Cars

Ladies and gentlemen, someone find a bugle and play…er, that song they play when someone dies…

MTV's Pimp My Ride is filming its last season.

The network announced this week that the final season of rapper Xzibit’s car series will return for its final season at 10:30 p.m. Sunday. 

For this stand, Pimp My Ride will be paired up with a new car-makeover competition show called Trick It Out, hosted by former American Idol contestant Becky O'Donohue, which debuts at 10 p.m. Sunday.

Read More »

Thanks to the sharp folks at Autoblog, check out this YouTube video of a Ferrari F430 clipping the wall on a closed set commercial shoot for PGR4.  The spot looks to also feature a '63 Corvette, Mercedes SLR and a motorcycle.

You can only see one corner here, but that one corner and the setting reminds me of that one "New York" track featured in Forza and Forza 2... the long one where you go flat out until you run head first into the wall at 150 mph.  Looks like this guy hit the brakes in time to not make the same mistake TheFeed always does, but caught the outside wall on his way back out.

Ferrari has revealed the rad new F430 Scuderia, which is being called a “harder, more track-oriented” vehicle. F1 driver Michael Schumacher will officially unveil the car in Frankfurt this September.

The unfortunately named Scuderia (sounds like an underwater disco, huh?) weighs about 220 lbs. less than the regular ol’ F430 coupe, and its engine produces 510 horsepower instead of 483, giving it a low power-to-weight ratio of 1 horsepower for every 5.4 lbs. The new Scuderia also features 60 millisecond shifts, and an integrated traction and stability control system.

Take that, Ferrari of yesteryear!

Autoblog.com: Ferrari reveals F430 Scuderia, not Challenge Stradale

Remember when Google released a beta version of Streetview in Google Maps letting users see San Francisco and New York City from street level in full 3D and it was the coolest thing ever that day?

Well, it looks like Google is getting ready to take their Streetview show on the road with this fleet of Chevy Cobalts fitted with what appear to be cameras like the ones seen on Google's Streetview vans.

Hopefully, the Streetview service will be available in all cities and areas of the US soon. There's no word about when and where the cars will be, but if you really want to get caught doing something stupid on the street, stand outside your house constantly doing said stupid thing.

Gizmodo: Google Streetview Camera Car Fleet Set to Invade America

So who do you suppose is behind this new violent online videogame in which car-buyers are encouraged to beat the crap out of cartoon sheep creatures until they bleed to death.

Rockstar?

Infinity Ward?

How about Toyota!?!?

Read More »

The Nintendo Wii is not exactly known for its awesome selection of racing games... but all that might change--Nintendo announced today they will be sponsoring a real, live NASCAR race car.

Greg Biffle will be the man behind the wheel of the #16 Wii-themed Ford Fusion pictured above.

Reports that the car will be entirely controlled by a Wii-Mote and Nunchuk combination remain unsubstantiated at press time, although experts agree the suggestion is ridiculous. Automotive insiders confirmed, however, that while most NASCAR vehicles are powered by a precise mixture of methanol and ethanol, The Wii Racer will run entirely on adorablness and fanboy enthusiasm.

Look for the Wii-themed car at Watkins Glen International in New York on Sunday August 12th and then again at the Dover International Speedway in Delaware on Sunday September 23rd!

Vroom!

Patent snooping is becoming a standard way for details to leak about new technology and this one looks awesome. GPS maker TomTom filed a European patent application that details a GPS unit aided by live video.

The unit would use a camera in the car to presumably superimpose directions over a live feed of the road ahead. Remember that car in Judge Dredd that drove itself. Well, this is the first step that direction. If there's one thing we want more than anything, it's to live in the world of Judge Dredd.

Engadget: TomTom patent reveals camera-based GPS unit

Mitsubishi’s slick yet rugged Lancer Evolution car series has been an import favorite for many years. The Evolution VIII was even featured in Universal’s film "2 Fast 2 Furious" back in 2003.

Now, the car really has continued its evolution with the new Evo X. Expected to roll around showrooms early 2008 as a 2009 model, WorldCarFan.com reports that the new EVO X will be available with a five-speed manual gearbox or optional automated 6-speed manual transmission.

Europe expects that 80 percent of all EVO X models are to be ordered with the automated paddleshift gearbox that operates in three modes: Normal, Sport and SuperSport settings. Drivers will always have manual control despite which setting they choose.

The standard EVO X models will boast over 300bhp variants and will cost over 42,000 Euros (Almost $60,000).

 WorldCarFans: Mitsubishi EVO X Real World Photos

Car & Driver went to Japan to do a feature on Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi and they got some details on GT5.  Yamauchi seemed to feel that GT5 is a lot of work and doesn't want fans to expect too much because it would create too much work for his team. Boo hoo, Yamauchi.

