Monthly Archives: May 2015

Nissan, Toyota recall 6 million cars over Takata air bags

The Takata air bags issue is still happening, and as of today both Nissan and Toyota have initiated a massive recall with a combined total of 6.56 million cars globally. The recall is the latest to be initiated over the Takata air bags, which are prone to malfunction due to moisture seeping into the components. More than 10 car manufacturers have recalled about 25 million cars so far because of the problem which has, unfortunately, resulted in at least six deaths.

Of the recall, 5 million of the recalls are coming from Toyota, which points to the “certain types of air-bag inflaters [that were] found to have a potential for moisture intrusion over time.” In Nissan’s case, the air bag defect affects its passenger-side air bag.

Read full post here:
https://www.slashgear.com/nissan-toyota-recall-6-million-cars-over-takata-air-bags-13383486/

Mad Max turns Wilton Silver Mist into Amazon review star

What you’re about to witness is the Mad Max-based War Boys taking on the likes of the open market. Searching for the best silver spray paint for their trip to Valhalla, the War Boys have found the most ideal product of them all – Wilton Silver Color Mist. In contrast with the 2015 film Mad Max, this particular can of spray is non-toxic. In the film, the War Boys used chrome spray to end their lives in a blaze of glory. With this product, they suggest they’ve get the best of both worlds.

Being able to spray your face silver without also getting the negative effects of infected gums and skin – that’s a great sort of value-added experience! What you’re about to see is the cross-over between the real world and the imaginative. The fans of the film Mad Max and the fairly open environment of the Amazon product review process.

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https://www.slashgear.com/mad-max-turns-wilton-silver-mist-into-amazon-review-star-27385430/

Amazon Prime makes same-day delivery free in 14 cities

It seems Amazon is continuing its push to improve delivery service in the face of rivals trying to challenge the internet shopping giant. The company just announced that it is making its same-day delivery option free for select Prime subscribers, doing away with the previous $5.99 fee. Amazon says orders will need to be over $35 and placed before noon on the day of delivery. The other limitations include that the service is only available in 14 metropolitan areas, and on roughly one million products.

Amazon promises that customers who choose same-day delivery will receive their packages by 9:00 pm on the day they order. The funny thing here is that Amazon’s other super quick delivery option, dubbed Prime Now, already offers free same-day shipping with delivery in two hours or less. And Prime Now is already available in three of the cities included in the now free same-day delivery option: New York, Baltimore, and Atlanta.

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https://www.slashgear.com/amazon-prime-makes-same-day-delivery-free-in-14-cities-28385582/

Amazon Echo adds Google Calendar support

Amazon’s Echo home assistant has quietly added another talent to its PA abilities, with a new update integrating Google Calendar with the cylindrical speaker. The firmware upgrade, which will be automatically pushed out to Echo units in the wild, allows limited voice control over calendar events and scheduling: you can ask the gadget to give a summary of what’s on the agenda for that day, or just request a reminder of the next scheduled event.

For the moment, the only commands supported are relatively passive. You can ask “Alexa, what’s on my calendar tomorrow at 9PM?” or “Alexa, what’s on my calendar Saturday?” but actually adding an appointment isn’t supported.

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https://www.slashgear.com/amazon-echo-adds-google-calendar-support-29385965/

Google’s VR circle is now complete: Cameras to Cardboard

Google’s virtual reality ecosystem is now prepared to handle the public, with everything from low-cost VR headsets to YouTube 360. What we’ve got here is a full ecosystem, with the three main components ready to roll. The first step is providing the means to capture media, in this case 360-degree cameras – while Google’s own 360-rig systemGoogle Jump isn’t quite prepared for the public as yet, they’ve already released tools for creatives with their own 360-capable cameras to upload to YouTube. Therein lies the second step: providing a place for creative people to share the media they’ve created – YouTube, of course.

The third step is providing a way for people to consume the media – turning the switch on YouTube 360-view’s Cardboard VR capabilities did the trick this week. Now Google has a VR-capable ecosystem for capturing, sharing, and consuming media.

