cars

Back when a certain 1967 Karmann Ghia rolled off the assembly line, nobody could have expected that one day it would be gutted, filled with batteries, and turned into an electric car that runs thanks to social-media feedback. The car is part of the Minddrive after-school program, a Kansas City (both Missouri and Kansas) organization dedicated to working with at-risk students.

For Minddrive's latest automotive design project, students chose to refurbish an old Karmann Ghia, turning it into an electric car. The car will be driven from Missouri to Washington D.C. starting on May 31, but it will take a lot of help to get it there. The car is designed to run only if there is enough social-media support to keep it going.… Read more

Pioneer pulls the wraps off of the third generation of of its app-powered series of car stereos this week with the announcement of the AppRadio 3. The new model adds a surprising new feature and a few others that I feel the line of receivers should have had all along.

AppRadio 3's biggest new party trick is the addition of the MirrorLink connectivity standard to its feature set. When connected to supported phones via USB, MirrorLink allows AppRadio to mirror the phone's display with touch sensitivity, putting the apps on the device at the user's fingertips. More … Read more

Forget pricey Teslas; Chevrolet announced pricing for its Spark EV model at $27,495. If a buyer qualifies for the full federal tax credit of $7,500, that price drops to $19,995.

The Spark EV goes on sale in June but will be limited to California and Oregon. California owners will be able to apply further credits up to $2,500. Oregon may be less friendly, as the state considers charging electric car owners a special per-mile tax.

Chevrolet's announcement also notes that dealers can offer lease deals for $199 per month, and that the Spark EV will … Read more

Nissan's Pathfinder started life as a truck-based SUV, then went to unibody construction in a subsequent generation, becoming a crossover before there were crossovers. That generation was followed by a truck-based model, which gained a little off-road cred. With the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder the pendulum swings back to a crossover design, striving to retain its backcountry capability while adding all the comforts of a minivan. With the Platinum Premium package, Nissan even throws in a rear-seat entertainment system.

What Nissan really attempts with the Pathfinder is to be all things to all people. This effort is, for the most … Read more

LAS VEGAS -- Along with announcing its new AirWave Bluetooth music receiver at CTIA this week, Cobra also launched the latest iteration of its iRadar sensor device.

We first saw this unit earlier this year at CES. Though both the Atom and the original iRadar detect local speed radars, the Atom is physically smaller and reportedly more accurate.

In addition, it works in conjunction with an app that's available on both iOS and Android platforms, to alert drivers where known speed traps are located. Launched on Tuesday, the iRadar Atom retails for $199.95.

Design The Atom is a … Read more

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This episode we welcome our colleagues from CNET UK who produce the XCar video series. They approach cars in a way that is different yet complimentary to my car tech videos, and we'll be featuring one in each episode going forward. We kick it off by giving them top billing with their lovely video impression of the new Jaguar F-Type, which we have yet to get into the CNET garage in San Francisco. This XCar piece is a nice way … Read more

The Google I/O keynote for 2013 is here and gone, but not without a fight; at nearly 4 hours, it was enough to challenge even the most rapt attention span.

Yet, Google I/O's central keynote event had precious little of the things we dreamed of and even downright expected. Instead, all most of us can seem to discuss is what we didn't get. Well, for starters:

No new Android OS: Despite a preshow rumor that Android Jelly Bean 4.3 would be unveiled, there wasn't any news. No Android 5.0, not even Android 4.… Read more

It could be the most extraordinarily bizarre production vehicle in the world. The 2013 Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG makes no sense whatsoever. It's a German military truck dressed up in a veneer of civility with a hot-rod engine. It combines legendary off-road capability, AMG performance, luxury, and technology in complete disharmony.

And whether you love it or hate it is a pretty good indication of whether you operate from the heart or the head, at least when it comes to cars.

The sensible approach to the G63 AMG would be to reason that you will never use its three differential … Read more

I drove from Los Angeles to San Francisco while wearing Google Glass, and I did not get into an accident.

That's the first thing you should know about using Glass while driving. The second thing you should know is this: It's absolutely safer driving with Glass than picking up your phone and looking down -- something that we know we're not supposed to do, but the vast majority of us do anyway.

The Verge wrote a brief review of using Glass while driving, but it wasn't a sufficiently long or thorough test, in my opinion. So … Read more