If you're having trouble getting over the price tag long enough to daydream, just think of how much you're saving with the standard HD radio. Or think about a Tesla, which is dirt cheap in comparison. [Autocar via Dvice via Geekologie]

The next-generation Ford Explorer will come with rear seatbelts that inflate in an accident, just like an airbag. But the intent isn't to absorb a body hurling through the car, softening the blow into a seat or steering wheel. Instead, the airbag simply multiplies the surface area of the belt against your body during an impact by five times.

It makes crashes more comfortable on the body, reducing "head, neck and chest injuries for rear seat passengers, often children and older passengers who can be more vulnerable to such injuries," according to Ford. I can't argue with that lest I sound like I hate humanity (which I do, but kids and old people are OK with me). However, I CAN argue with their second point:

Ford claims that, since these belts are naturally more comfortable in trials, they should have a positive impact on the low 61 percent rear belt usage rate in the US.

If all we need is a softer seatbelt to fix that stat, I have a feeling that can be accomplished for a lot less than America will spend on 60-millisecond-deploying seatbelt airbags. [Ford]

* Also of note, any child that's still smiling in panels 2 and 3 is too heavily medicated.

Self-parking cars aren't really a new idea, but with the design the Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Laboratory is working on, only minimal modifications are required a vehicle's stock options. The main sensor systems consist of a camera mounted on the rear view mirror, a front radar, and " couple little off the shelf LIDAR units mounted on the sides." They'll need to make a few more modification to take care of the system's inability to detect obstacles (be it people or terrain), but other than that tiny detail, this is the best autonomous parking prototype I've seen so far. [BotJunkie]

(Or you don't.)

Because while the GPS detector, complete with 1.6-inch OLED screen, provides you with a constant look-out for one of 6000 stoplight and speed trap cameras, the privilege also costs $20 a year for the data subscription (after a free year) on top of the $200 you'll for this device in the first place.

Plus, even though the system is technically using GPS, it doesn't look like the detector doubles up as a turn-by-turn navigator.

You know a cheaper solution? Restraint. You aren't Jack Bauer; you're just a few minutes late to pick up eggs at the grocery store. It'll be OK. [Hammacher Schlemmer via navigadget]

As of now, plane designs that were certified before 1988 are permitted to have seats that can withstand just 9x gravity. And airbags are pretty much only found in cars. But beginning October 27, newly manufactured planes with these old designs will need the incorporate the new seats and airbags in places like first/business class where seats are far apart and exit rows where passengers can simply hit a wall.

So do these standards actually matter, or do they just placate nervous fliers? We'll let this particularly humorous passage from the NYT answer that question:

In some airline crashes, the strength of the seats is irrelevant because the crash is not what the engineers call "survivable." In other crashes, still violent but not as much so as exploding in midair or breaking up in flight, the passengers' survival depends on suffering little or no injury in the first phase of the accident, as when a plane runs off the runway, and then getting out of the plane quickly to avoid a postcrash fire.

Ahh, those witty engineers. [NYT]

It's the product of 10 years and $20,000 worth of custom work, a combination of a Kawasaki 1000 RX the and a Citroën Xantia...along with who knows what else (though Laverda is name-dropped, too). And it reminds us how wonderful the world would be if only more of our transportation were designed by the M.A.S.K. team. [Snaefell via Auto Motto via DVICE]

The NeoView Kolon is a prototype that uses a transparent OLED display, presumably layered over a reflective mirror. The result is a HUD of sorts...that could probably be extremely useful if it didn't expend so much light and distraction on looking cool.

For instance, a bumper mounted camera outfitted with the proper algorithms could track the speed of incoming vehicles. This data could label incoming fast cars on the OLED, alerting the driver to allow some extra breathing room in his lane.

Or, you know, you could fit a YouTube window up there, too. [OLED Info and OLED Televisions UK via Engadget]

The Price: $500 (includes installation), plus $30/month for service (1 GB cap)

The Verdict: According to Autonet, the appeal to their service is that you're not limited to any single carrier's cell towers for a signal. Instead, they work as a middleman and allow you to connect to towers owned by Sprint, Verizon and Alltel. Their service is designed to seamlessly hop between towers and connect to the one offering the fastest speeds. Autonet says they also track fully your usage sessions, and as a result, will already have a solid idea of what the problem is if you call for support.

The device itself is about the same shape and size as Linksys' classic WRT54 router, except a bit slimmer and wider. It's intended to be bolted to the floor and connected to a car battery, though the freestanding model I tested came with adapters for the cigarette lighter and home outlets. There's also a mystery serial port, but none of the documentation makes any reference to it.

In areas with good EV-DO coverage, the router works pretty well. Once it's turned on an running, you connect to it like any WEP wi-fi network, and proceeds as expected. The router setup menu is pretty straightforward, allowing you to configure SSIDs, WEP keys, MAC filters, and a handful of radio/transmission settings.

Going back and forth between San Francisco and Fremont, I found speeds to be about what you'd expect from an EV-DO connection. Fast enough to browse standard web pages with ease, and satisfactory enough to stream media, such as music and flash videos. But it will not magically conjure up a signal in areas where EV-DO isn't so prevalent, so you should definitely check EVDOmaps to make sure you live or travel in an area with good service.

