Where you one of those kids who would smash your toy cars together? If so, I bet your dream job lies in Sweden in Volvo’s crash test laboratory. More than 3,000 full-scale crashes have taken place, making this the most used and (still) most advanced crash research centre on the planet.

“We can replicate most of the accident scenarios that take place out on the roads. By analysing the results and then testing new safety technology, we can improve the safety level in our cars so that they become even safer in real-life traffic conditions,” said Thomas Broberg, senior safety advisor at Volvo Cars.

How advanced is this place? Well, they’ve just installed new cameras…that can take video at 200,000 frames per second.

“The degree of precision in a test in which two moving cars collide at 31 mph is 2.5 centimetres. This corresponds to two thousandths of a second. By way of comparison, a blink of the human eye takes about 60 thousandths of a second. This says a whole lot about the laboratory’s precision,” says Broberg.

Click through for some incredible facts about the safety center.

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Think the environment is important? Think auto manufacturers are hopelessly out to lunch? Well the photo above shows aluminum shavings that are collected at a General Motors plant and recycled to make new transmission parts.

Sixty-two per cent of GM plants have achieved “zero landfill” status, according to a release. That means all normal plant waste is reused or recycled. Forty-three per cent of the company’s global operations no longer send production waste to landfills.

The company says that on average, more than 97 percent of waste materials from GM’s zero landfill plants are recycled or reused and about 3 percent is converted to energy at waste-to-energy facilities replacing fossil fuels.

These initiatives will prevent more than three million metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emission reductions from entering the atmosphere this year.  Some of the materials recycled? More than 650,000 tons of scrap metal, 16,600 tons of wood, 21,600  tons of cardboard, and 3,600 tons of plastic.

A few years ago, I was opining that in-car technology was pitiful and useless — mostly because I had no way to connect my iPod to a car stereo — before the days of AUX-in and USB connections BMW and BlackBerry seem to have waded into the next generation of in-car apps with their latest Bluetooth update that allows drivers to have emails read aloud via the car stereo and iDrive.

Since I now think that anything opposed to the art of driving should be banned (even cupholders), this trend of allowing drivers to access email while behind the wheel makes me sick.
That said, if you’re so inclined, the feature will be rolled out first on the BlackBerry Peark 3G, but will soon extend to all devices running the BlackBerry 6 OS.

Video after the jump:

[Source: Phonescoop]

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We love (well, a few of us here love) superminis more than the latest and greatest supercars. Why? They’re honest, unpretentious, and the literal background of many countries across the globe. In South America, there is no typical  two-car garage — everything a family does is done in a small car, like the new Fiat Uno.

It’s slightly larger than the Panda yet smaller than the Punto. The interior is dead simple, with utilitarian controls, materials, and details — including a mesh “net” that fits over the passenger seat in order to carry more things when you’re alone in the vehicle.

Pictured above is the “Way” version, with more ground clearance and chunky looks — still front-drive, though! Engines are flex-fuel gasoline only (for the time being): 1-liter (73 horsepower on alcohol, 75 on gasoline) to 1.4-liter (88 horsepower on alcohol, 85 on gasoline.) Transmission? No fancy CVT or DSG here: the Uno gets a proper 5-speed manual.

GALLERY: Fiat Uno

As if old racing Porsches weren’t cool enough — we proudly display a “hippy” 917 on our desk — someone had the idea to paint new Porsches in historic liveries and go racing.

That series is the Cayman Interseries, established in 2009 by Napleton Porsche of Illinois. It’s sanctioned by Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) and is currently in its first full season. Like the Ferrari Challenge, a central organization (in this case, Napleton Porsche) supplies the 320-horsepower Cayman S models, as well as prepares them for racing and brings them to each track.

Check out the series website here, and enjoy video from round two at Road Atlanta after the jump.

Justin Timberlake as an IT specialist: worst idea ever? Audi apparently doesn’t feel the same way we do. We feel that nothing can come close to BMW’s The Hire series of Internet films, the other German luxury car maker seems to think that putting an ex-N’Sync member behind the wheel of an A1 to “save a life” will sell more cars. The series is called The Next Big Thing.

Alrighty then…

Here’s the synopsis, straight from Audi:

“Justin Timberlake is John Frank, a straight-laced IT specialist. He meets the mysterious Toni, played by Dania Ramirez. John can save her life. More is revealed in steps – that’s the idea. The tension builds until the finale – the final episode. There’s never a dull moment between episodes on the Internet, either. Interactive elements provide secrets, details and background about each episode: users get to know the characters, see the film from unusual perspectives, and flashbacks fill in the plot.”