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https://www.slashgear.com/googles-vr-circle-is-now-complete-cameras-to-cardboard-29385916/

Project Ara makes history in brief I/O appearance

Project Ara may not have had the staring role at I/O today, but that didn’t stop Google’s modular phone from making history in its scant moments on-stage. The Google ATAP session was dominated by Projects Soli and Jacquard, but Ara made a one-final-thing appearance at the very end to show off its now-functional hot-swappable modules and even demonstrate its camera skills.

Efforts to show a booting Ara at I/O last year weren’t a success, with the “demo gods” failing to smile on Google’s efforts. This time around there was no such hesitancy: after the various modules were snapped into place on the “endo” skeleton framework, ATAP software lead Rafa Camargo hit the power button and the device booted into Android.

Actually, though, not every slot on the “endo” was occupied. Camargo had left the camera module off, opting to slide it into place when the phone was already running.

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https://www.slashgear.com/project-ara-makes-history-in-brief-io-appearance-29385950/

Uber’s updated privacy policy spooks some users

Uber, amidst its various unveilings and announcements this week, has updated its privacy policy to do two things: make it more accessible for the average user (in terms of length and jargon), and to highlight some changes that are coming to the service. The first part is welcomed — the new privacy policy, which was first released last year amidst concerns, is half the length it formerly was, and has less jargon that might confuse riders. The other part, though, highlights upcoming changes that have spooked some users.

Uber’s Katherine Tassi, the company’s managing counsel of data privacy, detailed the updated privacy policy in a blog post on Thursday. In it she points toward its simplification, saying the new policy is filled with “much less legal jargon”, as well as being shorter.

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https://www.slashgear.com/ubers-updated-privacy-policy-spooks-some-users-29385986/

Google wants to make your life the password

Our digital lives are punctuated by an increasing number of PINs, fingerprint scans, and other security hurdles, but an Android project could end all that. The Google ATAP team has been working on a new authentication system, publicly revealed at I/O 2015 this week for the first time, which bypasses explicit codes and biometrics, and instead uses ongoing user-recognition to figure out who you are simply by how you use your phone.

The goal, ATAP chief Regina Dugan explained, was to identify users not by what they type, but how they type it; not by what they say, but how they say it.

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https://www.slashgear.com/

Windows 10 preview build 10130: Cortana shortcut and more

Microsoft has pushed out the latest Windows 10 Insider Preview build, bringing it to build 10130. Because the builds are fairly far along at this point, they no longer bring with them big changes that add big features — rather, at this point, it’s more polishing things up and tweaking things when needed. As such, you’ll find a lot of smaller changes with build 10130, perhaps some that you were hoping would happen, including things as simple as a new shortcut for Cortana to customization of the Start experience.

There are some new icons, which those with the build can find in the File Explorer. There’s the aforementioned ability to customize the “Start experience”, as Microsoft calls it — this can be done by heading into Settings and then Personalization, followed by the Start menu. Options include stuff like full-screen “Start”, display recent items, and more.

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https://www.slashgear.com/windows-10-preview-build-10130-cortana-shortcut-and-more-29385976/

HidnSeek tracks objects over long distances using Sigfox network

There are a lot of things in your life that you likely consider worth tracking: that expensive drone you bought but can’t quite operate yet, your luggage on its slow trek to your destination, maybe even a pet or a child if you’re feeling particularly cautious. There’s no lack of Bluetooth tracking devices on the market, but their range limits their usefulness. Trackers that use cellular networks and GPS fill the void, and HidnSeek is the latest among them, but with a twist: it uses the Sigfox network instead.

HidnSeek is about the size of a thumb drive, using SigFox network connectivity and GPS to track and broadcast its data to the user (who uses a related mobile app on their smartphone). SigFox has somewhat extensive coverage in Europe, and efforts are underway elsewhere. The advantage of this over Bluetooth is that you can track an object over much farther distances, and without substantial monthly cellular fees.

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https://www.slashgear.com/hidnseek-tracks-objects-over-long-distances-using-sigfox-network-29385989/

Awair monitors your home or office’s air quality

Your home’s air quality might be suffering thanks to the traffic or businesses around you, but you might not realize it. Many of the problems in the air can’t be detected without help until they reach fairly serious levels, and so to prevent them from reaching that point we turn to air monitoring technologies. Fortunately, those technologies have become relatively inexpensive over the years and as such have found their way into homes. Awair is the latest example of this, serving as a stereo-like device (it looks like a stereo, is all) that keep tabs on nasties in the air.

