Cars

Car Online in the UK is reporting that it has snagged photos of the Porsche Panamera.

Is that something to be proud of? I'm not so sure.

The Panamera is the four-door sedan rumored to be in development at Porsche, as the company begins to go the way of Ralph Lauren in terms of dulling brand impact. The rumors have recently reached a simmering point with 2009 as the expected date of release.

The car seems to be based on the 928 GT, as you can see from this photo compared with those of the Panamera on Car Online.… Read more

As the skies have darkened, we at Crave understand the need to bring in some light whenever possible. So we offer you the option of viewing us with a white background (yes, with black type).

To get it, just click on the small white box marked "page options" at the top right of any page. To switch back, click the black box in the same place.

In addition to helping stave off seasonal affective disorder, you might find the lighter version easier to read too.

Move over, Mr. Softee. There's a new ice cream truck in the 'hood, and it probably doesn't play that annoying jingle, either. According to Popgadget, a UK-based company called Scoop is unleashing these flashy little vehicles, which look like the Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine with a new-rave makeover, throughout London. They feature "hot lights, funky beats, and high end ice cream served in slick Chinese take out boxes." The blinged-out vans sure do look cool, and I bet they serve some pretty neat flavors (You think they'd have Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream?) On the other … Read more

For anyone who has cursed those couple of pieces leftover after putting together a model car, this is enough to make your eyes water. Frenchman Pierre Scerri spent 20,000 hours building a perfect, working replica of the Ferrari 312PB. His design drawing, based on photographs of the original, apparently took three years alone.

After that, he spent another 12 years building a fully functioning replica of the car, including a miniature version of its dry-sump fuel-injected 12-cylinder engine and its five-speed gearbox. Check out the video and listen to what Scerri calls the Ferrari "music."

Some people see self-parking cars as a sign of the end. Others are just skeptical of this technology working at all. At CNET Car Tech, we've seen it working very well on the Lexus LS 460L. And the world didn't end when we tried out the system. Automotive component maker Valeo built a new system called Park4U that performs similarly to the Lexus. Park4U will see its first deployment in Volkwagen's Europe-only Touran minivan. Park4U relies on ultrasonic sensors to find a suitable parking spot and guide the car in without hitting anything. It turns the wheel, … Read more

Hybrid cars? Blah. Three-wheeled-cars? Blah. Three-wheeled hybrid cars? Blah.

Tilting three-wheeled hybrid cars? Now that's worth craving. Venture Vehicles has unveiled plans for its VentureOne, a two-seat plug-in three-wheeler with a glass canopy roof that can out-accelerate a Porsche Boxster, and gets 100 miles to the gallon. If that's not enough to get you reaching for your checkbook (estimated price is less than $20,000), then this might be: The VentureOne's passenger compartment and front wheel tilt when cornering for that authentic motocross experience.

The VentureOne will come with three engine choices: two gasoline-electric hybrids and one … Read more

With so many distractions on the road these days--inside the car, as well as out--how is a person supposed to notice the flashing lights on the radar detector? Rocky Mountain Radar has found an answer to the sensory-inundated driving experience with the "C-450 Laser Detector."

Not only does it detect and scramble radar guns and beams, but Gadgetizer says the C-450 also issues a voice alert when police vehicles are within range. Does it help promote road safety? Of course not. But neither do cell phones and DVD players.

Not much surprises us nowadays on the CNET Car Tech channel. In this age of mobile, voice-activated, wireless, digital, high-definition, mesh-networked, in-car infotainment, we hardly bat an eyelid as torrents of new automotive gadgets comes down the pike.

But here's something that made us sit up and take notice: an in-car phonograph. According to an article on the UAW-DaimlerChrysler National Training Center Web site, these record players--made by Columbia and offered as options on 1956 Chrysler, DeSoto, Dodge, and Plymouth models--could handle 45-speed records as well as 7-inch records in the new 16-2/3 format. The players were installed … Read more

Peugeot has announced the winners of its Peugeot Design Contest 2007.

Mihai Paneitescu, a design student from Turin, Italy, has taken first place for his Peugeot Flux.

In addition to being featured as a drivable car on an Xbox 360 video game, Paneitescu's Flux will be built as a full-scale model and a 1:43 model that will be sold by Norev. The full-scale model will be displayed at the Frankfurt Motor Show and the Geneva Motor Show

The Flux, according to Paneitescu's description of his design, references our ever-changing lifestyle. The car would run on a slim … Read more