The Car Tech blog

(Credit: Ferrari)

It's not every day that the world gets an all-new Ferrari to lust after (not that one, this one). So when the Italian automaker unveils a new rolling work of art, people take notice.

Polyphony Digital and Turn 10 have both created digital tributes to the super sexy Ferrari 458 Italia using their respective Gran Turismo 5 and Forza Motorsport 3 game engines. But which is better? Ultimately, a pair of glossy prerendered videos says very little about which game is better. Check them out below and sound off in the comments section.

I can barely tell the difference between digital and real life at times, so--while we're at it--be sure to check out Ferrari's official live action 458 Italia teaser video.

Audi's electric e-tron gets digital in PlayStation Home.

(Credit: Audi)

Automakers are like forum trolls. Every time you turn around another one of them is yelling, "First!"

This time it's Audi claiming to be the first carmaker to develop its own virtual area in Sony's PlayStation Home. Audi Space, as it will be known, will come on line in late 2009. Audi Space will at first feature an Audi TV channel delivering video content relating to the German automaker.

In December of '09, Audi Space will be expanded to include Vertical Run, a futuristic racing game featuring Audi's e-tron concept. Players will collect electrical energy that will presumably be untamed by the e-tron as they race for the highest possible speed. Be the fastest and you could earn a place for your Home avatar in the virtual Audi apartments, located in a large tower in the center of Audi Space.

Audi Space will be a 3D area where players can explore the Audi brand.

(Credit: Audi)

"Most young people gain their first driving experience from video games," explains Kai Mensing, who is responsible for video games and virtual worlds in Online Marketing at Audi. "With the Audi Space, we can bring this target group into contact with our brand in a highly emotion-packed and interactive environment, and demonstrate our 'Vorsprung durch Technik' with the virtual e-tron race."

"It was important to us to create an environment with Audi Space that differed from a classic showroom at an Audi dealership," Mensing said. "To achieve that, we got together with the architects at Allmann Sattler Wappner and developed an interactive concept where the focus is on selected Audi models, making it possible to experience the brand in a selective, interactive way."

The company has stated that additional Audi content will be added to Audi Space in 2010.

The Need for Speed: Shift demo is PC-only for now. Xbox 360 and PS3 demos will be available in October.

(Credit: Electronic Arts)

Electronic Arts has quietly released a Need for Speed: Shift demo. The catch is that it's PC-only for now. Xbox 360 and PS3 owners will have to wait until early October before getting their respective demos.

The game lets you pick five cars, including an M3 (E46), a Dodge Viper SRT10, the Lotus Elise 111R, the 2008 Nissan GT-R, and the 2006 Pagani Zonda F (which is unlockable).

Grab the demo from here, then check back and let us know what you think!

The Xanavi/Nismo GT-R GT car is featured prominently in the Gran Turismo screenshots.

(Credit: Polyphony Digital)

Polyphony Digital usually plays its cards pretty close to the vest when it comes to releasing details about its Gran Turismo series. So, I was pretty stoked when I got a news release titled "First Official Gran Turismo 5 screenshots." I waited with baited breath as the images downloaded. Hurriedly, I flung open the attachments only to be greeted with a handful of images of the GT5's fancy menu system. Really? Talk about disappointing.

Ironically, we've already had more than a few good looks at GT5 in action, despite Polyphony Digital's weak attempts at teasers. We already know that the PS3-exclusive will feature 1,000 vehicles, damage modeling and rollover crashes, and online racing with voice chat. Heck, we even knew about the game's capability to flood YouTube with your weak sauce replays.

First official Gran Turismo 5 screenshots

In fact, about the only thing we don't know is when we can expect to be able to play the game. Although to be fair, we're not so sure that anyone at Polyphony Digital knows either.

So, come on Poly-Dig. We've already seen the goods. Stop being such a tease and give us the full monty.

(Credit: EA Games/Slightly Mad Studios)

Amid all of the hoopla around the battle between Gran Turismo 5 versus Forza Motorsport 3, we'd almost forgotten about Need for Speed: Shift--the NFS series' latest foray into the world of sim-racing. However, its recently announced release date of September 15, 2009, has jarred our memory and brought the scrappy upstart back to our attention.

For those needing a refresher, check out this GamesSpot video that outlines most of what we know:

While NFS:S' 65 cars and 18 tracks will have a hard time competing with the hundreds of cars and tracks that GT5 and F3 will bring to the table, having an extra choice on which to get our digital driving fix is always a good thing.

