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Bleeding Edge TV 189: Driving Tips from GM’s Milford Proving Grounds
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Gizmatic, Short Bytes, Design, Features, Podcasts, Transportation, Videocasts,
When General Motors contacted us about bringing us up to their Proving Grounds in Milford, MI, we jumped at the chance at getting to visit what we figured would be an awesome place. We were right - General Motors’ Milford Proving Grounds was the industry’s first dedicated automobile testing facility when it opened in 1924. It covers 4,000 acres, and over 4,800 staff work in its 107 buildings today. The proving ground includes the equivalent of 132 mi of highway-quality roads for vehicle testing. Some roads are open only to drivers who have passed special performance driving training.
We got a first-hand look at the new StabiliTrak technology that GM will be making a standard feature on all their vehicles in a couple of years, which aims to give drivers a lot more stability during sudden turns and avoidance maneuvers. In addition, GM gives us some tips on how to maintain control of your vehicle, even in extreme (and often unsafe) conditions. Check out the video for all the goods, and leave us any driving tips you may have in the comments.
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Cops Can’t Resist the Anti-Ticket Donut
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Misc. Tech, Toys, Transportation,
We have all made some of those traffic errors and gotten tickets that might have been ignored with the proper bribery. The Anti-Ticket Donut is designed for those occasions. When the police officer asks you to produce your registration and license, reach right into your glove compartment and offer him/her the chocolate ($8.75) or sprinkled ($9.95) treat-in-a-tin. Of course, the donut is made of plastic, but we figure you can always stop at Krispy Kreme for the real thing if you are heading towards a known speed trap. Besides, it would make a great gift for your uncle, Chief Wiggum.
Read More 
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GM to include Stolen Vehicle Slowdown in Cars
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, GPS, Misc. Tech, Transportation,
By 2009, if they are done dealing with the UAW, GM will be equipping its new vehicles with a system that will aid police to remotely stop high-speed chases. In cooperation with OnStar, who can already track devices and help cops find stolen vehicles, it will also issue a signal that remotely slows the car down to idle speed. OnStar is free initially for owners of GM automobiles that have them built in, but must pay for the service beginning with the second year. OnStar says that about 60% continue to subscribe after that first year. In light of the price of new vehicles and fuel, we are not surprised that many decide to opt out and spend the extra on gas.
Read More | OnStar
Vin Diesel and Paul Walker to return for The Fast and the Furious 4?
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Action, Sequels, Box Office, Casting, Celeb News, Upcoming Releases,
Well, audiences waited long enough (through two sequels), and now The Fast and the Furious franchise will reward the faithful with an installment several years in the making. That’s right: Vin Diesel and Paul Walker will finally reunite and reprise their original Fast roles. Maybe. The two are in talks to reprise their roles as Dominic Toretto and Brian O’Conner, which launched Vin Diesel as a major action star and helped the movie gross more than $200 million worldwide. Walker appeared in 2 Fast 2 Furious, which out-grossed the original, though Diesel could not be swayed from his other movie engagements at the time. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, the third installation in the movie series, featured Diesel only briefly and Walker not at all. The fourth movie will feature more cars, more dirty deals, and hopefully more ticket sales than the third (which nearly grossed $160 million but was considered disappointing to Fast fans). The film, yet to be titled, will begin shooting in LA, Mexico and the Dominican Republic next spring. Diesel and Walker are both currently tied to unrelated movie projects, and neither has confirmed accepting a role in the fourth Fast flick.
Read More | E! Online
Burnout Paradise Gets Previewed
Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: Action, Driving, Electronic Arts, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360,
Tom Bramwell has a preview for the upcoming Burnout Paradise that is surprisingly thoughtful and critically considered as far as previews go. He discusses the challenges faced by Criterion Games in re-inventing a popular series practically from the ground up and asks some pertinent questions where they ought to be asked. For example, when the topic of the Crash mode comes up and Criterion mentions that they have scrapped the original concept of the popular mode, Bramwell presses the point, getting Criterion rep Matt Webster to confess they don’t yet know exactly how it will all work out:
Asked whether they’re opting for a Burnout 3 approach of trying to manoeuvre the car in slow motion between power-ups and Crashbreakers, or a Burnout Revenge “golf swing” of perfect start and target cars, Webster admits it’s not all there yet. “We’re still throwing ideas around. I think we’ll be talking about it more in the coming weeks.”
