When you think about how far cell phones have come in its short life, it is truly mind boggling. Well now the technology of mobile communication is about to become fully integrated in to our cars that we drive, as we have just learned that there is a prototype “LTE Connected Car”.

According to Engadget, this is part of the ng Connect Program and will allow the car to connect to 4G mobile broadband, the car will then be able to offer a host of cloud-sourced facilities. These could include audio libraries, multiplayer gaming as well as video on demand.

The guinea pig car is to be a Toyota Prius and will serve as a Wi-Fi hotspot, which you can see a video of below. The idea of an LTE Connected Car would bring potential for a source of new revenue for not only network operators and application providers, but for automotive suppliers as well.

For those who wondered where mobile communication would go next, I bet none of you ever thought of an LTE Connected Car. However, when you think about it, the concept has potential. We spend a great deal of time in our vehicles, so having it as your mobile platform makes perfect sense to me.

For more information on this, visit Business Wire

The LA Auto Show begins on December 4 to 13 and we have already learned of some awesome new vehicles coming to the show. It is no secret that most of us will be hanging around to see a preview of the Porsche Boxster Spyder, but you need to have a lot of sun to appreciate the car.

Porsche have been working hard and have managed to shave off 176 pounds from the sports car, which now weighs just 2,811 pounds. The engine is a 3.4-liter boxer six with direct-injection; this has 10hp more than the standard Boxster S, so now pushes out 320 horsepower.

The Porsche Boxster Spyder with its seven-speed gearbox can go from standstill to 60mph in 4.6 seconds and a top speed of 166mph, and that is with the roof down. The car managed to offer a combined 25.3 mpg (US), not bad for a car with that kind of performance.

The new Porsche Boxster Spyder is due to go on sale in February 2010; the base model will cost $61,200. If you are not too bothered with adding an extra couple of pounds to your Porsche, then you could add a few optional extras.

Visit Autoblog for images and two videos of the Porsche Boxster Spyder in action.

According to the latest data, the recent Cash for Clunkers program set up to rid gas guzzling cars from our roads did not do as good a job as first thought. It had been hoped that more fuel-efficient vehicles would take the place of a number of old vehicles, but the new models only have slightly better gas mileage figures.

The biggest swap was recorded to be old Ford 150 pickups being traded in for newer models, the old pickups used to get 15mph whereas the new models achieve 17mpg, many trucks averaged between 1 to 3mpg differences, not much in the grand scale of things.

The government admitted to spending $562,500 in rebates for new cars that offered worse mileage figures than the old cars being replaced, this was a violation of the requirements of the program. The government is now in the process of investigating the issue.

According to the Associated Press, more than 95,000 new vehicles purchased under the program got less than 20mpg. This certainly goes against the intended plan of the program, it seems that the government was not strict enough and should have set stronger guidelines.

Do you think that the recent Cash for Clunkers program was a failure or success?

When automakers take a concept vehicle to a motor show, they offer all kinds of information about what the future production model would come with. However, every so often a car maker, let’s say Honda shows off a concept vehicle with no details, such as the Honda Skydeck Concept.

This vehicle was on show at the recent Tokyo Motor Show, but Honda said that this six-seat MPV Hybrid is theoretical. So what do we know about the vehicle so far, well we know that the front doors have a swing-open design, much like a Lamborghini.

The interior of the car looks like something from the future, the first two rows are cantilever mounted to a center tunnel, the second row of seats are able to slide forward and can be stored under the front seats.

Autoblog reckon that the front styling of that shovel scoop grille looks a little like the one found on the CR-Z coupe. Visit their website now to see more photos of the Honda Skydeck Concept.

General Motors have been making a number of plans over its Opel unit in recent months; the most recent was GM deciding to keep the European outfit and not sell it to Canada’s Magna, which is backed by a Russian group. This has come as a huge shock after months of negotiations.

We had learned yesterday that Opel’s labor force agreed to offer 265 million Euros of their annual savings if GM was to go ahead with the Magna deal, but this was not enough to change General Motors mind. This did come as a shock as Opel’s Spanish plant had already accepted plans laid out by Magna.

According to Forbes, Rainer Bruederle, the German Economy Minister said that he hopes GM to present to them their new restructuring plans from Opel and Vauxhall following the pull out of the deal. Bruederle said that he wants this plans as soon as possible.

