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Audio
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novelties
Mysteries Of Car Customization: Torn Moonroof Edition
Gee golly, I wonder what would cause a tear of this magnitude in the roof of a poor and innocent Lexus? Click for the answer, with a bonus video! More »
gadgets
Pioneer AVIC-F Series Media, Navigation Systems Features Advanced Voice Recognition
Pioneer has announced a few new additions to its line of car navigation systems. The AVIC-F700BT, AVIC-F900BT and AVIC-F90BT come with features like iPod connectivity, Bluetooth, MSN Direct, HD Radio, XM, Sirius, CD, DVD, USB, SD and more. Although, the real specialness comes from their voice recognition abilities. More »
news
Scion Chooses Lackluster HD Radio For Its Audio-Centric Customers
Toyota has recently announced a partnership with iBiquity, which will put HD Radio systems in a variety of Scion vehicles. What makes this partnership even funnier is the PR-speak Toyota used to announce the partnership."Since Scion customers are in tune with audio technology, it makes sense that we enhance our already outstanding audio offerings for them," said Jason Adang, Accessory Audio and Electronics Planning Manager, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. "Digital HD Radio technology is ideal for our youthful, tech-savvy customers who will enjoy the wide range of content available on HD Radio channels."Toyota hasn't gotten that hint that HD Radio is floundering, big time. This whole marketing thing is pretty new to Scion, as well. More »
gadgets
Aftermarket Manufacturers Go Sync, Next-Gen Also On The Way
We knew that Microsoft was going to look to hawk its Sync system elsewhere—especially with its booming popularity and the soon-to-be expired Ford contract. Now we know who is first to the free market table Alpine and Continental, two aftermarket manufacturers, are already working on integrating the voice command and entertainment system into their own products. Perhaps even more interesting, due to its early popularity, Microsoft is already working on the next generation of Sync and it has a super-exciting codename! More »
gadgets
Sony Showcases Ford Flex Deal In NYC
Ford is taking a page out of Subaru's book and will be partnering with Sony for a factory-installed in-car entertainment system. The first model will be a Ford Flex, much like the one we received the chauffeur treatment in, and it will be on display at the Sony Style store on Madison Avenue in New York City.More »
gadgets
Subaru Teams With Harman-Kardon For In-Car Audio
The R1e official unveiling dominated Subaru's press event yesterday, but a minor announcement was made that definitely caused my ears to perk up. Subaru is partnering with audio accessory maker Harman-Kardon to outfit the Subaru Legacy and Outback vehicles with high-end sound systems. More »
industry news
Fisker Adding External Speakers To Karma, Michael Stipe Alarmed
Henrik Fisker has announced that his new Karma plug-in hybrid sports car will come equipped with external speakers for pedestrian safety. The four seat Karma goes on sale late in 2009 and is capable of traveling up to 50 miles without using the gasoline engine. While in electric-only mode it's virtually silent, prompting fears that pedestrians could be at risk if they're unable to hear it coming. Capable of playing any sound its owner chooses, one option according to Fisker is, "like something between a Formula One car and a jet plane."More »
accessories
Eclipse Dockable TomTom Head Unit Now Available
I know, I know, you were jealous of Europe and especially its Toyota Yaris with dockable TomTom GPS navigation head unit. You can breath a sigh of relief because Eclipse has taken that idea and made it available for anybody! Hooray! More »
accessories
What's Killing The Car Stereo Industry?
A recent NPD Group and CEA study showed that car stereo sales and other car audio equipment had a steep decline in the fourth quarter of 2007. Single CD players dropped 4 percent, amplifiers dropped 21 percent, subwoofers dropped 18 percent and speakers dropped 8 percent—all compared to the same quarter in 2006. Kenwood seems to think it was the gas prices and weather, but in all reality I think it is because aftermarket car audio is slowly becoming obsolete. Hit the jump for a poll. I certainly don't buy aftermarket audio equipment anymore and I'm curious about you. More »
auto branding adventures
Porsche Audio System Doesn't Explode, Fortunately
While Porsche isn't busy exploding factories, it continues to adventure into the world of branding with a sexy audio system. Porsche took the minimalist approach with setup. It has no unnecessary buttons or displays. The front is a sheet of black acrylic glass, with the rest of the body crafted from brushed aluminum. Now why can't I get a car made entirely of stuff like that? More »
gadgets
JVC El Kameleon Head Unit Is The Sexiest Of A Dying Breed
Despite the fact that more and more manufacturers are ditching the universally sized head units for their own, proprietary audio systems, JVC is still cranking out head units that fit into the audio system consoles of vehicles of year's past. The El Kameleon KD-AVX44 has to be one of the best looking CD/DVD receivers I've ever seen. On the left side you have touch controls and on the right side you have a 3.5-inch display. The fun doesn't end there, either. More »
gadgets
Virtual Engine Noisemaker Will Confuse, Intimidate The Other Minivans
This is probably one of the most ridiculous gadgets I have seen in a while, but what makes it even sadder is that people out there will actually be purchasing this. It's a "virtual" engine noisemaker. The system hooks up to your existing auto system and will transmit the sounds of a variety of types of big ole mean engines—engines much meaner than your pathetic little four-banger— through the speakers. More »
gadgets
Parrot RK8200 Head Unit Looks Too Much Like a Cellphone
All right, I get it. People like to talk on the phone in the car. This is an established behavior that I have to deal with, but the RK8200 from Parrot is just a bit too much. This after-market head unit looks like a cellphone. The green and red buttons to the 12 button dialpad and even the LCD screen just scream CELLPHONE! More »
ces
Display Cars of CES are Pretty, Loud
CES saw a plethora of cars showing off mobile electronic goodies this year. The trend towards bigger and louder continued unabated in the audio category, while stealth was the order of the day for the classic rides. We've put together some noteworthy display vehicles for you to ogle and we even went out of our way to break them into two categories - a no holds barred systems and classic steel. Be sure to check out the Impala in the classics gallery - twin turbos! The gratuitous booth babes are just to brighten the place up a bit.More »
aftermarket
Alpine's 2008 Aftermarket Audio Catalog Surprisingly Filled With Goods
Alpine's 2008 lineup is here, and I have to say, I'm mighty impressed. If you remember back to yesteryear, Alpine was the bee's knees of aftermarket audio, but as of late they've kind of hit a slump. It looks like 2008 may again make Alpine a force to be reckoned with. More »
the caddy that rips
Cadillac CTS to Get Technophile's Paradise System in 2008, with One Caveat
Well. It seems Cadillac gets its mandate to find younger buyers means installing features younger buyers actually want. The company just released info on the new "infotainment" system that'll adorn the dash of the 2008 CTS. Caddy showed off the system yesterday in New York. The audio portion sports a 40G Toshiba hard drive, full iPod integration, USB and aux cable connectivity, XM radio and Bose gear. And holy crap: It has a running record feature รก la TiVo that records a run-time hour of live audio, with track/artist/time-of-day bookmarks set digitally by XM. Sounds great. The nav system has a retractable screen, 3D views of landmarks and real-time traffic data. But see, Caddy, there's this thing called Bluetooth. You might want to Google it. More »
news