Right. If you’re so inclined, you can view each episode here. And the reasoning behind the films?

“The timing for the film was not chosen at random, as you will be able to order the A1 soon,” said Peter Schwarzenbauer, Audi Board Member for Marketing and Sales. “The film is action-packed and entertaining, perfectly suited to the young target group of our A1. At the same time the movie provides kind of a virtual test drive: it shows skillful handling, technical refinement and presents the self-assured design of the A1.”

It could be worse: they could try and promote the car using an iPhone app. Oh. Wait. That totally happened. My bad.

See part 1 of 6 after the jump. And just a reminder, you can’t buy an A1 if you live in North America – because we’re not getting it.

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What’s faster, greener, has more traction, and cheaper to run than a “normal” Fiat 500 Abarth? Well, the title of this post and photo have given away the answer.

What does Atomik Cars do for you that Fiat doesn’t? First, they install some lithium ion batteries into the cuter-than-Hello Kitty Fiat 500. Then they install two electric motors, with direct drive to each wheel — making it all-wheel-drive. To top it off? Full carbon fiber bodywork. Oh yes. Zero to 60 is gone in 5.6 seconds, and top speed is just above 110 mph.

The body kit is cool, but we’d buy it only for its retro-look alloy wheels.

Price? How much do you think a limited-run (only 50 will be made) hand built all-electric carbon fiber car goes for these days? In a word: more money than would fit inside the 500.

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This idea treads dangerously close to our idea of a “hipster hitchhiking” app that combines GPS, iPhones, and gold leggings — currently in beta testing — but still, using your phone to find a ride to work is a brilliant idea.

Provided there are people who are going the same way and aren’t creeps, of course. This free RideRemedy app (for the first three months) doesn’t reveal the email addresses or phone numbers of those using the program. After three months of carpooling, the program costs $4.99 per year — with ten per cent of the proceeds going to organizations intent on improving the environment.

Other features include:

• • Find a ride, create a car pool, share a cab, reduce your carbon footprint and save time and money while doing so.
• • Privacy: RideRemedy does not share phone numbers or email addresses with other ride sharers.
• • Utilize in-app text messaging. Incur no additional costs for contacting ride sharers within the RideRemedy application.
• • Obtain just-in-time matches or post your ride weeks in advance.
• • Calculate dollar savings and CO2 emission reduction for each ride.
• • Set variable time and distance preferences for finding matches.
• • Share rides anywhere in the world that your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch has data service.

If you’re so inclined, head over to the iTunes Store and try it out.

No, somebody’s mother didn’t take her Halloween costume a little too far. The Bavarian Police, presumably unaware of the correlation between shopping bags and the BMW X3, are testing a version of the soft roader for highway duty.

The model in question is the X3 xDrive30d — complete with a stonking 218 horsepower six-cylinder diesel engine. Aside from that incredible powerplant, the X3 is adorned with enough LED lights to make an Audi jealous. From its hidden lights in the front bumper, to the rear hatch light show, you’d see this Bavarian cream puff a mile away.

Which is probably the point. That said, the last time we were on the autobahn, we were averaging just under 120 mph — in a diesel MINI — with half the horsepower. Maybe that weakling patrol car X3 isn’t so useless after all…

GALLERY: BMW X3 Police Cruiser

And here we thought our Nintendo NES (yes, the gray original one) was the best gaming system since sliced bread. Actually, this author one of the few people to have completely finished Gran Turismo 4…like three years ago. Heck, the Nissan GT-R was still a concept back then!

That GT5 has been such a wait is no surprise. But news that the latest will have support for 3D televisions makes us want to, um, cry. See, it’ll look amazing and everything, but we were happy with RC Pro-Am on our NES. We never even bought a steering wheel for our Playstation, but now we have to buy 3D glasses?

So much for impressing dates.

That said, even if you don’t have a 3D TV — or don’t plan on buying one — the new Gran Turismo has hundreds of cars, models from Ferrari and Lamborghini, and tracks from around the world (including our favourite, Tsukuba.) If the closest race track is too far away, this new sim may be the next best thing.

Click over the jump to watch the interview where 3D is confirmed.

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