cars

Eclipse kicked off its CES 2007 press conference with the unveiling of the AVN2210p, an in-dash navigation and multimedia system that doubles as a handheld portable navigation device. The system comes in two parts, with a standalone portable navigation device, similar to the TomTom One, slotting into a double-DIN-sized audio unit installed in a car's dash.

The AVN 2210p's SD card-based navigation system features real-time traffic information as part of TomTom's optional service package, and can be updated by downloading maps from the Internet. The navigation system provides 3D maps and turn-by-turn voice directions, which play either … Read more

Having collected the laurels for Car Tech's Best of CES last year with its Avic-Z1 in-dash navigation and multimedia system, Pioneer is using this year's show to launch the Avic-Z2. The Z2 builds on the basic design of the Z1 and offers a range of upgraded features: a learning capability, which remembers roads frequently traveled by the driver and incorporates these preferences into suggested routes when applicable; a smart routing algorithm that takes into account factors such as posted speed limits and the number of turns to reach the destination, to give a more accurate estimate of journey … Read more

As we first reported in December, Ford and Microsoft have been busy working in collaboration on in-car communications and entertainment, to be unveiled this week at CES. Well, here we are today at CES, and we can spill the beans on details of the system to be marketed under the name "Sync."

Initially to be made available in twelve 2008 models across the Ford family and across the entire 2009 lineup from FoMoCo, the service will be a fully-integrated, flash memory-based system that enables drivers to call hands-free and to control a range of digital audio via voice … Read more

Old Toyota: reliable and practical cars with decent gas mileage for the commuting set.

New Toyota: the Prius, the FJ Cruiser, hybrid Camry, hybrid Highlander and soon...a hybrid sports car.

The FT-HS concept car is meant to be a sample of mid-priced hybrid sports car with ultra-low emissions and fuel efficiency, according to Toyota.

The front-engine rear-drive car would have a V6 3.5-liter engine, putting out approximately 400 horsepower when coupled with the hybrid system, and be able to do zero-to-sixty in four seconds.

Not sure of the look? Well those "aero-corners" on the body that … Read more

Iqua has made a Bluetooth bar (for lack of a better word) phone that attaches to the back of your car's headrest.

The L-shaped device allows users to be hands-free, and free of an ear piece in their ear, while driving and talking on a cell phone. As Gearfuse points out, the headset does offer stereo speakers. The $179 phone has a battery worth 10 hours of talk time, 650 hours of standby and comes in black or silver.

Sorry, but we just don't see Iqua's reasoning behind the Iqua Snake2 HHF-601. Wouldn't a device like … Read more

Soon you'll never have to leave your car while on business out of town. Starting in March, Avis will make any one of its rentals a potential Wi-Fi hot spot using a service from a San Francisco-based start-up called Autonet Mobile.

For $10.95 a day, according to The Raw Feed, customers can rent a portable "In-Car-Router" that provides wireless high-speed Net access. The main challenge will be dropped signals, which have bedeviled other mobile access products, but Autonet told the International Herald Tribune that it has overcome that problem with a new "wireless router" … Read more

If you think you need one of Novomax's "Bluetooth Soundstations," you're spending far too much time on the phone while behind the wheel. According to the product description on its Web site, the car kit "displays caller ID, battery status, phone book downloading, etc." (We can only speculate what the "etc." stands for. Doing laundry?)

It's frightening that some people would find the need to have all this information constantly within their line of sight while they're supposed to have their eyes on the road. And as if that's … Read more

The winner is: Volkswagen's GTI. Automobile magazine may be published in Michigan, but it picked the VW GTI as its Automobile of the Year for 2007. Here's what our CNET car tech editors thought about the 2006 GTI.

Automobile's site won't have this information until January 7, but it released the winner's name on CNBC TV today. Its pick for best design? 2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Our editors got inside a V8 Vantage at the Los Angeles Auto Show, as you can see on this video. We'll be looking over the GTI, Vantage … Read more

Earlier this week we spoke with Microsoft, who confirmed that they would be partnering with Ford on a new in-car tech initiative some time in the New Year. Beyond that, Redmond was pretty tight-lipped, declining to comment further on what shape the partnership would take. Well, thanks to Engadget, we now have a clearer idea. According to an article published today, Ford and Microsoft are planning to announce the availability of the Blue&Me in the United States with coinciding announcements at CES and the Detroit Auto Show.

Apparently, the system "will have cross-platform smartphone support (i.e., … Read more