Awair is the brainchild of Bitfinder, a San Francisco startup looking to improve your home’s air quality. Awair is a rectangular device that sits on a stand and creates a score based on its analysis of the air it pulls in. This includes basic things like humidity and temperature, as well as more precise things like volatile organic compounds, CO2, and dustiness.

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https://www.slashgear.com/awair-monitors-your-home-or-offices-air-quality-29385991/

IBM staff can now choose a Mac as their work computer

Last summer’s partnership between Apple and IBM has proven extra-special for the latter company’s workers — as of yesterday IBM employees can choose to use a Mac as their work computer rather than a PC, removing the shackles from a company that has been out of the PC business for many years. The change took place on Thursday, and it didn’t take long for IBM employees to praise the decision on their social accounts. A quick peek at Twitter shows that many will be requesting Macs instead of their PCs.

IBM revealed the change to its workers via a memo, which says that when it is time for them to get a new workstation, whether by way of employment or a hardware refresh it seems, they’ll be able to choose a MacBook Pro or a MacBook Air rather than a PC as their workstation.

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https://www.slashgear.com/ibm-staff-can-now-choose-a-mac-as-their-work-computer-29385993/

Uber’s self-driving research car is spotted on the street

Uber is testing out its self-driving cars on the public roads of Pittsburgh around its new research institute at Carnegie Mellon University, the Center for Advanced Technologies (CAT). Uber recently posted job openings for its CAT, specifically hunting for “motion planning engineers” among other research positions–Uber may even still have some openings.

Uber’s self-driving car was seen to have a rotating device mounted to the roof of the car. When prodded for more information about the mysterious vehicle, Uber spokesperson Trina Smith said, “this vehicle is part of our early research efforts regarding mapping, safety, and autonomy systems.” She didn’t reveal much considering that those points are the entire purpose of Uber’s CAT.

Smith may be keeping her lips sealed on Uber’s research endeavors because of all of the competition on the frontier of self-driving cars. Google aims to have self-driving cars on the market by 2020, after having begun research back in 2010.

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https://www.slashgear.com/ubers-self-driving-research-car-is-spotted-on-the-street-22384808/

Mercedes and Qualcomm team on wireless charging cars

Your Mercedes-Benz EV may soon wirelessly charge just like a Formula-E car, with Daimler inking a deal with Qualcomm around high-tech car gadgetry. The two companies are partnering up on automotive development, including wireless charging both for cars and the smartphones and tablets inside them, as well as ways to get connected cars online and at high speed while on the move. ForQualcomm, it’s an opportunity to branch out beyond the increasingly competitive smartphone chipset market.

There, the mobile processor firm has seen rising challenges as big names like Apple and Samsung develop their own silicon rather than look to specialists like Qualcomm for chipsets such as the Snapdragon.

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https://www.slashgear.com/mercedes-and-qualcomm-team-on-wireless-charging-cars-24385062/

Bentley Bentayga SUV spied testing on Nurburgring

Bentley has been making some of the most luxurious and expensive vehicles in the world since the company was formed. Often these land yachts have massive engines that give the big luxury cars decent straight line performance, but this side of a Bentley racecar the vehicles were never meant to handle like a racer. They are designed for comfort and style.

Often carmakers will whip their new rides around the famed Nurburgring in Germany and then advertise that handling was tuned on the famous racetrack. That leaves many automotive enthusiasts wondering why the automakers bother testing some vehicles on the Nurburgring since they will never, ever see racetrack use by sane buyers.

Such is the case with the video of the Bentley Bentayga SUV that turned up recently. The big SUV was spied trying to tackle the high-speed corners of the track and things weren’t going so well it looks like the SUV was a handful for the driver and the big beast wallows in the corners like a pig in slop.

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https://www.slashgear.com/bentley-bentayga-suv-spied-testing-on-nurburgring-25385119/

Chevy has 6,000 unsold first Gen Volts on Dealer Lots

Back in April Chevrolet announced that it would be stopping production go the first generation of the Volt for four weeks to allow dealers time to sell off inventory that was sitting around. While production was down for first generation Volt, the time would be used to get production on the new version of the Volt ready to go. The 2016 Volt will be better all around than the original version of the car.

