By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

Unless you actually need to use it as a phone, the iPhone is super cool, and there are tons of useful apps for it. But I don’t think the new Rolls-Royce one, which lets you configure a Ghost, was such a good idea. If  I was going to buy a Rolls, I’d want to makes decisions about leather and trim and such in a 19th century drawing room while drinking champagne with a sales rep that looks like Keira Knightley. But that’s just me. Maybe there are some Howard Hughes-type billionaire folks who’ll dig it?  Apple via Jalopnik

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

StreetFire’s iPhone app is finally done! Seriously, this took forever. Not because our dev guys had any trouble making it, mind you, but because getting something approved by Apple is a bureaucratic nightmare. Fortunately, that grueling process is over with, and StreetVids is now available! Obviously, you can use it to watch videos—Top Gear, anyone?—but if you have the 3GS, you can shoot and upload video too. So if you’re out at the track watching drags, or just happen to stumble across some hilarious donk on the street in front of your work, you can instantly share it with the world. Personally, I love my iPhone, and I’ve been waiting for this forever. I also have to admit I’m pumped that I wrote the description for the App Store…

By Ryan Douthit

Drivingsports.com

After weeks of tweaking and tuning, we’re stoked to finally announce the availability of the new Driving Sports TV app for iPhone and iPod Touch. In addition to being a great way to watch Driving Sports TV every week — streamed or downloaded for later viewing — it also include bonus wallpaper graphics and lots of extra video and sound clips for the hard-core car fan. Click the jump for the full press release.

To see some samples of Driving Sports TV, check it out on Streetfire.net

Continue reading "Driving Sports Launches iPhone App" »

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

Right now, there are automotive engineers all over the world working to give computers more control of our cars. They’re spending billions to figure out how to implement systems that will avoid collisions, alert sleepy drivers, and generally make the roads safer. And then there are the guys from Engineer Awesome, who bought a crappy 1988 Oldsmobile Delta off eBay and rigged it so you can control it with an iPhone. It totally craps all over the other iPhone controlled car we’ve seen. Watch them take it surfing in the clip below, and hit the jump for the complete how-to.

Continue reading "What's Next: Driving a Car via iPhone" »

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

Even though I’m a huge James Bond fan, the movies starring Pierce Brosnan never really did it for me.  There were some great scenes, to be sure, but overall I think they were a little too cheesy and gadget-laden.  That said, the scene in Tomorrow Never Dies where 007 uses a mobile phone to drive his BMW 7 Series from the back seat was awesome. So when I saw that the Spirit of Berlin—which has been building a fully autonomous vehicle—had created an iPhone app to control one of their projects, I  was totally intrigued. Even if you’re scared of being enslaved by the machines like I am, you have to admit this this pretty rad. Check out how just tilting the phone turns the wheel!

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

MINI has released the first-ever roadside assistance app for the iPhone, and while I think the technology is pretty trick—it’ll talk to the car so the techs know what’s wrong, give them GPS coordinates, etc—the whole idea of roadside assistance for cars this new kind of cracks me up. I mean, I’ve driven and ridden in tons of beaters over the years, and while I did manage to run my old Jag out of gas a few times—the gauge didn’t work—mechanical issues have never left me stranded. It totally makes me wonder what’s below the fold after “battery,” “tire,” and “fuel.” You know if Ferrari or Lamborghini ever release an app, it’ll have to include “car is on fire.” via Motor Authority.