Bruederle has also criticized General Motors’s decision to pull out of the deal and not sell a 55 percent share of the company. Germany had agreed to pump 4.5 billion Euros ($6.6 billion) into the deal; this will certainly be good news to the German tax payer.

Ford made a huge success when they had a limited run of 50-units of its 2008 Mustang Cobra Jet last year. The cars sold out long before they even made it to the production line, so comes as no surprise that Ford have a 2010 model on show at SEMA 2009.

Autoblog have been teasing its readers for months with some tasty looking photos and videos, so it is nice to finally see the car in the flesh. As with the previous model, the 2010 Mustang Cobra Jet will have a 50-unti run and will be put together on the standard Mustang assembly line.

Ford has listened to owners of the previous model and has made some changes that will help to make the driving experience even better.

The Ford 2010 Mustang Cobra Jet will have a starting price of $77,000 and will go all the way up to $95,000. It is often easy to get carried away with all the different extras and will not take much to get to the maximum price.

For more information on the new Cobra Jet, visit Autoblog

The new 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor is getting its promised powerplant increase when it makes an appearance at SEMA 2009. The truck is being boosted from 5.4-liter V8 to a gut-wrenching 6.2-liter V8. The new truck is released on December 1 and Ford have taken 3,000 orders so far for the 5.4-liter version.

Autoblog report that they were told last year by Ford that the 6.2 liter of the F-150 SVT Raptor will generate 400 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of twist. Now we are closer to the release date, Ford has rectified those figures a little. The engine will push out 411 hp and 434 pound-feet.

The F-150 Raptor 6.2 will go from standstill to 60mph 1.4 seconds faster than its 5.4 liter version. The great thing about this is it will achieve those figures while not drinking any more fuel than its smaller brother. This is a big deal for Ford, managing to increase performance while not compromising on fuel efficiency.

There is one downside to this though, the price. The new more powerful engine will cost an extra $3000; this means that the 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor has a starting price of $41,995.

For full details, visit Autoblog

Ford have had some good news, they have now made their first profit in four years resulting in surging share prices. Ford has seen an increase in their stock price thanks to major cost cutting, the major factor being from job cuts.

According to The Guardian, Ford made $357m in the U.S. between July and September, the automaker also showed a worldwide profit of $446m in the same period. This is the first recorded profit for 2008, a sign that things are now moving in the right direction.

This is a good sign for the auto sector and will hopefully follow with profits from General Motors and Chrysler, but they have a tougher battle on their hands. Ford is the only carmaker from the big three that did not ask for a government bailout.

Ford is now expecting to become “solidly profitable” in 2011, this is something that they would not have said this time last year.

We mentioned in an earlier post that November is a busy month for auto shows; the first show to kick the month off is the 2009 SEMA Show. The show will begin on November 3 and will run until the 6th, but unlike the San Francisco International Auto Show at the end of the month, it is not open to the public.

There will be more than 2,000 exhibitors showing off their gear in the 9 miles of aisles, the equipment on offer is anything from run flats, independent suspensions, roll cages, turbos and much more, basically everything you need to boosts the performance of your car.

Although SEMA is only open to the trade, it is still the largest trade show in Las Vegas. The show draws in a massive 100,000 exhibitors, buyers and media. There are a huge amount of cars on show at the event, but the most popular custom car will be the custom 2010 Camaros.

Other vehicles that will have a good showing at SEMA 2009 is the Ford Fiesta, Lexus to Debut LF-A, Saleen Debuts 2010 S281, Zele International’s Nissan GT-R, V8 Genesis Coupe, as well as a huge range of custom Camaros.

For information on more cars visit www.huffingtonpost.com
For more information on the show itself, visit www.semashow.com

We have now entered November and there are a host of automotive events, we have SEMA at the beginning and The San Francisco International Auto Show at the end. Not certain how busy the San Francisco Auto Show will get as it takes in Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

The show begins on November 26, 2009 and ends on December 2, 2009 and is to be held at the Moscone Center. The show times are as follows, 10 AM — 10 PM, admission is $8 for an adult, children 12 and under get in for free as long as they are accompanied by an adult.

2009 will be the 52nd Annual International Auto Show and will be presented by AutoTrader.com; the show also gets support from the California Motor Car Dealers Association. Most of the world’s major automakers will have their new 2010 vehicles on show.

