Hot Wheels is finding new ways to make their toys relevant and fun again, this time around launching a new product line called the iNitro Speeders which allows the user to control their little car through an iPhone app.

Similar to what you’d find with a standard remote controlled car, the iPhone app features your standard dual-stick controller but also takes advantage of the iPhone’s built-in accelerometer to control the car. Even cooler, you can use the app to choose a predefined driving route or draw your own pattern and watch it come to life with the miniature car.

And even though you can control the car with a standard remote control that’s included, taking advantage of the iPhone app really makes it different and fun. It comes with an infrared module that plugs into the iPhone’s headphone port and after you calibrate it you’ll be good to go. Lastly, the app has a built-in racing game that you can play without the remote controlled car, giving kids and young adults (like us) a little bit of everything to enjoy.

[Source: CNet]

Xatori Inc., the same company that created PlugShare, has released their second iOS application called GreenCharge. Building off the success of PlugCharge, which is the nation’s largest electric vehicle charging network, GreenCharge allows owners of electric vehicles to view real time battery data and to see and share the environmental and monetary benefits of owning their EV.

The app is currently only available on Apple devices for $9.99 and can sync directly with eligible electric vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf or Chevrolet Volt. It is also the first and only app that connects driving data with local energy pricing to give the user their costs of operating their electric car. And for those that are really green, the app will let them know the carbon offset from their driving.

Those that don’t yet own an electric vehicle but are considering one can also use the app on a demo car to simulate driving and cost information to see if an EV would be worth the investment. Lastly, no app would be welcomed in 2012 without the ease of sharing your info on Twitter and Facebook.

“I’ve talked to too many people who have been confused about the benefits and operating costs of an electric vehicle” said Forrest North, CEO of Xatori Inc. “We built GreenCharge to let EV owners understand their cars and educate others on the true environmental and monetary benefits of driving an electric vehicle.”

Check out a video highlighting the app’s functionality after the break.

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Cell phones behind the wheel— they’re a deadly plague on traffic safety that cause frequent and preventable crashes. Even worse is the fact that scores of mature drivers are just as guilty as any number of 16-year-old sidewalk terrors more concerned with texting back than taking the wheel.

One company is offering a solution that could help cut down on the number of cellular offenders endangering themselves and others. Scosche is offering a device that blocks cell usage in a car while the vehicle is in motion called CellCONTROL.

As with any new technology, compatibility is always a concern. All the same, Scosche insists that the CellCONTROL is broadly compatible and easy to use. Any car sold in the U.S. in 1996 or later was made with an OBD-II interface, which is all their system needs to work within the car. They also claim that it works with more than 1,200 different phones such as BlackBerry 4.5 and higher, Android 2.1 and above, yet the iPhone is unmistakably missing from their list.

Once installed, drivers will find that their phone is only accessible via bluetooth headset. Email, SMS and really everything that would take your eyes off the road is out of reach until the wheels stop spinning.

While this is certainly a step in the right direction, we wonder how many people will really use this device. It costs $129.95 on the company site, so after shipping and all costs, you’re likely to drop at least $150 when you can just as easily put the phone out of reach, say in a briefcase behind your seat.

The bluetooth headset should still reach at that range and you won’t be tempted to send snarky tweets while steering. Another obvious question: what about your passengers? Unless you’re the antisocial type or always drive alone, it would be a real nuisance for the co-pilot to be locked up as well.

That said, there are some great applications which are surefire selling points. Parents looking for a way to enforce safe driving habits probably wont bat an eyelash at a one-time expense to keep the kiddies safe. To sweeten the deal, the CellCONTROL gets a designated administrator, say mom or dad, and notifies them if someone tampers with the device.

It’s a good idea that parents will probably buy into, but unless insurance companies start offering discounts to drivers who install these things, it seems like a hard sell to the adult crowd.

Mercedes-Benz has a new collection of technological innovations set to debut at the upcoming 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) starting on January 10th, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. These new innovations encompass Mercedes-Benz’s vision for the future of driving.

Starting off with their mbrace2 system, Mercedes will show off its pioneering communications platform that has now expanded to offer a complete cloud-based system. The system enables a range of features and services related to safety, information, entertainment, personal assistance and vehicle care while offering cloud-based applications, traffic and navigation assistance, speech recognition, Internet browsing and searching, concierge services, automatic crash notifications and more. Mbrace2 will be offered standard on the newly revamped 2013 SL Class and will be standard in many more models this year.

