Richard Read, Reporter
Articles
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Over the past couple of years, autonomous cars have shifted gears: once considered a novelty act akin to life-size remote-controlled vehicles, there's recently been serious talk about using...
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Which Automaker Is Trying To Save SiriusXM From Pandora?We are at a crossroads. Thanks to the internet, people have become accustomed to the free and easy flow of information. Subscription services -- from newspapers to magazines to cable TV -- are scrambling to keep their heads above water as mobile devices make no-cost infotainment even more...
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In Next-Gen Art Cars, Fashion & Obsession CollideWhen you think of art cars, you probably think of BMW rides commissioned from visionaries like Andy Warhol and Jenny Holzer. Or maybe you think of homegrown models, bedecked with plastic army figurines and Mardi Gras beads. But photographer Luis Gispert has found another variety of art car -- one...
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Waze app update calculates your commuteThese days, you can't swing a cat in any app marketplace without hitting half a dozen targeted at travelers, but few of them meet anyone's everyday needs. After all, do we really need a travel app to get to the 7-Eleven? Waze is the exception to the rule, and with a new update, it becomes even more...
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Google Guru Sings Mercedes Praises (& So Should You)Who has the toughest job on Planet Earth? Some would say the president of the United States. Others would point to the thousands of low-paid migrant workers who keep food on our tables. For folks in the tech world, though, the title might go to Vic Gundotra, Google's chief of social networking. And...
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Volvo S80 Recalled For Power Steering FlawVolvo is issuing a recall for S80 sedans manufactured during the 2007 model year. The problem? A flaw in the power steering system that could result in a crash. Specifically, Volvo says that the power steering reservoir return hose on some 2007 S80s may have been incorrectly routed. As a result...
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U.K. readers: how'd you like a brand new car? Well as it turns out, Citroën is running a nationwide game of hide-and-seek, and if you play your cards right, you could drive off in a Citroën...
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Use A Mobile Device? Google Street View May Know Where It IsUPDATED: See below. If you use a mobile device -- a laptop, a cell phone -- you know how great it can be to stay connected on the go. But as we've seen with the Apple iPhone and even with RSS feeds on the Nissan Leaf, mobility often comes with its share of privacy headaches. The latest issue?...
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Darth Vader Crosses Over To The Dark Side (AKA Garmin)A little over a year ago, we told you about a licensing deal that brought familiar Star Wars voices like Darth Vader and Yoda to TomTom voice-navigation. Now, however, it appears that Darth Vader has become a double-agent, because he's now on Garmin, too. Everyone's second-favorite man in black...
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Vacation Planner: Toyota Has A Road Trip App Just For KidsAt a time when most major manufacturers are scaling back and focusing on core products, Toyota has added a brand -- and along with it, a new toy to keep kids occupied on road trips. The brand in question is ToyToyota, and its first product is an app called Backseat Driver. Backseat Driver is...
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The DOT Needs Volunteers For Its V2V Technology ProgramIn May, we told you that the U.S. Department of Transportation was rolling out a new program to test vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) technology. If you live in one of the six cities where that's taking place, you have a chance to participate -- and earn a small sum of cash. What is V2V tech? In a...
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Planning A European Road Trip? Google Maps Has Traffic InfoFor many of us, the thought of motoring through the backroads and byways of Europe sounds like a dream vacation, but such trips come with their share of challenges -- namely, unfamiliar roads, signs in foreign languages, and, like anywhere, rush hour traffic. (Hey, someone's gotta keep punching the...
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As the world has grown smaller and more interconnected, privacy has become a major concern. Hacking, computer viruses, stolen data, geolocation loopholes: these have all made headlines recently,...
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GMC Brings Its Showroom To The SmartphoneAccording to Nielsen, Americans are finally shifting to smartphones: 38% of mobile users already have one, and the majority of those shopping for new handsets are planning to purchase one in the near future. General Motors is hoping to cash in on that development with its new GMC Showroom App. Like...
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Aging Drivers, Smaller Cars Need A New Steering Wheel. Is This It?Automotive design is set to undergo a radical transformation in the near future. Electrification and vehicle-to-vehicle technology are probably the first game-changers that come to mind, but there are others, too -- namely, America's aging population of Baby Boomers and the increasing number of...
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Ford Asks, 'How Should The 2012 Ford Focus Electric Sound?'Electric vehicles have upsides and downsides. On the upside, they crank out far fewer pollutants than their fossil-fuel-swilling cousins, and they may help ease dependence on foreign oil. On the downside, they're quiet. Too quiet. While some of you might find that a good thing, EV's lack of sound...
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Nevada Gives Google's Autonomous Cars The Green LightWe recently told you that Google was asking Nevada legislators to allow testing of the company's autonomous cars. Now, less than two months later, we're not surprised to learn that Google's lobbying efforts have paid off. As we mentioned before, Google was pressing Nevada's elected officials to do...
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Haynes Manuals Are Going MobileWhether you're a dyed-in-the-wool do-it-yourselfer or the sort of person who pays people to pump his gas, chances are good that you've seen a Haynes Manual before. They're easy to spot at almost any auto parts shop or bookstore -- just look for the long row of unadorned tomes covering nearly every...
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Yesterday, Ford Motor Company received quite a wallop from research firm J.D. Power: after several years of steady improvement, Ford plummeted from 5th place to 23rd on the firm's Initial Quality...
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Volkswagen Debuts An Auto Pilot For CarsOver the past few years, there's been a lot of chatter about building "smarter" cars -- cars that interact with other vehicles and the environment to make driving safer. Recently, we've seen Google rolling autonomous cars toward Nevada, the Department of Transportation testing vehicle-to-vehicle...
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One day, your car may take away the keys if you're drunkDrunk driving is a big problem in America, accounting for up to 31% of all traffic fatalities in the country. For years, education and awareness campaigns have tried to address the issue, but could the real solution lie in teaching cars themselves to spot intoxicated drivers? The National Highway...
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Brooklyn's 'Gran Torino' Shooter Hailed As A HeroIf you're a fan of car films, you've probably seen Gran Torino, the smart, gritty drama from 2008 directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. Eastwood's character, Walt Kowalski, lives in a working class Michigan neighborhood that's gone steadily downhill. A curmudgeon and Korean War vet, Kowalski...
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Al Franken's New Bill Guards Your Privacy On The Mobile WebPrivacy has long been a serious issue on the web. Now, a new bill authored by Senator Al Franken wants to address some of those concerns -- and from where we sit, it's arrived just in the nick of time. In the early days of Web 1.0, long before the rise of social networking, privacy concerns...
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Ford SYNC Makes A Play For Fantasy Baseball Fans: VideoIf you're a fantasy baseball fan, you know that like everything in life, you get out of it what you put into it. Sure, you can pick a roster and let it run its course, but to make the most of it, you have to stay engaged. Now, Ford SYNC can help you stay up-to-date on key fantasy baseball news...
Richard Read