Some of the cars that will be on show include a number of concepts, such as the Acura MDX Advance, Bentley Continental Supersports, Camaro Transformer Edition and much more.

For full details, visit www.sfautoshow.com

The auto industry already has so much to deal with without news of yet another recall. The vehicles affected by this latest recall are the 2009 and 2010 Nissan Altima and Maxima because of a problem with their suspension. Some cars could develop an issue with their upper front strut insulators; these could crack as they do not meet specified tolerances.

Nissan is already in the process of contacting Altima and Maxima owners, and letting them know that their vehicles will be repaired at local dealers. When you take your vehicle in, the dealer will replace the strut insulators on both sides of the vehicle.

According to reports from the NHTSA, if one of the struts becomes cracked in a 2009 or 2010 Nissan Altima or Maxima, then it could come away from its mounting casing the car to become unstable. This could even cause the vehicle to crash.

For the full information on this, please visit Autoblog

According to a recent article posted on NewsInferno it seems that a pretty serious product recall is taking place by Bad Boy Buggy’s, one particular model called ‘The Classic’ is affected.

There have been approximately 3,900 buggies recalled in total, the official reason for the recall is because of a ‘crash hazard’, apparently this crash hazard is caused by acceleration without warning.

So far there have been 32 reports of this unexpected acceleration, there have been no life-threatening injuries caused yet, however people have reported a “fractured toe, a rotator cuff injury, and sore muscles”.

If you are unsure whether your model needs to be recalled call Bad Boy Buggies on 1-866-678-6701 between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Central Time, lines are not open weekends, find out more on NewsInferno.

Thanks to Cynthia for pointing this story out.

Have you experienced this problem with you classic Bad Boy Buggy?

There are those of you who believe that the dark side is best, which is why you should see what Lotus is to unveil at the 2009 Tokyo International Motorshow, the 2010 Lotus Exige Scura. This Blacked out Edition has a stealth fighter look to it, making it look meaner than ever.

There will only be 35 of these cars made, so you had better get your order in quick. The new 2010 Lotus Exige Scura has been heavily modified from the production level Exige S; you get more performance as well as a reduction in weight.

The car comes with high gloss ‘Phantom Black’ triple stripes, this runs the total length of the car. To help keep the weight down there is a carbon fiber front splitter, side airscoops, rear spoiler, and oil cooler inlet vanes. If you are a driver looking for an adrenaline rush, then the 2010 Lotus Exige Scura is the car for you.

The car can go from 0-100 kmh in just 4.1 seconds and has a top speed of 245 km/h. For full details, visit Autoblog

At the beginning of the month we spoke about Toyota launching its second dedicated hybrid car, the Toyota Sai alongside the Prius. Now Paul Tan has informed us that Toyota have unveiled the new car, which is based on the Lexus HS250h.

Looking at both vehicles there are only subtle changes, such as a restyled front end, newly designed headlights, grille, front bumper and hood. The rear has seen little change, just reworked taillights. The inside has also seen a few changes, such as a new instrument panel and a new steering wheel.

The Toyota Sai hybrid comes with the same drivetrain as the Lexus HS250h, this means you get a 2AZ-FXE 2.4-liter Atkinson-cycle VVTi 4-cylinder engine working in conjunction with its electric motor, this pushes out 270Nm of torque.

There are no fuel consumption details, but we do know that there will be four trim levels to choose from. To view a gallery of the new Toyota Sai hybrid, visit Paul Tan

Since Hybrid and electric vehicles were first launched, there has always been one safety aspect that road safety campaigners were always worried about, and that is their lack of noise at slow speeds. Now, after all this time there could be a solution to this problem and that is by giving the car access to downloadable ringtones, much the same as what you get for your cell phones.

Autoblog came across an article on The New York Times; they explain that these will be called “Car Tone”. The system is not in place yet, but it will not be long before the system is in place. There is a car that is already using a system, but in a different league.

The Fisker Karma is a plug-in hybrid with a difference; it goes on sale next year and will cost a massive $87,900. There are speakers in the bumpers, which will mimic the sounds of various things, such as an F1 car. I would be a bit worried if I heard and F1 car come screeching up to set of light where I was waiting to cross.

It certainly seems strange that vehicles made to care more for the environment are causing such a safety issue with how quiet that are, at least this problem will soon be solved.