This weekend, I got tickets to see the The Jesus and Mary Chain, a legendary band I never thought I’d get to see again. The only thing that sucks? After the "convenience fee" and the "processing fee," a $33 ticket cost me $47.50. Ticketmaster, I hate you. Anyway, here’s the news:

• With fuel prices as high as they are, it seems like owning a filling station is like a license to print money. But Exxon Mobil doesn’t see it that way, as the company is planning to dump its stations. What’s the deal, was it tired of cleaning the bathrooms? The Street via Autoblog
• It doesn’t seem like a day goes by when we don’t hear some cool news about the next-gen iPhone, and today is no exception. So what is it? Tom Tom is going to release nav software for the sexy little hand held. Dope. Auto Express
• Godzilla has set foot on US soil. Around 50 cars are sitting at the port in Jacksonville, Florida, and while their new owners obviously can’t wait to get their hands on them, I bet the dealers are even more stoked. Hey, pocketing a 60 thousand dollar mark-up would make me smile too. Motor Authority
• Could the General sell Hummer to a Chinese company? Given that American consumers are fleeing gas guzzlers in droves, GM is keeping all options on the table. But I still don’t think it’ll happen.  China Car Times
• Ain’t nobody as dope as Honda’s FCX Clarity. The hydrogen vehicle is so fresh and so clean that Hollywood celebrities can’t help themselves. MSNBC

• Do you own a motorcycle or plan on picking one up now that the weather’s getting better? Did you know that in 2005 over 70,000 bikes were stolen and less than 30% were actually recovered? Pretty shocking, eh? You might want to consider an alarm…. The guys from Directed’s Snake Pit hooked us up with a great article on how to install a motorcycle alarm and what to look for when shopping around for one.
• Second Skin sent us a bunch of their Damplifier Sound Deadening kits, and we’re giving it all away! All you have to do to enter is hop over to SoundDomain and add a comment in the forum. That’s it! We’re giving away a complete trunk kit and a door kit to a lucky winner!
• Scosche is shipping their new 2009 Toyota Corolla dash kit. It accepts single or double DIN radios, matches the factory dash contours, and is available in facotry-matched black or gray. Don’t put up with crappy factory radio any longer!
• New details have emerged on Garmin’s new nüvifone! This extrememly impressive iPhone-fighter features a Garmin GPS system, 3.0 megapixel camera, WiFi, and more!
• Apple iPods are killing people in Australia! Well, actually, no, not really. But they could! No, really! OK, OK, not really, and they never have… Yet! The police from Down Under have launched a campaign claiming the portable device could be responsible for future deaths, even though no deaths have yet to be attributed to the little guy. They just want to warn you… just in case.

• Steve Meade is back and causing a ruckus with his 20,000 Watt Tahoe. In the two latest videos, Steve shows Doja Clik’s Lil Man what the Tahoe can do and the dude nearly melts into the seat! And the hair trick at the end of the video is a classic. Video Two features Ice Cube producer Teak showing his buddy PSYPH what Steve’s four 18" Fi subs feels like on 20K watts. He doesn’t know what hit him!
• Sound Sensations took first place at the Pioneer Sound Build-Off with their 99 Mercedes CLK 430, and with good reason. The install was flawless and nearly acoustically perfect. The custom remote flush-mounted in the center console that controls the radio, lighting, and various accessories is uber-trick, but I think the custom kick panels are my favorite.
• MTX is running a contest and giving away $4500 in stereo equipment and gear to the lucky few who create the best MTX commercial and post it online. Get the details!
• Sirius Satellite Radio got scooped! We’ve got pics of the newest Starmate 5 tuner, and it’s not actually due out for quite a few months. Thanks FCC!
• Need an iPhone or iTouch dock for your ride but can’t quite find the perfect solution? Until you do, you could just make your own using the contents that came in your iPhone’s box!

• Over the weekend we showed the first part in Alpine’s Sinister Six demo car build videos, and we wrapped it up with Part 2. It’s still hard to believe this beast started life as an $80,000 BMW 645…. The resemblance is there, but this demo car is a work of art!
• Griffin sent us a few of their in-car iPod charger/wireless transmitters to take for a test drive and we just finished our review of the first product. The gadget worked very well – we were impressed!
• Pioneer’s MINI-mino impressed us both on CarDomain and SoundDomain, so we couldn’t resist writing about it either! We got a few details on the product line-up and modifications, but not much info was available at press time. It’s definitely worth a second look and we’ll do our best to get even better details!