Filed under: MPG

Shortly after the crew at Britain’s AutoExpress magazine squeezed 50 mpg out a MINI John Cooper Works special, they decided to evaluate the real impact of various factors on fuel consumption. In order to make the test results as accurate as possible, the AutoExpress team headed to the Millbrook Proving Ground, an independent test facility originally built by General Motors. The engineers ran a series of tests over a 7.75 mile loop with varied driving conditions in a Vauxhall Astra. The engineers monitored engine parameters to compute fuel consumption. For a baseline they ran the loop at an average speed of 29 mph with everything turned off and the windows up. In this condition they recorded an average of 25.4 mpg. They then proceeded to try different combinations such as turning on the air conditioning, lowering the tire pressure to only 20 psi, rolling down the windows, carrying three adult passengers in the back seat and putting on a roof box and bike rack.

All the variables increased fuel consumption to some degree but there were some surprises in the magnitude. With the tire pressures reduced to 20 psi, the mileage dropped just over 0.6 mpg to 24.73 mpg. This may be due to the same factors that Michelin’s Bob Massa talked about during the Audi Mileage Marathon. Modern steel belted radial tire construction actually results in very tiny deformation of the contact patch with tire pressure. Just as pumping up the tires above suggested values would yield little improvement in mileage, so too it seems at least at this pressure it has tiny impact. Perhaps if the pressure dropped down to 10 psi more difference would be apparent. Check out the rest of the results at AutoExpress.

[Source: AutoExpress]

AutoExpress looks at MPG myths, little impact from tire pressure originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 27 Oct 2008 09:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, Features, HTC, Sony Ericsson, ATT, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, Windows Mobile, GSM, EDGE, EV-DO, HSDPA, UMTS, CDMA

2008 was, to say the least, a banner year for Windows Mobile hardware. Windows Mobile software… well, that’s another story; we’re still patiently waiting for the same thorough overhaul we’d hoped for years ago, but in the meantime, manufacturers have done an absolutely stellar job of taking the platform to its limits and packaging it in ways that could make any smartphone envious. For this first time, VGA screens (and beyond) have come to market en masse, and — unlike the 8525s, Tilts, Moguls, and XV6800s of yesteryear, the latest batch of QWERTY sliders look like they’ve actually got a lick of intelligent industrial design in their DNA.

So these puppies are similar, yes, but they’re not the same — so let’s take a swift look at what separates the Sprint Touch Pro, from the Verizon Touch Pro, from the AT&T Fuze, from the Sony Ericsson X1 (whew!).

Continue reading Fuze, X1, and a couple Touch Pros: the ultimate WinMo smackdown

Fuze, X1, and a couple Touch Pros: the ultimate WinMo smackdown originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Sat, 27 Dec 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Industry, ABC, MyNetworkTV, Advertising

While LIN Television and Time Warner Cable remain embroiled in all sorts of disagreements, two of the company’s stations in the Hartford-New Haven, Connecticut area are gearing up to trial Backchannelmedia’s TV-to-Internet click through technology. If you’ll recall, we first heard of this worrisome interactive advertising platform back in May when MGM Grand at Foxwoods signed on. Now, WTNH (ABC) and WCTX (MyNetworkTV) have also concurred to participate in the company’s market trial, which is set to start next month. In essence, it will give viewers the capability to click on “non-intrusive icons at the bottom of the their Television screen” in order to bookmark offers for on the internet viewing; obviously, all of the response data is forwarded on for use in soliciting more cash from advertisers. Why does the idea of having to engage with ads sound so dreadful from here?

Two LIN TV stations to trial Backchannelmedia’s TV-to-Internet ad platform originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen self-parking cars before, but Ford’s system — part of the company’s new power steering technology — not only works on hills (unlike the Lexus), but employs sensors that are also used on the road to monitor blind spots and notify the driver of approaching traffic. The auto-parking technology is set to debut on the 2010 Lincoln MKS sedan and Lincoln MKT luxury crossover vehicle, while the new-school power steering — which uses the vehicle’s battery rather than its hydraulic system, improving fuel economy and reducing carbon emissions in the process — should be popping up in almost ninety percent of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles by 2012. Pretty soonish, by auto industry standards, but not soon enough for the nation’s tenth graders, who will need to perfect their three point turns if they want to get their licenses before the Spring Fling.