Chevy promises the 2016 Volt will have a longer electric driving range and better fuel economy than the original. That four-week delay in production hasn’t resulted in the sales of first generation Volt’s that Chevy had hoped for.

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https://www.slashgear.com/chevy-has-6000-unsold-first-gen-volts-on-dealer-lots-25385117/

Audi R8 e-tron concept is ready to drive itself

Just two months ago, Audi revived the R8 e-tron to take another stab at the electric vehicle market. Now it is taking it further, this time with very little help from humans. Trying to smash stereotypes again, Audi is revealing a new self-driving car that is something no other electric car has tried to be: a sports car. Based on the Audi R8 e-tron, this EV is no underdog, boasting a range of 450 km (279.6 mi), an acceleration of 3.9 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h, all on two electric motors each spewing 170 kW of power. And it can drive itself.

Autonomous vehicles aren’t usually associated with sports-like performance, mostly because of the inherent risks of driving at top speeds. Of course, Audi won’t take no for an answer and has merged two of the most unlikely features to work hand in hand in a single concept car.

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https://www.slashgear.com/audi-r8-e-tron-concept-is-ready-to-drive-itself-26385188/

Dodge gives gamers the extreme supercar the Viper wishes it was

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has taken the wraps off a few images teasing the SRT Tomahawk Vision Gran Turismo, a mean-looking single seater concept car with a hybrid powertrain and exclusive designation for Gran Turismo 6. It’s a big tease, in that three of the images show close-up shots of different aspects of the car but only one shows a full shot…which is far away and obscured with fancy electric trails. No matter: from what you can see it is obvious the SRT Tomahawk concept is a beastly car, and we’ve a gallery of it after the jump.

The car will be arriving exclusively in the game Gran Turismo 6, and this is your first look at it — it’s red, at least in the image, and decked out with sharp, sloping curves. Check out the last image (in the gallery below), and you can see side-profile of the front end.

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https://www.slashgear.com/dodge-gives-gamers-the-extreme-supercar-the-viper-wishes-it-was-29385918/

Aston Martin on ICE: James Bond for a Day with American Express by Invitation Only

Traveling can be hard enough without having to worry about booking flights, hotels and planning out what or where to eat. If you’re the type that’s used to the high life or simply prefer to have someone else do the heavy lifting when it comes to making travel plans, then the American Express Platinum card is worth considering. More than just a credit card, I’ve been finding that the services and benefits included when you have it in your wallet are worth their weight in platinum.

As a frequent traveler, it’s not unusual for me to find myself in three different time zones in the same week. In February alone, I clocked 58,000 miles in the air, and many of them I relied onAmerican Express travels to assist with bookings.

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https://www.slashgear.com/aston-martin-on-ice-james-bond-for-a-day-with-american-express-by-invitation-only-27375644/

2016 Jaguar XF pairs low-weight and high-tech

Jaguar has taken the wraps off the new Jaguar XF, a new luxury sedan set to take on BMW’s 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz’s E-Class, and promising not only sports performance but economy too. Following in the tiremarks of the aluminum-centric architecture of the larger XJ, and borrowing the styling of the smaller Jaguar XE, the new XF has a near 50:50 weight distribution and uses the Configurable Dynamics system that debuted on the F-Type convertible and coupe. With that, Jaguar says, the rear-wheel drive XF should deliver the same stability as an AWD car. However, the company also claims, the XF will be capable of up to 70 mpg, though probably not in the US.

That’s because that particular model uses a four-cylinder, 161 HP diesel engine paired with a manual transmission, two things that generally don’t make it to the North American market in this sort of luxury car.

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https://www.slashgear.com/2016-jaguar-xf-pairs-low-weight-and-high-tech-24375122/

Lincoln Continental Concept quietly sneaks in luxury

While others make a great noise about their latest, greatest, and most luxurious, Lincoln is of the opposite mindset. It believes that luxury isn’t loud, obnoxious, or in your face but one that is quietly just that: luxurious. That is the statement and the gamble that the car maker is willing to make with the return of the Lincoln Continental, not as a final version but as a concept preview of what is to come. Somewhat ironically, due to the name’s history, the revelation is causing some noise in the automobile world.

