting mere BMWs to shame, but its navigation system is terrible. The maps are very low resolution and, stored on a DVD, are slow to refresh and calculate routes. This navigation system lacks all but the most basic features, with no external data feeds or text to speech. It really doesn't belong in this car.
Let that rest as our main criticism so we can get to the good stuff, which is just about everything else.
Bentley has offered several variations of its Continental coupe since its introduction in 2003, but the Supersports model exhibits the purest level of performance. Bentley tweaked the already massive engine for more power, fitted wheels with big carbon ceramic brakes, and shed 243 pounds of weight, most notably by removing the rear seat.
And you really don't want a rear seat in this car, as you would resent any passengers back there for being a drag on performance, while they would unfriend you on Facebook for being relegated to such cramped quarters.
With its coupe design, the Bentley Continental Supersports cuts a nice profile.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)We were actually a little surprised at the manageable size of this car, making it easy to maneuver through parking garages and dense urban streets. Despite its smallish size, the body is a head-turner, with external lighting nicely molded into the body and the signature wire Bentley grille. The glossy black 20-inch wheels added to this car's unique look.
Of course, the engine also announces the Continental Supersports arrival with a throaty roar. When we pushed the start button, the engine's 12 cylinders began to pump, air was forced into the manifold from twin turbos, and 6 liters of displacement hosted precisely timed explosions that turned the driveshaft with 621 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque.
This kind of power means you can lightly tap the gas pedal and find yourself far ahead of the pack of traffic sitting back there at the light, the drivers just putting their cell phones down so they can get back to the business of driving. Put the gas down a little harder and you push up to freeway speeds, the car showing very little effort. Introduce the pedal to the floor and you've begun a career in amateur rocketry.
... Read MoreOn Sale Now:
$273,295.00
View the latest prices for 2010 Bentley Continental Supersports
LOS ANGELES--Volkswagen wants to become a dominant player in pickups, but not necessarily in the United States.
VW is considering giving U.S. dealers the Amarok, a 2.0-liter compact pickup developed through VW's Commercial Vehicles division, said Stefan Jacoby, CEO of Volkswagen Group of America.
In January, Volkswagen AG will begin global marketing for the Amarok, which it will build in Argentina and sell in South America and other markets around the world. VW already is heralding the Amarok online by calling it a pickup "that aims to conquer the international market."
VW considers selling the Amorak small pick-up in the U.S.
(Credit: Volkswagen)But the automaker isn't sure the truck is ready to tangle with the U.S. pickup market, Jacoby emphasized.
"It's a compact pickup, and they're very price-competitive," he said during this month's Los Angeles Auto Show. "A lot of our competitors have burned their fingers in this segment."
The Amarok's price would have to include the so-called chicken tax, the 25 percent tariff the U.S. government slaps on imported pickups.
VW's effort to sell pickups here in the early 1960s was largely what prompted the administration of President Lyndon Johnson to push for the chicken tax in the first place.
Jacoby also worries that his dealer network is not geographically aligned with the U.S. pickup market.
"We don't even have our dealers in the markets where pickups are sold," he said. Despite all that, Jacoby said, selling the Amarok here is "on the table."
(Source: Automotive News)
