While This May Not Be a Golden Age for Cars, This Podcast Is High Quality

The latest new-car quality report from J.D. Power is out and while it's good news for most auto makers, including GMC and Porsche, it also sparked a discussion about whether this is a Golden Age for cars.

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A review of the BMW 2002 from the 1960s highlighted how diverse the market was.

But since we are griping over the quality of infotainment systems instead of quality or performance, maybe Apple will be able to sneak into the cockpit as auto makers look to develop competitive offerings.

One company that is on the rise is Telsa, and they had to issue their first recall, but they did with class and style.

A golden version of a BMW 2002 from the Golden Age of cars

This Car Podcast Isn't Driverless, It's Flying on Autopilot

Another great episode with conversation on:

Telsa and Elon Musk working to bring "autopilot" systems to their vehicles.

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Apple is another company working to do something cool with cars, but in the infotainment area.

Flying cars are one thing, but flying electric-car helicopter hybrids from Terrafugia are something else and Mathew is all in.

But we're not as interested in taking the helm of the golf-cart hovercraft, which looks loud and hard to steer.

This Automotive Podcast Goes One Louder -- To 2014

General Motors bought back a sizable chunk of the shares from the U.S. Treasury, continuing its rebound and allowing the auto maker's executives to once again ride on corporate jets.

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Toyota took another step to clear off its unintended acceleration issues by settling a class-action lawsuit for over $1.1 billion. That's pocket change for the Japanese company that is already predicting record sales for 2013. It will be among the many car makers that boost North American production through 2014.

In other auto business news, Suzuki is getting out of the U.S. market with a bang, with sales surging in the final months.

Questionable winter driving advice

Mazda is trying to one-up other brands by tagging its redesigned Mazda6 sedan as a 2014 model, but that is preventing dealers from actually selling the cars before 2013.

Auto-related fatalities rose a bit in 2012, but the numbers aren't really bad.

Men continue to pay more than women for auto insurance, but in Europe its now against the rules to use gender to determine rates.

Finally, here are some of the best new gadgets for cars this year and a prediction that Apple will get into the auto business in 2013.

Swipe, Dial, Tap or Yell at This Automotive Podcast

Saab isn't dead yet. Well, we're not sure yet. But someone does appear interested in buying the guts of the Swedish car maker, yet again.

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Speaking of questionable, car rental companies aren't eager to make the commitment to fix all recalls on their fleets with great urgency.

Now, Apple is getting into the vehicular infotainment business by partnering with auto makers to offer a Siri button in cars and trucks. But will the fact that it will only work with Apple products limit it's appeal? Or annoy non-Apple users?

See more in this clever mirror.

Dial, voice, touch-screen, joystick, knob, touch-pad? Which one works better to control the infotainment system? The jury is still out.

Will iOS 6 kill some of the best driver and car-related apps? Possibly.

Vision is crucial to drivers. An ingenious new mirror shows vastly more than your traditional design.

The World Health Organization is warning that diesel fumes could be cancer causing to people who stand in the middle of highways collecting tolls or work in a mine. We are not shocked.

Finally, Formula One is coming back to the U.S. next year, and one driver got in some early laps this week at the track in New Jersey.

Real Smartphone Integration

Oxygen Audio O Series radio could mark the beginning of the next generation of car stereos. This device (another posting i found on Engadget.com) is made specifically for docking an iphone and gives you access to a ton of features according to the manufacturers site.

Enjoy your entire iTunes music collection, hands-free and Bluetooth™ calling, and access to all of your iPhone apps including: internet radio, travel itineraries, GPS, Google Maps™, Sirius/XM Satellite Radio™, Tripit, GasBuddy, BeatTheTraffic, RepairPal, etc, while at the same time charging your iPhone.

Seems like this could get picked up by auto makers who could use them as just one more customizable feature. Of course, I didn't see any other phones listed but with a few tweaks it could be done.

Hyundai's iPad Owners Manual One More Step Towards Luxury Brand?

David and I recently talked about Hyundai possibly creating a luxury brand under the name Genesis. Whether or not they actually create a separate brand, they are making themselves competitive in the luxury segment. Evidence of this is clear with the Hyundai Equus' new owners manual, a fully interactive app preloaded on a 16gb Apple iPad that comes with the car. The video (which I found while scrolling through engadget.com) is fairly impressive.



Not just text and corny diagrams in ebook format, but an actual app that looks pretty slick.


Im just wondering if Hyundai could at least release a Tucson owners manual even if they dont provide me with the tablet computer to read it on.