pebble

Infiniti is giving its Facebook fans an early look at the upcoming JX crossover weeks before the official reveal.

The luxury seven-seater crossover will have its official debut at the 2011 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance on August 18. To build anticipation, the auto manufacturer is publishing a new photo each Thursday on its fan page. The Facebook page also includes a chance to win a trip for two to Pebble Beach for the big reveal.

Larger than the EX35 and FX35 crossovers, but smaller than the full-size Infiniti QX, the three-row crossover should compete with such vehicles as the Audi Q7. Parent company Nissan expects the crossover to be a large-volume production vehicle, and it will be produced at the Smyrna, Tenn. plant.

The production version of the JX will debut at the 2011 Lost Angeles Auto Show in November, and the 2013 model of the crossover will go on sale some time next spring. … Read more

The 2011 New York International Auto Show starts tomorrow, but Infiniti is already looking forward to the Los Angeles Auto Show in November, where it will be unveiling the 2013 Infiniti JX, a larger sibling to its EX and FX crossovers.

Until the concept is unveiled, all we have is the sketch above and a few tidbits teased by the automaker. The large crossover slots in just below the full-size Infiniti QX and will have three rows of seats with room for seven passengers. Externally, the design language that featured prominently on the Infiniti Essence concept car should be stretched … Read more

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 is the first game from the popular golf franchise on iOS since April 2009, and it's easy to see that this latest game is leaps and bounds beyond the original. The graphics on the iPhone 4 Retina Display are smooth, reminding us of console-level golf games. The controls have been fine-tuned as well, making it easy to adjust shot types and switch clubs depending on the situation.

You get the choice to play as Tiger Woods, alongside him, or as any one of several current pro male and female players. You can also create … Read more

If you've got a little bit of extra cash lying around, jump on this offer. Porsche today announced that dealerships would be taking orders for the 918 Spyder--and the plug-in hybrid super car will sell for a mere $845,000 in the U.S. (that's 645,000 euros).

The 918 Spyder concept made its debut last year at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show and was also spotted last year at Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

The 918 Spyder design was inspired by the 918 Carrera GT super sports car and the 917 and RS Spyder race cars. Like the 2010 concept car, the production version will be made from a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic monocoque. However, the production version will have a manual roof system with removable panels that can be stored in the front luggage compartment, Porsche said.

The speedy hybrid will do 0 to 60 mph in about 3.1 seconds, with a top speed of 199 mph. As previously reported, the 918 Spyder will be powered by a unique plug-in hybrid system that includes a high-revving, mid-mounted V8 engine with a capacity of more than 4.0 liters and producing at least 500 horsepower. Two electric motors--one each on the front and rear axles--together produce additional 218 hp.… Read more

If you are the type of person who tends to misplace those little USB thumbdrives, you might want to consider this.

LaCie introduced today a new USB thumbdrive that in no way resembles the look of a thumb; instead, the Galet USB drive looks like a pebble. "Galet," by the way, is the French way to say "pebble." But that's not the coolest thing about the drive.

According to LaCie, the Galet is hand-crafted in France. Each unit is individually plated with silver through Christofle's 150-year-old silvering process. After that, the company claims, the … Read more

Believe it or not, a couple months after its launch, companies are only now just starting to roll out cases for the iPod Touch 4G. iSkin is showing off a couple of nice ones, the Touch Duo and the Pebble for iPod Touch 4G, while announcing two new cases for the iPhone 4G, the Solo FX and the Solo Vu. All of them retail for $35 to $40 and come in a variety of colors.

You can see all the new iSkin iPod Touch cases here and the new iPhone cases here. What do you think--hot or not?

The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is known for hosting the greatest examples of historical automobiles in the world, but this car fest attracts even newer vehicles. Traipsing around the lawn, we found some extraordinarily fast cars, some very expensive cars, and often both qualities at once.

When we first covered the limited-production supercar known as the SSC Ultimate Aero, it had just laid claim to the title of fastest production car in the world. More recently, Shelby SuperCars announced it would install an electric drivetrain and thereby make the SSC the world's fastest electric car as well.

We have yet to see the electric version, and as of late June, the new Bugatti Veyron Super Sport had snatched away the production car speed crown from the Ultimate Aero. But SSC was in Monterey for this year's global pilgrimage of car nuts, and we were able to get some seat time in the car that was the world's fastest for almost two years. It's not an experience for the faint of heart.

SSC was founded in 1998 by lifelong car enthusiast Jerod Shelby, a trained mechanical engineer who had previously helped start a medical-device company. For the record, he is no relation to that other automotive Shelby, but one can be forgiven for assuming a connection based on each company's humble origins as one man's vision, not to mention their penchants for producing seriously hairy-chested machinery.

The Ultimate Aero is a beast by any measure. Its SSC-designed 6.8-liter engine is based on a billet aluminum block, and twin turbochargers boost output to a heady 1,287 horsepower and 1,112 pound-feet of torque, according to current figures on the company's site. Serious rubber is required to keep that power reasonably useful, and that helps push the overall width of the car to nearly 7 feet. Again, the timid or twitchy need not apply. … Read more

A couple days before the Porsche 918 Spyder hybrid made its grand entrance to the international car market at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, it got the lay of the land on some twisties in the Carmel Valley foothills. Porsche released a video of the 918 Spyder's first North American miles before showing it off to the tony international car set at Pebble Beach last weekend.

The recently green-lighted Spyder reportedly has a long list of interested buyers will to fork over the anticipated $650,000 for a 500 horsepower 3.4-liter V-8 hybrid that gets 78 mpg. … Read more