As for why I didn't update you guys before the tradeshow circuit, I have no excuses. Sorry 'bout that.
Anyway, CES. CES this year was...hectic, as usual. My beat for CES was mainly car tech, so I got to hang out in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center and check out all of the sexy, high-tech cars (and the sexy, souped-up rides that the aftermarket companies brought in). It was pretty sweet, not gonna lie, and since AVN stopped having its porn-a-palooza during CES week, thankfully free of porn stars.
Here's what I covered:
Cobra's under-the-hood radar detector is first of its kind -- Okay, so it's not the first under-the-hood radar detector, but it's the first one that uses your smartphone as a display (via Bluetooth).
Chevy adds Siri and TuneIn radio integration to its Spark and Sonic cars -- Yep...Siri in your car! What you've all been waiting for!
Toyota and Lexus showcase autonomous research vehicle -- Apparently, Toyota and Lexus are finally ready to start testing self-driving cars. That's so 2010, says Google.
Ford launches open mobile app developer program for SYNC AppLink -- Ford said it was the first automaker to open its app platform to third-party developers.
GM joins Ford on infotainment platform for app developers -- ...and then, three hours later, GM opened its platform. Take that, Ford! (says GM)
Audiovox brings aftermarket Siri to your car -- Take that, Chevy! (says Audiovox)
Chrysler shows off connected Dodge Ram truck -- Take that...nobody. Says Chrysler. Chrysler's connected-truck is only like, the 11th of its kind.
The open-source car: automakers eagerly woo app developers -- Well, Ford and GM did it. And there are other people doing it too.
Audi's car parks itself, takes baby steps toward vehicle automation -- This self-parking Audi was by far the coolest demo I saw at CES.
Ford inks deal with app makers to pipe content and navigation tools to drivers -- A quickie video we did on the last day to show off Ford's new apps.
I also did a couple of non-car-tech videos at CES: this one on Neurosky's brain-controlled cat ears and helicopter, and this one on a high-tech concept jacket.
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| The PCWorld/TechHive/Macworld trailer! |
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Okay...NAIAS.
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| The Toyota Fun-Vii concept car, all decked out in TechHive |
Smart Forstars concept car has built-in movie projector -- Yeah...it's a concept car with built-in impressive, cutting-edge video projector technology!
Mercedes taps into technology to give drivers an assist -- A quick overview of Mercedes-Benz' safety tech.
Electric motors come to big trucks by way of VIA -- Is there anything more awesome than a hybrid Silverado?
Tesla's Model X crossover SUV looks to rock the suburbs -- My future mom-car :)
High-tech concept cars at the Detroit Auto Show -- They may not be practical or even totally feasible, but they are awesome.
Looks like the car exhibition is exciting and thrilling too. I bet many car lovers and owners enjoyed the event, I can see out of the box ideas and designs here too, which makes it more interesting.
ReplyDeletelove the BT radar detector idea... carmakers embrace and leave out some of the obvious stuff. people want to know when they're being followed by radar but don't want to add another aftermarket device to clutter their car or get in the way of built in driving or other controls.
ReplyDeleteit's only been roughly 2-3 years since most cars have BT integrated into the stereo at a minimum. and adding Nav screen to this still costs $2000 in most cars for something that you already have - free - or are paying a monthly service ($5-10) on your phone. integrated phone chargers / docks in the car is another one that's missing by most of these manufacturers!
hybrid Silverado... reads pretty good, at least it's better than the original Chevy SUV/Truck hybrid which was very meh... Chevy tried this starting in 2008 with the Tahoe / Escalade with dumb results. 30 percent better fuel economy? big deal. unless you count a giant vehicle with "Hybrid" plastered all over in 10 different places (including fully across the back window) a fantastic success.
ReplyDeleteeven a non-Hybrid full size trucks are able to get up to 22-24 MPG highway nowadays. showing how mediocre the hybrid SUV really was 5 years ago. but 100 MPG and 800 HP is pretty great, though obviously not cheap.
as for the Model X it's quite nice.. would love to have one but the range is the major problem. hard to justify buying a car that expensive (like $80,000 is my guess) when you can only go 80 miles (a little farther if you're lucky and your destination happens to be near a charging station, where you can "refuel").
I love going to car shows too. You get to see amazing cars and beautifully set-up and customised vehicles.
ReplyDelete