by Damon Lavrinc

With both Audi and Apple’s minimalist design ethos, it was simply a matter of time before they joined forces and offered a way to integrate the new iPhone across the four-ringed lineup. Any Audi model equipped with Bluetooth will allow the iPhone to be paired with the vehicle, giving users the ability to make and receive hands-free phone calls, as well as providing a signal strength indicator, assigning specific names to numbers (Work, Home, etc.) and allowing access to call lists.

On the music front, the addition of the Audi Music Interface will give the vehicles MMI system direct control of all the iPod capabilities of the iPhone, allowing users to navigate everything from playlists to albums. The AMI is available as an optional extra on the A5, A6, A8 and Q7, although we’d expect the full line of Audi vehicles to allow integration sooner rather than later.

[Source: Audi]

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FORD EDGE MUSIC FANS RESPONDING TO INNOVATIVE VIDEO PODCAST
Ford Edge and Rock River Music continue their series of downloadable full-length major label music video podcasts. More than 10,000 downloads have occurred.
March’s artists include Snow Patrol, Nelly Furtado, Peter Bjorn & John and La Rocca.

DEARBORN , Mich. March 16, 2007 – In February, Ford Edge launched the industry’s first free music video podcasts with its partner, Rock River Music. Music fans responded and downloaded more than 10,000 videos at http://www.fordvehicles.com/edgevideocast. The Edge podcast has consistently ranked in the Top 100 on the iTunes most played list throughout February.

This month’s artists include Snow Patrol, Nelly Furtado, Peter Bjorn & John and La Rocca.

“The first month’s response is further proof that we have found a unique way to connect Edge with consumer’s appreciation for music, style and technology,” says Dave Sanabria, cross vehicle marketing manager for Ford. “The video podcasts are a great way for us to showcase the Ford Edge and be relevant to that audience.”

The series of free music videos from Ford is also available at the Ford Edge Web site at www.fordvehicles.com/edgevideocast, iTunes and other music sites. Once somebody clicks on the series it will be delivered through RSS (really simple syndication) feed. Each month they will receive an automatic update of the series. All monthly episodes will be available for the full year.

About March’s Edge Vodcast Artists and Songs

Snow Patrol – You’re All I Have

UK natives Snow Patrol began as a modest indie rock band in the mid-90s, but in recent years their soaring, anthemic songwriting has propelled the band to headlining music festivals and multi-platinum record sales. The new single “You’re All I Have” is the latest from the album Eyes Open.

Nelly Furtado – Say It Right

For her latest album Loose, Nelly Furtado teamed with producer/genius Timbaland (Missy Elliott, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z) with typically stunning results. The song “Say It Right” features a spooky synth-driven melody recalling sophisticated ‘80s pop groups like the Eurythmics. It is the second single from the album to hit #1 in the U.S.

Peter Bjorn & John – Young Folks

This Swedish trio has been building quite a buzz lately. Their debut single “Young Folks” (featuring guest vocalist Victoria Bergsman of the Concretes) was one of the major indie hits in Europe last year. The band is set to tour the U.S. in April & May, kicking off at the prestigious Coachella Festival.

La Rocca – This Life

Irish band La Rocca, formed in Dublin in 2002, borrow thedeir name from a seedy bar in Bristol, England where they played early shows. Their auspicious debut album, The Truth, appeared in 2006 and is stuffed with instantly familiar melodies. One of the best is the bittersweet “This Life,” a song that recalls lost love with a glimmer of hope for the future.

About the Edge

Bold American design distinguishes the 2007 Ford Edge in the red-hot crossover utility vehicle market – along with a dynamic driving character and innovative features. Equipped with an all-new 265-horsepower V-6 engine and 6-speed automatic transmission, Edge will deliver performance, quietness and fuel efficiency. Ford Edge has impressive EPA estimated fuel economy of 25 mpg on the highway.

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures and distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With about 300,000 employees and more than 100 plants worldwide, the company’s core and affiliated automotive brands include Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury and Volvo. Its automotive-related services include Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford’s products, please visit www.fordvehicles.com.

