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Volkswagen/Apple iCar On Hold, Upper Middle Class Weep
If you've been looking forward to a possible Volkswagen + Apple car, or iCar, you'll have to wait slightly longer as talks between the two companies have just been put on hold. The bad news is that the exploratory talks are at an end, but the good news is that there were exploratory talks to begin with. VW fans and Apple fans overlap pretty well (picture a Venn Diagram with Batman on one circle and Bruce Wayne on the other), and will be willing to purchase any type of iCar that will eventually be sloshed forth from the combined loins. [Presseportal via German Car Blog via Jalopnik]
homegrown
R/C Stoner Van Streams Live Video While Truckin' (Video)
Built and demonstrated by our very own Nick McGlynn, this webcam-mounted R/C Volkswagen bus streams video live via a hidden Sony Vaio laptop with Sprint EV-DO card. Unfortunately for Nick, the camera is fixed facing forward, limiting its upskirt potential. Oh well, there's always V(W) 2.0. [Justin.tv]
ibug
A Volkswagen spokesperson told German magazine Capital that an iCar may be on the way. Steve Jobs and VW Chairman Martin Winterkorn got together in California a few days ago to "plan an intensive co-operation with the building of vehicles." It might even be called an iCar. This is against a background of chatter we heard floating around last month, but we're not thinking Apple's going to get into the car business.
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Steve Jobs and VW Chairman Talk iCar
A Volkswagen spokesperson told German magazine Capital that an iCar may be on the way. Steve Jobs and VW Chairman Martin Winterkorn got together in California a few days ago to "plan an intensive co-operation with the building of vehicles." It might even be called an iCar. This is against a background of chatter we heard floating around last month, but we're not thinking Apple's going to get into the car business.
More »
portable media
LG Dresses Up Its FM37 PMP in Volkswagen Colors
Looking for every angle to avoid commoditization, LG teams up with Volkswagen for a painted-up version of the FM37 PMP first announced last October, a little media player that matches the colors of the VW Beetle. It'll be available in Salsa Red, Shadow Blue, and Sunflower Yellow, just like the car. More »
portable media
VW Golf Renamed in Honor of the iPod (We Assume)
Introducing the Volkswagen iGolf. It is the exact same thing as the VW Golf, but it has a fairly convenient iPod dock and a big, fancy, pretty advertising campaign to go with it. We have seen companies of all shapes and sizes slap a lower-case i in front of a product name and the product is usually an iPod accessory, but a car? Seriously, are we in a world where the car is now an accessory to the iPod? More »
gadgets
Chinese Artists Take a VW Down the Hershey Highway for V-Day
The Valentine's Day madness has apparently spread around the world, as evidenced by this chocolate-covered Volkswagen Beetle parked in front of a supermarket in China. After first wrapping the vehicle in plastic, seven enterprising car company employees slathered on 440 pounds of chocolate, resulting in the day's biggest internal-combustion chocolate truffle. More »
gadgets
VW Sleds Are Slick, Slippery and Schweet
VWs are in the Gizmodo news these days, where the other day we saw one pulling a Boeing 747, and now here's a sled carrying the earmarks of the timeless Volkswagen Golf GTI design. Is this one badass-looking conveyance, or what? More »
gadgets
I-Playaz '59 Volkswagen Beetle, Speakers for Your Kid's DAP
We've had just about enough DAP speakers for one day—or lifetime, for that matter—but this one we just couldn't resist. Aimed at kids, the I-Playaz '59 Volkswagen Beetle from Jada Toys lets you plug in any music player, and when you get that music cranking it starts to blastin' with lights flashin' as it "moves and jams with the beat." More »
gadgets
Design Concept: Comfort Sphere for Captive Audiences
The Comfort Sphere was designed by Volkswagen for trade shows, but might be a great idea to enhance the work and concentration required of writers, think-tankers, and hey, maybe even a blogger or two. More »
gadgets
VW's Automated Parking Garage
When we first saw these two photos of the Volkswagen's storage facility in Wolfsburg, Germany, we thought this was an artist's rendition for some sort of science fiction movie. It's not. This is an actual 20-story car tower that takes up just 20% of the space of a conventional parking garage handling the same number of vehicles. Volkswagen uses the facility in a showy delivery process for its new-car customers:"In a fully automated procedure, your new car is brought down to you from one of the 20-story Car Towers. Large signboards in the Customer Center show you when your turn has come. Then, you're handed the keys, your picture is taken, the glass doors open and your brand-new car appears. You're all set to go."Not only does it save space, but the storage facility's automated elevator system is able to retrieve cars much quicker than a potentially-careless human parking lot attendant. More »
portable media
Audi & Volkswagen Drop XM, Sign Exclusive Deal with Sirius
If you love Howard Stern, this news might make you happy; if you love having choices, this news will make you sad. Audi and Volkswagen recently announced they will be dropping XM satellite radio receivers as an option for their cars beginning with the 2007 models in favor of an exclusive deal with Sirius. Both Audi and Volkswagen will be offering Sirius satellite radio receivers with new cars through 2012. Terms of the agreement have not been disclosed, but Volkswagen will be offering three free months of Sirius radio to new buyers and expects to equip 80% of new vehicles with their receivers. More »
gadgets
Google and VW Join Forces
Looks like Google and Volkswagen are banding together to work on a vehicle that will use Google Maps/Google Earth in a VW in-car navigation system. Working with NVidia to build the system, it will include three-dimensional graphics and, hopefully, other features like automatic personalized information updates. But don't hold your breath—there are still no definite plans to release this system to the public, and right now it's just a prototype. More »
gadgets
Live From CES: DARPA's Touareg
You may remember "Stanley," the robotic Volkswagen Touareg which won the $2 million prize at the DARPA's race back in October. Well Stanford went and brought the champion out here for all to ogle. The Stanford robot Touareg finished the course in 6 hours, 53 minutes, beating everyone else to take the record, so it's pretty cool to see something this expensive and powerful up close. I noticed they had a tent to hide it from the sun. I suppose they were afraid it'd drive off on its own and run over the CES crowd. Johnny 5 is alive!
portable