The Lincoln Continental Concept is meant to exude luxury very quietly, both without, within, and deeper inside. On the outside, the design of the car seems to suggest a unified, flowing whole. The all new front-grille, for example, is a single piece that features a repeating Lincoln Star pattern. The tail lamp extends through the whole width of the rear. And the door handles utilize E-Latch technology, enabling it to hide n the belt line, preventing them from breaking the side profile’s surface.

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https://www.slashgear.com/lincoln-continental-concept-quietly-sneaks-in-luxury-30375994/

This is the 2016 Lexus RX

Lexus has taken the wraps off of the 2016 RX, its all-new update to the best-selling luxury SUV. Revealed at the New York International Auto Show today, the new car pushes Lexus’ distinctive design language, with a huge, angular grille, “floating roof”, and more aggressive stance. Inside, meanwhile, there’s a greater focus on safety and infotainment, with Lexus pushing down the cost of adding on things like smart cruise control and pedestrian-spotting.

Don’t underestimate the significance of the new RX. It’s Lexus’ single most popular model in the US, making up more than 30-percent of all the company’s sales in the country last year. In the segment, meanwhile, it accounts for around 25-percent of sales across all marques.

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https://www.slashgear.com/

Inside CT6: The Cadillac putting German luxe on notice

It’s hard to overstate quite how important the 2016 CT6 is to Cadillac. Absent for some time from the full-size luxury segment, Cadillac needs a flagship that can not only take on BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and others in features, but convince drivers that its brand of American Luxury deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the Germans. And while toothy BMW-baiting monsters like the CTS-V may fill a niche, there’s nothing like a vast uber-luxe sedan to make your case.

Cadillac’s design language is instantly recognizable, and translates well, for the most part, to this newest car. The front is undoubtedly its best angle, where the slices of LED lighting cut neatly down into the lower air intakes, while the broad grille bulges eagerly.

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https://www.slashgear.com/

Devil in the Details: Up close with Lincoln’s Continental Concept

When you’re resurrecting a name most associated with pampered land-yachts of the 60s and 70s, you can either fight it or – as Lincoln has with the new Continental Concept- embrace it, shag pile and all. A vision in navy blue and chrome, the meaty sedan previews, so the Lincoln Motor Company says, next year’s production Continental, undoubtedly shedding some of the more outlandish features in favor of commercial viability. That’ll be a shame, though, since as I discovered at the New York Auto Show today, what the Continental Concept excels at is detailing.

Some concept cars, you suspect, would fall apart if you breathed on them too heavily. Others, like this Lincoln, feel so solid that you suspect you could – if you didn’t mind running over a few of your fellow show-stand visitors – drive it straight out of the convention center and onto the streets of NYC.

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https://www.slashgear.com/devil-in-the-details-up-close-with-lincolns-continental-concept-01376669/

This insane SUV is what happens when Range Rover lets loose

Picture the scene: you’re filthy rich, addicted to luxury, and have a secret ambition to drive around the automotive equivalent of a stately home/battleship hybrid. Just for you,Range Rover has whipped the SVAutobiography out of the garage, the pinnacle of both the marque’s premium SUV line, and of its Special Vehicle Operations customs division. Differentiating itself from not only rivals but its own, more affordable siblings by virtue of flexibility, the true meaning of SVAutobiography is being able to get as luxurious – or ridiculous – as your wallet might allow.

Even in (relatively) restrained form at the New York Auto Show today, the SVAutobiography proved striking. Range Rover has given it a duo-tone paint-job, evoking a bygone era of luxury sedans from Bentley and Rolls Royce, and of course you can pick from the company’s range of nine lower body colors to match the Santorini Black upper body.