In addition to the in-vehicle mbrace2 system, Mercedes will be demo’ing the mbrace2 smartphone app which allows drivers to communicate and send information to their vehicle prior to entering it. They will also be able to find their vehicle, lock and unlock it, set valet parking protection, receive geo-fence alerts and Send2Benz which connects to other drivers socially in order to find and navigate to one another.

Mercedes will also show off their latest suite of Advanced Driver Assistance System, a comprehensive active safety system that helps prevents accidents before they happen. On hand will also be a new Mercedes-Benz C350 coupe to demonstrate their upcoming DriveStyle iPhone app. The app allows drivers to interact with the vehicle rather than the phone in order to help minimize distractions and ultimately accidents.

To celebrate 125 years of the automobile, Mercedes will also have a F125! Research Vehicle in their booth. Geared towards presenting a visionary outlook on future technical developments in the luxury car market, the research vehicle will show off innovative new ideas and future trends that will find their way into luxury cars. The emission-free vehicle has a range of 621-miles.

Lastly, Mercedes will have their Dynamic & Intuitive Control Experience (DICE) simulator on display, allowing visitors to take a seat into the future and wave your hands to take control of the vehicle.

Ford is taking a clever approach to virtually revealing the new 2013 Fusion sedan before its official debut at the upcoming 2012 Detroit Auto Show. Using an app, now available on Android and iOS systems for smartphones and tablets, is an augmented reality game app where users can virtually drive the new Fusion through a series of worlds that unlock to reveal the car.

Each track is loaded with video clips featuring insight on technology and design from key Fusion team members. A daily video clip will unlock more content to the app every day with demonstrations of key vehicle features on the new 2013 Fusion.

When the vehicle finally debuts at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show, users will be able to unlock access to the full image of the car. At that point, they will also be able to drive any of the four Fusions on the virtual track in addition to creating a custom image of the car to share via Facebook or Twitter.

The all-new Ford Fusion will also be the Official Car of the 2012 CES show.

Check out an app walkthrough video after the break.

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If you play the EA Moble game Road Trippin’, you can expect to stop by Sears Auto Centers in your virtual travels.

Sears Auto Centers and BF Goodrich Tires have joined forces with EA Mobile, so players of the popular moble game can stop to tune up their cars, receive power boosts and earn extra points. And players can also earn discounts for their real cars from Sears and BF Goodrich as well.

“Mobile gaming is a great venue to introduce Sears Auto Center’s products and services to a new generation of customers,” said Lori Williams, Chief Marketing Officer for Sears Auto Centers. “With the number of mobile game players growing every day, Road Trippin’ enables Sears Auto to leverage this new marketing channel to engage with potential customers in a relevant way.”

You can download the game for free at the Apple iTunes store.

Take the brand new Volvo FH16 out for a spin… but be careful of obstacles. That’s the idea behind Volvo Trucks’ new game for smartphones and tablets.

Released to coincide with the 25^th anniversary of Volvo’s flagship truck, FH16 750 is an exciting and entertaining game that tests your lighting fast reflexes. The object of the game is to get rid of various obstacles that pop up and get in your way. To move to the next level (there are eight to get through), you need to accumulate enough points… and not crash your truck. The game also offers some interesting facts about the Volvo Trucks’ FH16-750.

“It’s easy to learn, but hard to master. If you’re good, you can get onto the high-score lists and boast about your results on Facebook or Twitter. There is also a contest on Worldtrucker, our online truck community, where weekly prizes are awarded,” said Niclas Hermansson, Digital Marketing Strategist at Volvo Trucks.

You can download the FH16 750 game for free at the Apple App Store, Android Market or Volvo Trucks’ game site To download the game, you need the iPhone 4/4S or iPad 2 or Android 2.3 phones or tablets with 480×800 screen resolution or higher.

Be sure to check out the game trailer after the jump.

Fanboys have been waiting for its arrival almost as long as Christians have been waiting for the second coming and now, lovers of Toyota‘s FT-86 sports car have a new way of passing the time until it arrives. Proving that there really is an App for everything, Toyota has just launched the “FT-86 World Report” App. Get ready to be disappointed.

It doesn’t let you race the FT-86 on the Nurburgring, or go behind the scenes of the creation or design of the car, or even have a great teaser of its exhaust note. Nope. Instead, the App let’s you digitally add a rendering of the FT-86 onto a photo you take and then upload it to the FT-86WorldREport.com website. Perhaps the only genuinely interesting part of this app is that you can see just how many others are as excited as you are about Toyota’s new affordable sports car.

Toyota will debut the FT-86 at the Tokyo Auto Show on November 30, with it’s sister car, the Subaru BRZ being unveiled the same day. The U.S. market Scion FR-S is expected to be unveiled at the New York Auto Show next spring.