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By Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY

For sleepless car owners who decide they need to check their tire pressure in the middle of the night, General Motors has a solution.
GM (GM) plans to introduce a remote-control key fob next April that will allow drivers to not only determine the pressure in each tire, but also check the odometer reading, see if there’s enough fuel in the tank to make it to work in the morning, change the radio station settings and see if they remembered to lock the car doors, to name a few.

The device will be a $150 option on Cadillac Escalade luxury SUVs and other full-size GM SUVs, pickups and crossover-utility vehicles.

“One of the overarching themes people told us they wanted was security and safety,” GM spokesman Tom Henderson says. Being able to reassure themselves about their vehicles without leaving the house is one way to satisfy that.

The feature builds on GM’s expertise as the first automaker to introduce remote start, which made its debut in the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu and now is available from other automakers and as an add-on accessory.

GM says it will be first to offer remote two-way communication with the vehicle using a liquid-crystal display on the fob. The fob will operate at four to six times the range of competitors’ keyless entry systems, GM says.

Automakers have been giving the remote-control key fob more and more tasks beyond the ability to lock or unlock the doors from a distance. Some will operate the power windows. Others are keyed to a car’s memory settings and reset seats, mirrors, stereo and other functions to the driver’s preference after a different driver has been using the vehicle.

BMW and Mercedes-Benz offer systems that adjust a vehicle’s seats and mirrors to a drivers’ personal preferences not from the fob, but as soon as the driver touches the outside door handle.

Volvo is planning a keyless entry system that can detect a heartbeat and alert the driver if someone is lurking inside the car. That’ll be introduced on a new version of the S80 sedan in the USA in February. The same technology, with some changes, should eventually be able to remind drivers if they forget and leave children in the car.

GM says its two-way fob will cost less than $100 to replace if it’s lost or broken. And it should be hard to break, Henderson says. For testing, it’s been dropped, dunked underwater and sprayed with saltwater.

GM says the feature probably will be considered a bargain. Consumer test panels showed that interest in the feature rose, rather than fell, when panel members were told what GM planned to charge.

[Sorce USA Today

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Buy a Jaguar, get a RAZR. And an iPod. Perfect stocking stuffers that when opened and the laser engraved Jaguar logo noticed, could lead your loved one to rush outside to see the real present in the driveway. What a cute image. If it shows up in a commercial, we want royalties.

Besides the customized looks on the phone and pod, the iPod even comes pre-loaded with

Jaguar content including XKR: 90 Brand Film, XK “Attractive” TV commercial and a Jaguar history film. The phone and video/MP3 player are part of the new XJ Holiday Technology Package, which will be standard on all XJ sedans sold between November 13, 2006 and January 2, 2007.

Making the gift even better is the fact that the XJ features Jaguar’s Audio Connectivity Module, which integrates the iPod seamlessly into the car’s stereo. The now standard Bluetooth on all 2007 XJs will also allow most basic cell phone functions to be handled through the on-board vehicle controls. That includes the steering wheel buttons, audio system keypad or navi/info touchscreen.

[Source: Jaguar]

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By Noah Joseph on modena

Aluminum giant Alcoa has opened a new facility in Modena specifically to provide aluminum space frames and components to Ferrari.

The two companies began collaborating in 1994, when Ferrari determined that the lightweight metal was the way to go to reduce weight and improve the dynamics of its road cars, and began producing the space frames for the 360 Modena in 1998. Today Alcoa is Ferrari’s development and construction partner, with the aluminum conglomerate providing the frames for the F430, 612 Scaglietti and the new 599 GTB Fiorano.
Until now, Alcoa produced the components at their own plants in Hungary, Germany and the Netherlands and sent them to the Ferrari factory in Italy where Alcoa personnel assembled them into full space frames at Scaglietti Works, Ferrari’s body panel facility. With the new state-of-the-art 5,000-square-meter, million-euro facility, Alcoa will produce the space frames on site. The factory includes two high-speed robotic machining centers, two robotic joining centers and 12 space-frame assembly cells.
Alcoa’s overall investment in Italy totals nearly $300 million, having taken over Alumix in 1996 and incorporating six facilities: three extrusion plants, two smelters and one rolling mill, employing 1,900 workers directly and 4,000 indirectly. While we’re not likely to see any direct results from the new facility, it should help Ferrari produce its cars more efficiently, which is good all around.
[Source: FerrariWorld via Motorpasion]

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