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Car Tech Live 225: We shred the 2012 Nissan GT-R (podcast)

A Toyota Rav 4 with the heart of a Tesla; AAA can now bring you a gallon of watts; Toyota turns car windows into the Romper Room mirror; and we drive the, well, yeah, Nissan GT-R. No big deal.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 225 SHOW NOTES

• CNET drives the revised 2012 Nissan GT-R Premium

• Electric RAV 4 finally on the way

• 2012 Nissan Leaf gets a price bump, sold in more states

• CNET ordains the best overall economical green car...

• Toyota's Window to the World is ideal for weird voyeurism… Read more

Green carpet maker Flor opens fifth retail store

Flor, the green carpet manufacturer, announced Thursday that it's opened a fifth brick-and-mortar store, this one in Dallas.

Like its other retail stores in Atlanta, Chicago, New York, and Santa Monica, the Dallas Flor store will offer a recycling drop-off for customers to return worn Flor items.

Flor sells carpets that are made from either wool or mostly renewable and recycled content, with an end goal of eventually making all its carpets entirely from sustainable materials.

In an age when most carpeting comes with a high amount of unhealthy VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), FLOR carpets also either meet or … Read more

Jimmy Fallon and Seth Green on Google+: Sorry

Google+ is already so famous, so powerful, and so ubiquitous that it has made it on to Jimmy Fallon's late night show. Which must be called something like "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon."

With Seth Green in attendance, the two hip comedians in suits decided to gauge just how famous, powerful and ubiquitous Google+ really is.

Their conclusion: We're sorry.

Green offered the observation that Google+ was the preserve (or, perhaps, reserve) of the "new technological mafia."

"The best way to overthrow the Facebook giant is to offer something that's invitation only,&… Read more

Ford uses recycled tires, soy for seals and gaskets in several 2011MY vehicles

Ford Motor today announced it has combined rubber from more than 2.2 million pounds of recycled tires with other material, such as soybean oil, to produce what it says are environmentally friendly gaskets and seals for new cars.

Teaming up with Detroit-based supplier Recycled Polymeric Materials, Ford has turned 210,000 used tires and 150,000 pounds of soy into material for the new gaskets and seals.

"The gaskets and seals are derived from 25 percent post-consumer, recycled-tire particulate and 17 percent biorenewable content from soy," Ford said in a press release.

"The sustainable gaskets were … Read more

Simple photo organizing

When it comes to organizing photos, we like to keep things simple. We find this to be a tedious task no matter which software we use, so we're always on the lookout for anything that will make the process more efficient. SunlitGreen Photo Manager is a simple program that provides the basics of photo organization without a lot of fuss. It doesn't have a ton of features, but that's kind of what we like about it.

The program's interface is attractive and intuitive. The opening screen asks users if they want create a new album, open … Read more

Planes to fly on cooking oil

Is it fair to imagine that some people just don't want to know about how certain things are done? If they did, perhaps their irrational side might overwhelm the blinkered side that helps them get through each and every painful day.

Does everyone want to know, for example, that the Boeing 737 in which they are strapped is flying on the detritus of some very fine french fries?

In the last few days, KLM and Thomson Airways, two European airlines, announced that they would be flying a plane or two using cooking oil.

In KLM's case, the BBC reported … Read more

Forward with Ford 2011: Green cars inside and out

DEARBORN, Mich.--The 2011 Forward with Ford conference here last week gave outsiders a look at Ford Motor Company's push to makes its cars greener.

Actor and activist Ed Begley, Jr. joined Ford Motors' Sherif Marakby to discuss the company's ongoing efforts to electrify cars. Ford develops three levels of greener vehicles--hybrids (like the Ford Fusion hybrid), plug-in hybrids (like the Ford CMAX Energi), and all-electric vehicles (like the Ford Focus Electric). Ford is hip to the 2011 Maritz Research study reporting that 42 percent of all consumers consider fuel economy "extremely important" when buying a new vehicle. So, Ford delivers 12 vehicles that get 40 mpg or higher in EPA highway testing. … Read more

The 404 843: Where we got the band back together (podcast)

After a week of trips back and forth from LA, all three of us are back together again, and I'm personally glad to be back because somebody has to step up and defend Los Angeles!

After sticking up for the West Coast, we're also talking about a dating Web site that's for beautiful people that's been getting hacked, KFC's latest monstrosity, and five fake sounds in tech to make stupid people feel better.

Plus we review some of the latest movies in theaters now, including "Green Lantern," "Kung Fu Panda 2," and "Super 8."

The 404 Digest for Episode 843

" Green Lantern": Revenge of the lame superhero movie. KFC supports diabetes research with an 800-calorie, 56-spoonful-of-sugar "Mega Jug." Dating Web site for "beautiful people only" dumps 30k members. Five fake sounds in tech to make stupid people feel better.

Episode 843 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Play golf in strange new worlds

Super Stickman Golf is a 2D golf game that's really easy to pick up and play, with tons of fantastical themed courses, interesting power-ups, and excellent physics-based gameplay. Though the game has a huge amount of arcade-like features, the goal is always the same: try to get the ball in the hole in as few shots as possible. The challenge is that it can be much harder than it looks.

Rather than your standard 3D layout seen in many golf games, Super Stickman Golf offers up a 2D platformer experience. The courses often have multiple levels you'll need … Read more