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https://www.slashgear.com/this-insane-suv-is-what-happens-when-range-rover-lets-loose-01376613/

Audi Prologue allroad previews wireless hybrid charging

Audi has added a third model to its Prologue line of luxury concepts, the Prologue allroad, a plug-in hybrid intended for adventure away from the tarmac. Borrowing the dominant grille design of the previous Prologue and Prologue Avant, as well as the long hood, the allroad opts for meatier wheel arches and sizable 22-inch wheels inside them, while driver and passengers get pre-emptive luxury with an onboard computer that not only recognizes who’s getting in, but adjusts the seats and climate control to their preconfigured preferences.

On the outside, much of the charm is in the detailing. The huge grille – Audi calls it “Singleframe” – is flush in the fascia, and bracketed by wedge-shaped headlamps with laser lights. Each light can refocus its beam on different aspects of the road ahead, paving the way to better illumination of corners and pedestrians without dazzling oncoming drivers.

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https://www.slashgear.com/

Rolls-Royce unveils Project Cullinan SUV engineering mule

Last February, luxury car maker Rolls-Royce surprised the automobile industry by declaring that it will be dipping its toes into the SUV segment, though of course it prefers not to call it that. Dubbed Project Cullinan, this “Effortless Everywhere” all-terrain motor car would be poised to take on the Bentley Bentayga in almost everything, probably including the price. Fast-forward two months later, Rolls-Royce is giving the public a peek at the first step in that new dream, an engineering mule that will kickstart the development and testing phase of the SUV all-terrain motor car.

This engineering mule, as you might already guess from its name, exists solely to become the testbed for Rolls-Royce’s on-road and off-road tests, a sort of guinea pig, though that seems like an inappropriate name for a car of this caliber. The car maker says very little in the way of the car’s abilities and focuses instead on the rigorous tests it will go through. It will drive through various surfaces, initially on-road paths, including Belgian Pavé, cobblestones, corrugated concrete, noise development and measurement surfaces, resonance road, and acceleration bumps.

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https://www.slashgear.com/

Trackside with Cadillac’s new 464 horsepower ATS-V coupe and sedan

Now in its third generation, Cadillac’s sporty V Series is starting to expand. Where there was once just the hardcore CTS-V, now there’s a more street-focused CTS V Sport and the all new ATS-V. Cadillac tells us that this broadening of the range allows it to better focus its V Series vehicles on the needs of more specific sort of drivers. In the words of a Cadillac representative this week at an event at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, “the new ATS-V is more of a scalpel where the CTS-V is a sledgehammer.”

The idea here is that while the new, 640-horsepower CTS-V continues to grow into an ever more powerful brute in a suit, the 2016 Cadillac ATS-V can serve a different role as the brand’s driver’s car.

Read full post here:
https://www.cnet.com/

Bentley uses iPhone 6 to shoot new ‘Intelligent Details’ short film

Ultimate luxury automaker Bentley is back with another one of its short film/documentary/promotional videos, once again shot entirely with Apple’s iPhone. As a new entry in Bentley’s “Intelligent Details” series, the video focuses on detailing the Savile Row Bespoke exhibition currently on display in Washington D.C., in which Bentley serves as a main sponsor. The car company also teamed with filmmaker Austin Reza, who also directed the first video focusing on Bentley’s Mulsanne.

Posting them on YouTube, Bentley has actually released two videos; the standard film promoting the exhibition, as well as a behind the scenes look at how Apple’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were used. It seems Reza used many of the same techniques as last year, but replacing the iPhone 5S with the latest model. Some of the other equipment used included a MoVI M5 stabilized camera system, a BeastGrip Pro for mounting lenses, and FiLMiC Pro on the software side.

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https://www.slashgear.com/

Gold Apple Watch Edition models begin arriving for first customers

This was a good weekend for some of the first customers who ordered the gold Apple Watch Edition when went on sale over a month ago. A number of purchasers have shared that they began receiving notification emails of pending delivery, as well as charges on their credit cards, indicating their orders had shipped. As evidence of the extra service and support Apple is providing with the luxury smartwatch model, customers also received emails allowing them to select specifics time they’s like their order to be delivered.

The emails even came from “edition_support@apple.com,” an account clearly meant to only handle communication with purchasers of the Apple Watch Edition. Recipients were invited to reply or call Apple with a preferred delivery time (as long as it fit within specific hours), something that has never been offered before with purchases from the company.

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https://www.slashgear.com/