The preview isn’t about sticking it to the Burnout devs, though, it reads more like a fan of the series seeing drastic changes and slowly coming to the realization that if executed properly, these could make for a remarkable game. Among the more exciting aspects of Criterion’s open-world approach to Burnout is the focus on seamless online play that works the way most gamers prefer, by putting the folks in your Friends list first.
Burnout Paradise is scheduled to hit shelves early next year for Xbox 360 and PS3.
Read More | Eurogamer
The Bleeding Edge 174: DARPA Grand Challenge Qualifier: Carnegie Mellon and GM’s BOSS Vehicle
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Design, Features, Mods / Hacks, Transportation, Videocasts, Videos,
Read More | The Bleeding Edge
Bleeding Edge TV 174: DARPA Grand Challenge Qualifier: Carnegie Mellon and GM’s BOSS Vehicle
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Full Episodes, Gizmatic, Hack Attack, Design, Features, Transportation,
We visited one of the fifty or so groups participating in the DARPA Urban Challenge during one of their qualifying rounds. In case you are unaware, the DARPA Urban Challenge is a charge given publicly to groups who are capable of designing and proving the technology for autonomously driven vehicles. Carnegie Mellon University teamed up with GM to create an autonomous SUV they call “Boss.” In order to participate in November’s 60-mile urban driverless race, they need to pass this benchmark. Check out the video to see Boss pull perfect three point turns and beautifully follow traffic rules - even at four way stops with other cars. We’re crazy excited to see this technology come alive in our society. The team from DARPA is darting back and forth across our country qualifying and disqualifying entries. Some of the remaining companies and teams will bring us autonomously driven cars during our lifetime, its amazing how close we already are.
Need for Speed Video Teaser Shows Massive Damage
Posted by Chris Pereira Categories: Driving, Electronic Arts, Nintendo DS, Nintendo Gamecube, PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, Trailers, Wii, Xbox, Xbox 360,
On the heels of EA’s new Madden video comes this brief look at the newest Need for Speed title, which we know next to nothing about - not a title or even the platforms it’ll be released on. The video is entitled “Damage,” and if you take a look at the video, you’ll agree that it’s an appropriate name. One of the features in the new NFS is apparently going to be the ability to rip your car to shreds in an accident, Burnout-style.
Like the Madden video before it, the game certainly looks pretty, but hopefully the game will play as well as the competition. As the video alludes, there apparently will be some sort of announcement on May 31 at the official Need for Speed website, and we’ll get word of whatever that might be to you as soon as it’s made available.
Inventor Builds His Own Solar-Powered Vehicle
Posted by Lolita Beckwith Categories: Misc. Tech, Science, Transportation,
Yes, it looks huge, klunky, difficult to navigate and impossible to park. But hey, when’s the last time you built your own solar-powered car? Which is why we give inventor Saqr Bin Saif serious props for building his own environmentally-friendly vehicle. The DIY car utilizes four 170 watt solar panels, two batteries, and was built in only three months. Bin Saif’s baby can only reach a speed of up to 50 mph, but hey, it’s a start, and we look forward to his next car, which he promises will be more compact and faster.
Read More | Gulfnews
The 2007 Academy Awards: Live Commentary
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Award Shows, Specials, ABC, Editorial, Features,
Welcome to our live coverage of the 79th Annual Academy Awards! During our live-blog of the 2006 Oscars, I made what may now be considered an eerie prediction about Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe:
“For some reason, I keep getting this nagging feeling that their relationship will dissolve sometime soon, but that discussion is for another post.”
I’d like to say that I’m psychic (if so, that Oscars pool at work is all mine)...but I’m going to have to chalk it up to nagging intuition. What is that little voice inside me saying this year? While some races may have been locked up months ago (I’m talking to you, Helen Mirren), there will be a shocker this year. I can’t pinpoint the category, but I think it will be come riding in on a big yellow bus…
To find out who will be going hog-wild tonight during the Year of the Pig, stay tuned here for the live results!
Click to continue reading The 2007 Academy Awards: Live Commentary
Read More | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
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