"For Gran Turismo 1, one car was one day's work for one man," Yamauchi said. "For GT3, one car was one man's work for 30 days. For GT5, one car is one man's work for 180 days."

Read More »

Well, this is a step closer in getting our cars to do this. Heck, if scientists can make paper talk, why can’t engineers do the same for cars?

A group of engineering students at the University of Cambridge in England developed a ‘talking’ car. Based on a Fiat Stilo, the prototype is able to signal mechanics in whether the car needs service or not and its current condition. Although the car doesn’t actually talk back, it transmits radio signal tags to engine components that can inform the staff about the working condition of specific parts.

The engine components also identify a part that haven’t been serviced yet and even determines if they are worth salvaging-including the car itself. Prof. Duncan McFarlane at Cambridge said that the team is discussing selling the technology to "a number of firms."

For now, we’re just making sure to keep our eyes peeled on that "Check Engine" light we’ve been ignoring for so long.

 Autoblog: Cambridge Engineers Develop A Talking Fiat

The upcoming BMW 1-Series Coupe is the going to be the ultimate driving iMachine. TheFeed asks, so what?

So what if BMW’s 128i and 135i upcoming coupes come with an enhanced iDrive technology that allows you to hook up your iPhone via USB port or Auxiliary input?

Functions weren’t specifically mentioned, but playing back music and making/answering calls (since iDrive has a Bluetooth interface) should be implemented. Having google maps on a bigger screen would definitely be a great plus.

So what if the new 1 series will sport an astonishing and elegant design that stands by the BMW logo? Under the hood, the 128i couple will pack an impressive 3.0-liter, 230 horsepower inline 6-cylinder engine that will pump out 200 lb-ft of torque. The more powerful 135i coupe will have a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine, kicking in over 300 horsepower as you accelerate from 0-62 mph in 5.3 seconds.

Click on the jump to see why we’re still not impressed.

Read More »

An evil company claims that it has developed technology that will be able to detect drivers that are making cell phone calls. The company has not explained their technology in detail so we can only assume that they are evil sorcerers that want to make sitting in traffic even more boring.

What the technology won't do is detect if you are using a headset to make the call, which is legal almost everywhere or determine if someone else in the car is the one on the phone. TheFeed is scared by this, especially because the company says the system can mark your car and let the police issue you a ticket without ever having to stop you or even see you on the phone.

Engadget: Company claims its system hunts down phoning drivers

Gran Turismo developers Polyphony Digital has confirmed a new feature for the upcoming Gran Turismo 5 for the PlayStation 3. For the first time ever in the Gran Turismo franchise players will be able to play the game from inside the cockpit of their car with the wheel and dashboard of each car modeled. This information comes from the lead designer of the game, Kazunori Yamauchi. Sony claims that they have made no announcements about this or any other features for the next installment of the GT franchise.

In true Sony fashion, TheFeed has decided to use the promotional image from rival racer Project Gotham Racing 3 that Sony used to promote Gran Turismo HD earlier this year and attach it to this story. There is no release date yet for GT5, but PS3 owners can log on to PSN and download Gran Turismo HD to play while they wait.

GameSpot.com: Gran Turismo 5 Goes Behind the Wheel

Rumors are flying around that Apple is working on a navigation system to be used exclusively in Mercedes Benz vehicles starting in 2009. The technology would supposedly utilize Google Maps and allow you to find your country club or a yacht dealership without taking you through any poor areas of town.

There is speculation that this system will also include integration for the upcoming iPhone, which also uses Google Maps and an audio system. So for something like $80,600 you can drive around in style with your iPhone in your Benz or you could feed an entire 3rd world nation for a year.

Autoblog.com: Enter the Rumormill: Apple Developing Navi for Benz?

CNW Marketing Research has figured out that the big three U.S. car companies (Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors) are losing about $436 for every vehicle they sell because of the large amount of franchised dealerships. To compare, Japanese car companies in the U.S. have less than 4,000 total dealerships, while the big three operate 15,741 once again proving that the Japanese are smaller and more efficient.

Maybe if the executives at these U.S. companies took math classes in Japan, they would realize that it’s probably a bad idea to operate four times as many dealerships while selling less than half the amount of cars Japanese dealerships move.

They cannot close down dealerships because they are franchised and U.S. franchise law requires the operators of each dealership to be willing to close down. If someone told TheFeed that  we were costing them billions of dollars, but they couldn’t do anything about it, we'd play a little game called “extortion.”

Autoblog.com: Too Many Dealers Costing Auto Manufacturers Billions