Antony Ingram, Contributing Writer
Articles
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Many of us have experienced the unpleasant roasting of thighs and backside when sitting on leather or vinyl seats after they've spent a day in the sun.
You wouldn't expect the same in cold weather... -
Video: Didn't Take Long, iPad 2 Installed In 2010 Ford F-150Apple's iPad 2 has only been around for a week or two but already audio installers SoundMan Car Audio has completed their first installation of the tablet PC in a vehicle. The vehicle chosen was a Ford F-150, which has a convenient large center stack just the right size for an iPad 2. The...
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Today, 3D Printed Nylon Bikes... Tomorrow, Nylon Cars?3D printing isn't one of those technologies that we might see, some indeterminate time in the future. It's one of those technologies that we can already see, and inspect, and touch. 3D printing, also known as Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM) isn't the technology of the future - it's a technology...
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Video: Tata Pixel Concept... You Spin Me Right Round BabyThe car that perhaps raised the most eyebrows at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show wasn't necessarily a supercar like the Ferrari FF or Pagani's new unpronounceable replacement for the Zonda, nor was it the sporty Nissan ESFLOW or the BMW Vision ConnectedDrive. Instead, it was a tiny concept based on an...
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Carbon Fiber: The Next Step, Courtesy Of New Teijin TechCarbon fiber is enjoying something of a birthday this year. With the release of the 2011 McLaren MP4-12C supercar, McLaren celebrates thirty years since they developed the first carbon fiber monocoque chassis, used in their 1981 Formula 1 racing car. They were then the first to develop a carbon...
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Play-Doh 2011 Chevrolet Orlando: Not Quick But Lots Of FunWhen people say that the 2011 Chevrolet Orlando is great for families with kids, your first thoughts are probably along the lines of loads of seats, lots of space, a tough interior and something that's cheap to run. The Orlando that's appeared in a London street today is none of these things, but...
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The Geneva Motor Show is one of the top auto shows each year for new cars, concepts and car technology, and 2011 was no exception.
Under the shining lights and amongst the glamorous girls were some... -
Personal Sat-Nav Devices No Longer A Hot In-Car Gadget?Not so long ago, companies such as Garmin and TomTom were enjoying strong sales in the PND, or 'Personal Navigation Device' market. Offering inexpensive personal satellite navigation systems for use in your car, they were a popular choice for those not willing to spend sometimes ten times the price...
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Traffic Jams? No Problems With FAA-Approved Flying CarThere's always an irony to dual-purpose vehicles - amphibious cars, flying cars - which is that in the quest to master two disciplines, they usually end up being heavily compromised, and often just totally useless at both. Amphibious cars are generally passable in the water provided they don't...
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Consumers Want Simpler Gadgets; How About Simpler Cars?They say that the simple things in life can bring the most pleasure. Though not everything simple automatically brings happiness to your life, there's certainly a joy to be had from machines and gadgets that operate with economy of movement. A recent survey by Accenture has revealed that more than...
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Urban Transport Of The Future? Bike Meets Car With E-3PODThe Royal College of Art in London, England has produced some of the auto industry's top design talent for 40 years now and attracts budding car designers from all around the world. On occasion, they hold competitions for their top talent to design vehicles of the future, mixing the best in car...
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In-Car Entertainment Is A Real Pane With Window SubwooferAudio firm Magna International Inc has come up with a novel way of improving your car's sound system: using the rear window as an enormous subwoofer. The concept is fairly simple, turning the entire rear window into a speaker with two exciters sited at the bottom of the glass, using the window...
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Only a few weeks ago we were speculating on the wealth of distractions the modern motorist has to face. Phone calls, texting... even updating your Facebook status.
The latter is alleged to be the... -
Slacker To Partner Car Firms, Offer In-Car Personal Radio?On-demand entertainment is all the rage these days. You can fill your personal MP3 player with playlists and video clips or use your smartphone to watch television clips wherever you are. Personal radio is doing the same, with companies like Pandora and Spotify allowing you to create your own radio...
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Maintenance-Free All-LED Headlights For 2012 Audi A6 SedanFollowing the lead of Audi's other models the R8 supercar, A7 Sportback and A8 luxury sedan, the 2012 Audi A6 executive sedan now comes as standard with all-LED headlights and LED daytime running lights, the latter a feature familiar to most modern Audis. The all-LED lights were first seen on...
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Ford Counting On In-Car Technology For New 2012 FocusFord is aiming to prove that you don't need a big car to enjoy big car technology when it launches the 2012 Ford Focus in March. We've already taken a look at Ford's 'Torque Hole Filling' auto transmission which should make the six-speed auto quicker, more efficient and more refined than ever...
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Light Up The Streets: TRON Light Cycles Now For SaleOne of Winter's most anticipated films was TRON Legacy, the follow-up to 1980s science-fiction film TRON. In the original, a hacker played by Jeff Bridges gets absorbed into a perilous virtual world and in Legacy, his son falls to the same fate. For tech fans the plot is really just a sideline to...
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Nothing Says Romantic Like A Valentine's Day Smart CarWhilst the rest of the world is either swooning in love and chocolate or shuffling around cursing all the happy couples and entertaining thoughts that Al Capone probably had the right approach in 1929, Smart USA is offering drivers of the ForTwo city car the chance to wrap it in romantic messages...
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With the exception of the crazy concepts found at the Tokyo Motor Show, Geneva is often where you find some of the most original ideas and designs on the yearly auto show calendar.
BMW are... -
Key Of The Future From BMW, The Credit Card Car KeyYour average car key has a limited range of functions. Even when giving it an ostentatious name like Aston Martin's "Emotion Control Unit" and constructing it from glass, it's essentially there to allow you to enter your vehicle, and turn it on. BMW could be about to change that though. Using a...
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Mercedes-Benz Celebrates 30 Years Of Supplemental RestraintThe airbag is one of the single most significant inventions in the field of passive safety that the automotive world has seen. Patented in 1953 by American inventor John W. Hetrick and introduced into passenger cars in the United States in the mid seventies, it has been responsible for saving...
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AAA's Free Roadside Assistance App Available For AndroidDrivers with Android-compatible smartphones can now download the American Automobile Association's free roadside assistance application allowing you to report a breakdown without even needing to make a phone call. Stranded motorists can now use their Android smartphone's GPS signal to transmit a...
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Better Quality From 'High Dynamic Range' In Car CamerasIn-car cameras have a variety of uses and not all are just 'Big Brother' style surveillance. We've recently looked at equipping new drivers' cars with 'nanny cams' so parents can make sure their teenage son or daughter is driving responsibly and safely, and they're also popular in a world of ever...
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Cellcontrol: Kick The In-Car Cell Phone Habit With New DeviceWhilst not illegal in many states, taking a call or texting whilst driving can be very dangerous since it can take your eyes and mind off the road and if you're not using a hands-free device, occupy one of your limbs, too. American Auto Sales in Fremont is one of the first retail outlets now...
Antony Ingram