What can I say? I'm a sucker for racing sims.

(Credit: CTA Digital)

I'm not what you'd call a fan of chintzy, plastic, snap-on video game peripherals. I've got enough plastic guitars and controllers cluttering up my living room already without taking up more space with snap-on shells that make my Wii Remote look like the world's shortest golf club. However, I take my racing sims seriously, even on the iPhone. Which is why the CTA Digital Steering Wheel for iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch is interesting to me.

CTA's wheel is basically a plastic shell that snaps onto your iPhone, iPhone 3GS, or first- or second-generation iPod Touch to make the devices feel like a small steering wheel. The design doesn't block the screen, so you can still access virtual buttons for braking, nitro, and such. CTA offers two versions of the wheel, one with a suction cup mount and one without.

I think this is a cool idea for two basic reasons. Firstly, the bigger radius of the wheel's grip can help ease hand cramping caused by prolonged playing for people with big hands. Additionally, the suction cup mount means that iPhone racing games can be played with one hand, which is great because, well, I'm lazy like that.

I haven't been able to find pricing on CTA's Web site, but expect the iPhone wheel to be priced similarly to the company's $19.99 steering wheel for Wii.

This definitely isn't a product for everyone and I can't see myself busting this wheel out on the train as I commute to work. However, if you've ever spent more than an hour at a time racking up points playing Need for Speed: Undercover or Ferrari Challenge, then check the cheesy video after the jump to see the CTA Digital iPhone steering wheel in action.

As popular online as in the real world, the Ford Mustang has been downloaded more than 1.5 million times in The Sims 2.

(Credit: Electronic Arts)

Car manufacturers may be having a tough time moving vehicles off the showroom floor this year, but Ford is crushing it online. Granted, it's because they're giving away free vehicles to enhance characters in The Sims video game.

Players of The Sims 2 with the Nightlife expansion pack have been downloading free Ford vehicles since 2007. To date, there's been more than 5.7 million downloads of the Ford-branded autos, with 1.5 million of them being the iconic Ford Mustang (red with white racing stripes). That's seven times more Mustangs than Ford has sold in the last two years.

Marketing-wise, it was an obvious move by Ford. Branded vehicles was the most popular request from males and second most popular request from females. The Ford Mustang was the number one requested vehicle, according to Brian Bos, Senior Vice President of Mindshare Team Detroit, which oversaw the development of Ford's vehicles for The Sims.

Ford debuted the Fusion in The Sims videogame six months before it was released in the real world.

(Credit: Electronic Arts)

Ford saw this demand as the perfect social media marketing opportunity. In the Sims videogame, Ford has a store in the Exchange, an online marketplace, where players can download cars for free, such as the Fusion, Edge, and Escape Hybrid. It's also a way players can "test drive" new models. Ford debuted the Focus in The Sims six months before it was released in the real world.

The video game versions of the cars are created using the same CAD drawings that engineers use to build the vehicles. However, the electronic editions are slightly stripped down to fit in the gaming market. Bos says that for the most part, the proportions are accurate and fairly representative of the cars in the real world.

Sims characters can get in and out of car, and the radios play Sims products. Ford eliminated some things like the engine and other power train components, so the cars theoretically won't break down. But they don't actually drive the cars. Characters use the cars to get from one place to another in The Sims world by typing a destination, but players can't actually steer the vehicles.

No new cars are planned for the Sims 2, says Bos. However, Ford may be doing something with Electronic Arts for The Sims 3, which will be released in late June. Maybe they'll debut their first electric vehicle there?

Online travel communications retailer Telestial has just launched Travel Journal, an online service that automatically creates an online trip journal based on the location of the user's phone. Using a special SIM card that triangulates the user's location using cell phone towers, Travel Journal automatically updates in more than 100 countries.

Travel Journal plots the traveler's location on a Google map

(Credit: Telestial)

Trip data is displayed on a Google map and a journal is created with images of locations visited by the traveler, local weather, and a record of recent communications. Users can manually update their journal by sending text messages or photos to the Travel Journal site.

As the journal is created, family and friends can view and make comments about journal posts online. Privacy settings ("private," "family and friends" and "public") give travelers control over who can access their journal. Viewers of the journal can also see if the journaling phone is on, send text messages, and recharge minutes using a credit card.

This service could be especially fun for people planning road trips or international travel. If the system works as advertised, it will allow users to enjoy their travel, instead on focusing on chronicling it.

Travel Journal is free and is included with the purchase of all Telestial international phone packages or SIM cards.