Available for iPhone4, 4S and iPad2, download the app today here.

Watch the video after the jump:

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Looking to get yourself a nice little gift this holiday season to go with your brand new iPhone 4S? Silverlit is proud to offer you a Ferrari Enzo toy car that can be controlled through an iPhone app via Bluetooth. Even though we’re only offered a single photo of the toy car, we’re impressed by its details and we’re certain like other Silverlit products, it’s made from hobby grade material.

Leveraging the power of the iPhone and its versatility in app development, Silverlit’s Enzo offers more than your typical remote controlled car. Instead of just having forward, back, left and right controls, the app allows you to control the Enzo at various speeds, has a multi-racing steering and gives you the power to control the headlights, taillights and turning lights.

[Source: Ubergizmo]

Volvo has updated its near-iconic XC90 SUV for 2012, adding some exterior and interior changes along with some technology to make it more 2012-friendly. The newly refined SUV now features daytime running lights, giving the front more character along with its redesigned silver metallic bumper bar and silver roof rails. A subtle, but classy accent is a new color-coordinated lower door molding. In the rear, the taillights now have dual light guides, LED brake lights and a silver turn indicator bulb – though it still blinks orange. Lastly, 18-inch six-spoke wheels in a matte silver finish are now factory to the XC90.

“The XC90 still boasts all the virtues that have made it one of our most successful models ever. The spacious and flexible crossover combines excellent handling and comfort with superior get-you-there ability and flexibility. Now we have upgraded the XC90 with a number of features that emphasise the large SUV’s unique blend of sophisticated elegance and capable ruggedness,” says Peter Mertens, Senior Vice President Research and Development at the Volvo Car Corporation.

On the inside, Volvo has done several upgrades giving it a more luxurious feel. From the three-spoke steering wheel to the standard aluminum decor, Volvo has gone through all the tiny details of the interior enhancing every bit of it. Special models include an Exclusive Executive version and the sporty R-Design with the Exclusive Executive version adding more luxurious amenities including soft leather seats with ventilation and massage functions. The R-Design features redesigned upholstery, inlays, door panels and unique 19-inch wheels.

The 2012 XC90 will come powered by a 3.2L inline-six with 243-hp and 236 lb-ft of torque; and in some markets (not North America) two diesel options will be available. These include a D5 turbo diesel with 200-hp and 310 lb-ft of torque, or a FWD 2.4L five-cylinder D3 turbo diesel engine with 163-hp and 251 lb-ft of torque.

Technology enhancements include Volvo’s On Call system, Bluetooth integration and tight integration with Android and iOS devices. The mobile application allows owners to locate their XC90, start the heater remotely, check the vehicle’s dashboard data (fuel, average speed, odometer, etc.) and do a general “health” check of the vehicle.

GALLERY: 2012 Volvo XC90

Imagine having a gadget in your car that could tell you how fast to go to avoid stopping at the next light. Well, now you can. A network of dashboard smartphones can monitor traffic lights and congestion helping drivers avoid idling, cutting fuel use by 20 percent.

SignalGuru collects and analyzes traffic data from images captured on dashboard smartphones, to inform drivers of the most efficient routes. The researchers installed iPhones on car dashboards in Cambridge, Massachusetts and in Singapore, where traffic lights have fixed schedules. SignalGuru can predict when lights will change with an error margin of two-thirds of a second.

The SignalGuru study won a best paper award at last month’s Association for Computing Machinery MobiSys conference, but the program would require many users to be a real solution for traffic congestion.

“If you can save even a small percentage of that, then you can have a large effect on the energy that the U.S. consumes,” Emmanouil Koukoumidis, a Princeton PhD candidate and visiting researcher at MIT, was quoted as saying.

[Source: CNET]

Something to allow city-dwellers, sports car owners, or high-school principals to sleep easy at night: a new app for iPhones, Droids, and Blackberries will warn you when some @#%! is messing with your car, allowing you to dispense justice as you see fit.

Budding Charles Bronsons can take comfort in knowing that this is the first specific app designed for cars. Developed by Intel, it connects to your car’s existing security system and begins working when that is triggered. It can stream video (placed in and around the car, presumably) to a cloud server through WiFi, directly to your phone, or record it for World’s Wildest Police Videos.

Intel is also checking to see if the app can share data with carmakers, but that level of privacy intrusion may get messy. There’s no word on when the app will be finished, but for anyone who uses faculty parking, hopefully before the school year starts.

[Source: DVICE]