RIDE

Taking a trip but don't want to drive by yourself? Ride-sharing startup Zimride enables drivers to sell empty seats in their cars. For passengers, it means buying a ride with someone already going where they want to go.

Zimride launched on the campuses of Cornell University and the University of California at Santa Barbara in 2007. It has expanded to more than 100 college campuses, but it's also now available off campus too. Trips are typically 50 to 500 miles, and San Francisco to Los Angeles is the site's most popular route.

Being able to establish trust … Read more

Tony Hawk is back for his third appearance on the show to tell us all about his new YouTube Channel, Ride. Curated by Tony Hawk and his crew, the channel broadcasts original content every weekday with shows that range from trick tutorials to skate spot history, and Tony's own interviews with legends like Rodney Mullen, Trent Reznor, and more.… Read more

If you're a fan of Mario, there's no need to limit yourself to the games produced by Nintendo; the Mario fan community has created numerous games featuring Mario and other characters from the franchise. In Mario Ride, users must navigate through 10 levels with Mario on a dirt bike. It's not the most exciting game we've ever played, but it's fun and challenging, and it's worth checking out if you're a fan of Mario or driving games in general.

Mario Ride is a Flash-based game, and its graphics are of fairly high quality. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Ford, BMW, and Toyota have them. Now, OnStar is the next in line to take a stab at the development of in-car apps.

At the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show, the General Motors-owned telematics provider announced that it is selecting developers to be given access to an OnStar API for the creation of vehicle-specific and vehicle-safe apps for future OnStar-equipped vehicles.

"We want to give people 1,001 reasons to keep their OnStar subscription active," said Eric Litt, chief information officer at OnStar. "We feel that opening up our proprietary API to developers will ensure that OnStar … Read more

With the help of Cobra's newest charger, your Android phone can automatically reconfigure for driving when connected to your car.

The Cobra JoyRide is no ordinary car charger. This 12-volt plug utilizes the Android Open Accessory framework to automatically trigger the launch of a companion app on an Android phone when connected via its micro USB port.

The Cobra JoyRide app features a car-specific interface that presents the user with large buttons to trigger functions such as voice command, hands-free calling, or launching a GPS navigation app. The JoyRide app can also automatically trigger the changing of phone settings--for … Read more

Some Uber users are complaining of being taken for a ride New Year's Eve.

Many customers who summoned rides from the limousine-booking service with apps on their phones say they were surprised by the suddenly higher fees they were paying for short rides. Entrepreneur Brendan Mulligan, who says he has been using the service for nearly two years, was shocked to learn that he was charged five time what he normally would have paid for the ride home.

"We could have walked, as it's only about a mile, but it was late and we were tired," … Read more

Move over, Zipcar. There's a new car-sharing service in town.

It's RelayRides, which is looking to cut into Zipcar's market share. Unlike Zipcar, where you rent from the company, Relay Rides sets you up to borrow a car from a person who lives near you. SmartPlanet talks to Shelby Clark, founder of the company about his business and how it works.

Even incumbent automakers think this car-sharing idea has some legs.

General Motors is expected announce a partnership tomorrow with start-up RelayRides that will allow GM vehicles owners to rent out their cars to other consumers using OnStar and a smart-phone. The service will first be offered in California starting by the end of the first quarter next year.

The auto giant is partnering with RelayRides to learn more about car sharing and offer OnStar customers a service to make revenue with their vehicles, said Stephen Girsky, vice chairman of corporate strategy and new business development at GM. It also gives … Read more

Earlier this year, car-sharing startup Getaround won a TechCrunch Disrupt award for its CarKit technology, which makes it easy for car owners to rent out their cars to other members without requiring a physical key swap. But judges may have missed a flaw in the technology. A Forbes article points out that Getaround's system is a thief's dream because it provides a list of vehicles with their keys stashed somewhere in the car.

To find out if that's true, I spoke with Getaround's CEO, Sam Zaid. Getaround's CarKit is a device that enables borrowers to … Read more