Filed under: Transportation

Ford announces self-parking cars, future 16 year olds completely psyched originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Dec 2008 13:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sure, that Photoshopped image of the VAIO P we got on Sunday wasn’t the real deal, but it looks like it might have some relation to reality — Sony’s got a teaser up for a “VAIO New Mobile” that includes some brief shots of a very swank-looking keyboard and tracking nub. We’ll be honest — we’re totally stoked to check this thing out at CES. Counting the days! One more shot after the break.

[Via Pocketables]

Continue reading Sony teases the VAIO P’s keyboard and tracking nub

Filed under: Laptops

Sony teases the VAIO P’s keyboard and tracking nub originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 22:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The SwirlyTeam has released a swift update for SwirlyMMS, a homebrew application that lets iPhone users send MMS messages. This bumps the application up to version 1.2.1. The developers describe this update as minor, with the most notable change being that the text in an MMS now has a more massive font and a white background. This update also includes a few bugfixes along with improved error handling and error messages. SwirlyMMS version 1.2.1 is now available on Cydia. Related articles: SwirlyMMS v1.2: send MMS messages through your iPhone Features that the iPhone doesn’t have

Via [apple.qj.net]

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Filed under: MPG, MINI, UK

If a Corvette Z06 with its monstrous 7.0-liter eight cylinder engine was able to accomplish nearly 31 miles per gallon at the MPG Marathon, what were some other performance vehicles able to manage? BMW’s MINI can be both an economy automobile or a serious sporting contender depending on what engine option resides under its short little bonnet, and the highest of all performing Coopers features a force-fed 1.6-liter engine that’s included as part of the John Cooper Works package. One such JCW MINI took part in the aforementioned mileage challenge and after the first day of 411 total miles of various roads, the team of auto scribes from Auto Express managed an impressive 53.3 mpg. That equates to an improvement of over 25-percent when compared to the JCW’s combined European rating. To get that high mileage, the drivers of the automobile shifted early, usually under 2,000 RPM, kept a light foot on the throttle and didn’t pass 40 miles per hour.

For a more accurate portrayal of the kind of mileage you might manage from a JCW MINI just by driving the speed limit and with a reasonable amount of restraint, the team adjusted their driving habits for the second day of testing and drove the 60 mph speed limit. The results? Not bad at all, with the tally coming in at 49.4 mpg after the second day had ended. A spokesperson for MINI U.K. was impressed, saying, “You’ve proved this model is the UK’s greenest hot hatch. We believe this makes the JCW ideal for drivers who want to downsize, reduce fuel costs and environmental impact, but still own a sporting automobile.” High praise indeed, though it came from a person with a vested interest to believe his own words. Still, despite the fact that it didn’t win any records, it was a fine effort.

[Source: Auto Express]

Auto Express gets 50 mpg from John Cooper Works MINI originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Sun, 26 Oct 2008 14:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Handsets, LG, GSM, EDGE

LG’s first ever dual-SIM handset will go down as being the completely forgettable KS660, care about it or not. The touchscreen-centric mobile includes a 3-inch 400 x 240 resolution display, an integrated multimedia player, 50MB of inbuilt memory, a microSD expansion slot, FM radio, video recorder, Bluetooth 2.0, USB support and tri-band GSM connectivity. Sadly, you’ll only find support for EDGE data, and WiFi is casually omitted as well. Chances are you won’t find this one outside of China, Russia and a few nations in Europe when it launches in February, but we get the feeling it won’t be sorely missed here in America.

LG debuts dual-SIM KS660 overseas originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Sat, 27 Dec 2008 14:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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