Etc : Car News And Reviews

This ingenious design for a rear wiper was developed by the team of Huang Junxi, Ma Jincai and Ding Dong. The wiper has a set of embedded LED lights that are computer controlled to create an image as the wiper sweeps back and forth.

While there has been plenty of talk about autonomous vehicles over the years, and numerous prototype robotic cars have been created, it still seems like the idea of driverless cars in everyday traffic is a long way off.

BMW’s innovative i3 and i8 hybrid-electric vehicles may be redefining what it means to drive a hybrid vehicle, each in its own way. But BMW’s innovation doesn’t stop after the driver parks the car, as demonstrated by the BMW i Remote App for the Samsung Gear S smartwatch, a software app that has been awarded a prize in the Software and Mobile Apps category at the CES Innovation Awards in New York (which takes place in January 2015).

The process of building actual cars is a mindblowingly complex orchestration of humans and robotic machinery. In tribute to the work that happens along automotive assembly lines every day, builder SuperLEGOSam created a robotic car assembly line of his own – but this one creates miniature LEGO vehicles.

Tokyo, Japan is well known for its car scene, which truly comes to life when the sun goes down. This awesomely shot short film created to promote GoPro’s 4K-capable HERO4 action camera puts us in the middle of Tokyo’s car and motorcycle culture, as we meet owners of Lamborghinis, RWB Porsches, Hayabusa motorcycles and Kaido Racers, and learn about what drives their passion.

Nissan is launching the Season 4, 2014 edition of its program that takes the best virtual drivers from the Gran Turismo Playstation 3 franchise and puts them behind the wheel of a real race car to compete in real world races.

The Donkervoort D8 GTO is one of the most pure and ferocious vehicles on the planet. This open-top trackday car is made in the Netherlands, as a modern-day tribute to the Lotus Seven. The guys at XCAR Films recently spent some quality time with the company’s founder, Joop Donkervoort to learn about the inspiration behind his cars, most especially Lotus founder Colin Chapman.

Instagram is a service that’s been around for years, allowing individuals to share their photos quickly and easily with their social media contacts and even applying some simple filters to the photos to reflect the mood. 

Blipshift, an online store that sells some great automotive-inspired t-shirts and other goodies, is holding a contest to help them design a new t-shirt to honor the stunning Audi R8 competition. And the winner will get a certificate for the “Audi Sportscar Experience – R8 Exclusive – Introduction” driving course — worth nearly $1,900(USD).

I’m not sure how many Mercedes-Benz AMG customers are going with the steel wheel option, or new BMW M4 buyers will be looking for a black plastic front fascia, but X-Tomi Design out of Hungary took a look at what some of these sports cars and supercars might look like if they were built out without their fancy wheels, sports tires, spoilers, or other bells and whistles.

This restored 1966 Mercedes-Benz school bus has been converted into a spacious motor home and is available for rent for your travels through Argentina and around South America. Dubbed La Chanchita, this bus comes with everything needed for up to five people to travel and sleep comfortably, including sleeping accommodations, water, electricity, a toilet, a shower and a wood stove.

The Dukes of Hazzard’s 1969 Dodge Charger and Starsky & Hutch’s 1975 Ford Gran Torino are two of the most iconic cars in the history of television. In this classic clip from Fifth Gear, they put the two classic muscle cars head to head in a battle to see which would come out on top.

Part of the magic behind the BMW i3’s efficiency is its lightweight carbon-fiber reinforced plastic construction, along with its impressively low rolling resistance. Weighing in at just 2,635 pounds, the pure-electric car is quite svelte, given its spacious four-passenger cabin and 95+ mile battery range.

We recently got to see how Audi’s autonomous RS7 was able to handle itself on a track at racing speed. But how does this robotic car handle itself compared to a human driver? Our friend Vincent Nguyen over at SlashGear was fortunate enough to be in attendance at Hockenheimring during Audi’s media event for the self-driving RS7, and they let him test his time against the autonomous car.

It’s been a while since we saw a new car from the guys at Scion, so my curiosity has been piqued by the announcement that they’ll be revealing a new concept vehicle during the 2014 L.A.