Occasionally (about every 10-15 minutes), there would be a 5 second hiccup in service, presumably while the connection hopped to another tower. It generally wasn't a big deal, but it did interrupt my Pandora stream, which was going from my iPod touch connected to a car stereo,

Users have complained about Autonet's lack of features for power users, such as no WPA encryption and port forwarding. Not having WPA encryption is totally valid to bitch about, and I was surprised it wasn't at least an option. As far as port forwarding options go, I don't think this router is intended for that type of crowd and I don't think it's that kind of device.

This is really meant for you to be able to check email, look up a map, get the latest news, and maybe download a few songs. And seeing as Autonet is going for the minivan/car rental market, I think simplicity was a goal when determining what functionality it would have. I don't think you're supposed to be playing WoW or downloading 20 torrents with the router. And with a 1GB cap, which stops service after you exceed the limit, it would be hard to do that anyways.

The bottom line is this: I think soccer moms and road warriors alike will glean some value from the device, which will help appease bratty kids or feelings of disconnectedness while on the road. But at $500 plus $30/month, this is not really for someone who plans to use it in a casual manner, or would like to use it more places than the car. If you prefer portability, you may want to look at the Cradlepoint router, but then you still need the USB 3G dongle and you don't have the freedom to switch between carrier towers.

Fitting around the inner part of a steering wheel with some options for size adjustment, the $63 adapter features a microphone and speakers (for speakerphone), along with an LCD display (incoming callers), SD port (MP3s), USB (anything) and FM-out (to play everything back through your car's stereo).

The catch, of course, is that the adapter does need a power source, which happens to be your car's cigarette lighter. When you consider the logistics of connecting your steering wheel to a tether, no matter how cleanly, it can't sound like anything but a safety hazard...or am I missing some obvious precaution that makes this installation safe?

UPDATE: Ahh, it's rechargeable. But if you recharge it while the car is running...uhh...doesn't that defeat the wireless part? [Chinavision via Newlaunches]

What appears to be little more than a black and white advertisement in three recent German automotive magazines becomes a 3D holographic model of the Mini Cabrio through a webcam and the Mini website. Sure, it still takes a good deal of effort on the user's part (they have to go somewhere other than the main ad to really see the ad), but I'd do it for the next year or so before the novelty wears thin. [MediaPost via technabob]

The system uses side-by-side pixel placement coupled with a "filtering mask." We're guessing this filtering mask is essentially the technology found for ages in lenticular printing, that fancy technology that allowed an animated Frank Thomas to knock one out of the park on your fancy baseball card.

So while the driver views the GPS, the passenger can watch The Gilmore Girls Season One DVD. And while the passenger watches the The Gilmore Girls, the driver can lean over to the passenger's seat to take a look at the mother/daughter's crazy argument of the week...rendering the technology useless. [Mercedes]

Needless to say, we're being more than a little hard on the BioBot. In reality, it's a geek-worthy device that can produce almost 20 gallons of diesel per cycle. But unless you work at a french fry factory and have a BS in biochemistry, it's probably worth leaving this method to the pros.

If you're still interested, the BioBot runs $5000 and is said to pay for itself in two years. [BioBot via New Launches]

There's no evidence to suggest it currently transmits a signal from car to the traffic light, one that could perhaps tell it to turn green when you approach. Audi did leave that open ended, though, saying in its press statement:

The experimental ‘Travolution’ system...will not only improve synchronisation and phasing of traffic light networks to reduce stopping times, but could also dramatically reduce the number of actual stops needed by creating a communications link between cars and the traffic light network.

It's still not clear what happens in unexpected traffic, and Travolution definitely doesn't tell you what to do when the grandma in front of you doesn't also happen to have a specially outfitted A5 or A6 Avant. If enough lights are rigged up, though, I'm sure a portable version could be designed so even jalopies could get a shot at winning the sequenced-light game. [Jalopnik]

As of now, Dyson uses the patented Dyson Digital Motor in both the aforementioned vacuums and air blade. A lightweight motor that turns 10,000 times a minute—a stat that's said to put Formula 1 cars to shame—James Dyson believes that the technology could be modified to create a pretty decent electric car engine. And he has his engineering staff on the task.

Other details are scarce, but Dyson will probably not create a car, preferring to partner with a major auto manufacturer instead. And he also feels that solar power is a viable option, given that most of us park our cars for eight hours a day. [Independent via core77] [Source image from Time]

UPDATE: Dyson is now denying any plans "to create an electric car." Whether or not that includes an engine can be your semantical debate.

Q. What’s all this about driving them off cliffs and floating them in floods and tsunami’s? Are they really super cars?
A. The nature of the polymer construction, on those that use it, offers secondary advantages which are not part of the intended use but which could possibly provide additional safety in such circumstances.

It all sounds too good to be true until you realize that, best case scenario, you have to pick up your date in a freakin' balloon car. (Still, totally cool if you were one of those X-Games types and paint it Mt. Dew green, I bet.) [XP Vehicles via Ubergizmo]

Hybrid Technologies is working on a car coming in two flavors—all electric and hybrid. With the electric, they promise a 150 to 180-mile range per charge. With the lithium-ion hybrid, they promise a 220mpg minimum.

Those specs would be impressive in a golf cart.

But the most compelling part of it all is the alleged performance. Popular Mechanics asked Hybrid Technologies if their car could compete with the Corvette ZR-1 and its crazy V8 that induces mid-600s-scale horsepower. The company responded that they were "way out of the ballpark—it's gonna be wild." [Popular Mechanics]