Cars

Dual is bringing car-stereo iPod control to the masses with the release of its XDMA690, a single-DIN garden-variety stereo head unit that can be used to control streamed audio from an iPod. All iPod controls (except Shuffle) can be programmed via the buttons on the faceplate, with playlist, artist, album, and song title all showing up on the unit's monochrome display. Like the Dual XDVD8182 in-car multimedia system that we reviewed this week, the XDMA690 ships with a 2-meter iPod interface cable, and it's able to play CDs and MP3- and WMA-encoded discs. Unlike the XDVD8182, you can … Read more

On show for the first time at this year's SEMA 2006 in Las Vegas is the HD Jump, a transportable radio receiver from Visteon that enables drivers to take their HD radio on the road.

The HD Jump connects to car's audio system either with an auxilliary input jack or--for those cars without an aux-in--via an FM band. The device has an integrated monocromatic display that displays real-time artist, song title, and station information. It also comes with its own dock for mounting on the dash.

With more than 3,000 radio stations now broadcasting in HD, and … Read more

Pioneer is using this week's SEMA show in Las Vegas to launch the AVIC D3, its latest in-dash DVD-based navigation/entertainment system. The D3 improves on the D2 by incorporating some of the features of Pioneer's flagship AVIC Z-1 hard-drive-based system and by adding some extra features of its own. Upgrades to the D2 include an increased range of multimedia options, such as video-playback capabilities (both regular DVD and DivX compressed video formats supported), as well as the ability to play streamed audio via the A2DP Bluetooth profile. With optional add-ons, the unit will also play iPods and … Read more

In case you missed it a few weeks ago, Lamborghini launched its Murcielago LP640 in a Versace edition.

The central console, roof panel, seats, lower dash and inside of its doors are all covered in full-grain napa leather using the Greek fret motif (concentric rectangles) that Versace has made famous.

The car was shown at the Paris Auto Show in Isis White, and at Milan Fashion Week in Aldebaran black. The car, which will be produced in a limited edition of 10, will come with a series of Versace Couture (handmade) accessories, according to Lamborghini. (I'm assuming luggage.)

Above … Read more

The new Lowrance iWay 600c is one bad mamma jamma of a GPS device. Yeah, it offers all the navigation basics, such as turn-by-turn, text- and voice-guided directions and points of interest, but it can also overlay satellite imagery onto the maps. Plus, it has a large, 5-inch, 640x480-pixel resolution touch screen; a 30GB internal hard drive; marine mode; and an MP3 player. Rad, huh? Well wait, here's some bad news. The satellite imagery is available only in select U.S. and Canadian metropolitan cities, so if you live in say, Beaconsfield, Iowa, chances are you won't be … Read more

This is one car we hope we'll never need to drive. The Mercedes S600 is essentially a vehicle you'd want to own if someone wanted you dead.

Literally an armored passenger car, the appropriately named "Guard" will drive with flat tires, automatically extinguish fires, and keep smoke out with a special air-filtration system. The bulletproof vehicle is built on its own assembly line and, according to Motor Authority, can withstand "military-standard small-arms projectiles, hand grenade fragments, and other explosive charges." (See the Mercedes promotional clip on Google Video below.) Oh, and it has a … Read more

There are few gadgets that make this Crave expert's heart beat fast. A Ferrari at a potentially reasonable price point is one of them.

AutoWeek seems to have new info about Ferrari's plans to re-introduce the Dino ('67 206 GT and '69 246 GT models below), an entry-level Ferrari that was originally produced between 1967 and the mid-seventies.

The original Ferrari Dino, nicknamed for Enzo Ferrari's son Alfredino, was the first "mass-produced" car in the Ferrari collection. The body was designed by Battista Pininfarina and held the V6 engine designed by Vittorio Jano, famed Ferrari … Read more

This mechanical beast looks like a cross between extreme motocross and RoboCop. It goes by the appropriately incendiary name of the "Detonator" V4 6.0, with the numbers standing for a 6-liter, 4-cylinder engine contained in its block housing. Yet the most outrageous feature of this conceptual piece of hell on wheels is not the horsepower, but its steering mechanism: an electromagnetic sled controlled by two independent handlebars, according to Gizmowatch, which is complemented by a glass tube radar system to help navigation. Although it exists only in the minds and sketchboards of Daniel Simon Studio, we vote … Read more

Not all econuts want to meander around smelling wildflowers; some want to drive really, really fast. Jay Leno, car nut with a green streak, worked with GM's Advance Design Studio to build the EcoJet, a biodiesel-fueled, turbine-powered supercar built on a Corvette frame. Unveiled at SEMA this week, the car uses a Honeywell LT 101 turbine engine that runs on biodiesel fuel. The turbine produces 650 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque, which puts it in the insanely powerful category. Jay Leno came up with the initial idea, then had his team work with GM designers to make the … Read more