2010

Looking for the perfect gift for the iPhone, iPod, or iPad lover in your life? Let's face it: iTunes gift cards have been done to death. For something original, clever, creative, and even practical, check out the App Magnets.

As you can see in the photo, they're near-perfect recreations of the core iPhone apps. They come in sets of 18, one each for Clock, Calendar, Maps, and so on. I've already got a set of these on my fridge, and they're not only great magnets (just the right size), but also great conversation-starters.

These were originally $… Read more

When racing teams want to record their vehicle's performance, they usually don't grab a GoPro Hero or ContourHD off of the shelf (although they surely could). Instead they use a system like ChaseCam's DIVA (Data Integrated Video Acquisition), which not only captures video from multiple cameras, but also records from an internal accelerometer, a GPS receiver, and a direct connection to the vehicle's brain via OBD-II/CAN bus. However, up until now and in spite of all of that functionality, the lipstick-size cameras in the ChaseCam system captured only SD video content. This year at the … Read more

Little-known EV-maker Wheego debuts the 2011 Life--its 100-mile-range electric two-seater--at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show this month.

It's the first highway-speed vehicle for Wheego, which launched a similar-looking low-speed electric vehicle called Whip in 2009, around the same time it split from parent company Ruff N Tuff. Since then the Georgia-based e-carmaker has been flying under the radar, albeit unintentionally, while it developed the Life, which has a top speed of 65 mph.

That's huge progress for a start-up with only five employees, and the Life is just the beginning. Wheego president Jeff Boyd says the company … Read more

BOSTON--For clean-energy businesses, the mantra to think globally and act locally now resonates more than ever.

The advance of Republican politicians in yesterday's national elections means that state-level efforts to encourage green technologies become more important, according to speakers on a panel at the Sixth Annual Clean Energy Conference here today. The political shake-up means that national policies to cap carbon emissions and stimulate alternatives to fossil fuels are less likely to happen, they said.

"Policy via mandates is going to have serious problems in the House of Representatives and the Senate," Melanie Kenderine, the executive director … Read more

LAS VEGAS--It's one of the world's largest gatherings of automakers, aftermarket part suppliers, customizers, tuners, and general car nuts all hanging around Las Vegas for a week, so you can be sure that there will be more than a few truly unique rides to be found in and around the 2010 SEMA Show. There are literally hundreds of cars on display, ranging from old-school muscle cars to modern sport compacts to big-wheeled cruisers to every sort of truck you can imagine. If it's on at least one wheel, you'll not only find it at SEMA, you'… Read more

Audi announced today at its first appearance at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas that it has developed and is bringing to market one of the first OEM applications of wireless device charging for its vehicles. With this charger, Audi claims that people will be able to charge their smartphones in their Audi vehicles without connecting a charging cable, cord, or adapter.

The system was developed in collaboration with Electronics Research Lab, Qualcomm Incorporated, and Peiker and works similarly to the inductive charging mats that we've seen enter the market over the last year or so (such as the … Read more

Someone at the Conversions and Accessories group at Toyota Motor in Japan must have spent way too long staring into the maw of the Lamborghini Reventon, because the C&A Prius concept debuted at the 2010 SEMA Show looks like the twisted offspring of the supercar and Toyota's powder blue hybrid sedan.

Built to minimize weight and aerodynamic drag, the better to maximize efficiency, the C&A Prius features a carbon fiber hood, rear hatch, side skirts, rear bumper, front fender flares, and rear spoiler. Speaking of the spoiler, this one is a low drag-style rear faring, … Read more

Toyota must be getting sick of people calling it dull, because for sheer absurdity, no vehicle we saw at the 2010 SEMA Show impressed like Toyota's Swagger Wagon Supreme concept. Based on the new 2011 Sienna, this stretched out concept takes moving people to the next level.

The Swagger Wagon Supreme features a wheelbase that's been stretched by 44 inches, creating much more room for people and gadgets, but essentially retaining its seven-seat configuration. From the front seats to about the tailgate, the Sienna's carpet has been replaced with wood flooring. The second row captain's chairs … Read more

eBay Motors gave us a sneak peek at its upcoming app for iPhone at the 2010 SEMA Show. While we expected the app to be capable of searching eBay auctions for parts and vehicles, the developers managed to think up a few features--such as VIN scanning and a virtual garage--that truly piqued our interest.

The app allows you to set up a custom home-screen search, which displays a sort of slideshow of the top results when the app opens. You can also simply perform individual searches for vehicles by make, model, year, etc. Once a vehicle is selected, the app … Read more