Engadget have come across some superb concept drawings over the years, but the latest design by Iranian designer Emil Baddal has to be one of the best yet. The drawing is of a new Porsche Supercar Concept and you can see that there are hints of the Bugatti Veyron in the Styling.

Porsche is a racing breed but its recent designs have been lacking somewhere, you only have to look at the Cayenne and the Panamera, they are truly shocking. The list of new designers wishing to offer their services to design the next new Porsche model is getting bigger, but Baddal should move to the front of that queue.

The way that Emil Baddal has blended in Porsche and Veyron styling is genius, as both companies now fall under the same roof. Carscoop reports that only drawings have been made so far, no details of powertrain or other specifications have been offered.

Head over to Designerspace, which is a gallery of all other concept cars designed by Baddal. All I can say is, he is one gifted man.

In September, General Motors introduced a 60 day buy-back scheme on its new motors. The scheme which was introduced to improve viewings and sales allows for customers to purchase a new car from General Motors and for up to 60 days after purchase you are able to return it back to the dealer and have it purchased back at full price.

The scheme encountered a lot criticism, and one dealer who spoke to BusinessWeek.com said that the scheme would just entice joy riders who want to take a corvette out free of charge for a while.

But according to an article posted up on BusinessWeek, the scheme has actually been quite successful. It seems that Vice President of GM, Bob (Robert) Lutz has told reporters that consideration (viewings) has gone up 15%, and Edmunds.com has confirmed these statistics with their own research. Also according to Bob Lutz, out of the 150,000 vehichles sold during the scheme, only a few hundred have signed up to the program, and out of those only one person has returned a car, and that was only due to the fact he decided he wanted to swap the manual version he had purchased for an automatic version instead.

Audi revealed to the world the Electric R4 Roadster at last month’s Frankfurt Motor Show, well now they have offered a rendering preview of the production model. According to Auto Express, Audi is expected to launch a gasoline version of the vehicle; this will offer Audi fans a smaller cheaper alternative to the awesome R8.

While at the Motor Show, Audi showed the crowd the new powertrain that will power the zero emissions R4 Roadster, so has not taken long for Audi to offer more details. TheR4 electric vehicle will go up against the Tesla Roadster.

Audi will not be alone in the production of the new car; they will be getting help from Porsche, part of the VW Group. The R4 is expected to share the same chassis as the next-generation Boxster and Cayman, meaning that the R4 will have a bit of racing pedigree.

The Audi R4 will be powered by e-tron’s electric powertrain, which consists of four electric motors; these receive their power from a lithium-ion battery pack. This system will be enough to produce 300bhp, a 0-60mph in 4.8 seconds and a top speed of around 140mph. For full details, visit Auto Express

Following on from the recent news that Ford is to issue a 4.5 million vehicle recall, making it the largest single recall ever. The reason for the recall is due to a faulty cruise control deactivation switch, which could possible cause a fire.

According to Yahoo News, this is an ongoing saga that has been going on for 10 years now, all the switches affected in the recall were made by Texas Instruments, who no longer make the switches for Ford. In the 10 years, we have seen 14 million vehicles recalled over more than half-dozen models.

The affected 4.5 million vehicles should be taken to your local Ford dealer, so that they can carry out the necessary repairs. Ford have yet to offer any information as to how much this latest recall will cost the company, but it will not be cheap.

Recalls are a common occurrence in vehicles, but automakers could do without them as profits are at an all-time low and this will just eat into their budgets.

Below is a list of the cars affected by the latest recall.

• 1992-2003 Ford Econolines.
• 1993-1997 and 1999-2003 Ford F-Super Duty diesels.
• 1994 Ford F53 motorhomes.
• 1995-1997 and 2001-2003 Ford Rangers.
• 1995-2002 Ford Explorers and Mercury Mountaineers.
• 1995-2003 Ford Windstars.
• 2000-2003 Ford Excursion diesels.

Ford has issued the recall of 4.5 million vehicles, making it the largest single recall in history. This is even larger than last month’s Toyota recall, which concerned 3.8 million vehicles. The reason behind the Ford recall is due to a faulty cruise control switch, this in turn could lead to a fire.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, this is now the eighth recall from Ford, which all adds up to 16 million vehicles. All of the recalls were for the same reason, that faulty cruise control switch. The switch can leak hydraulic fluid; this could then overheat smoke and then burn resulting in a fire, even if the engine has been turned off.

The major problem is with 1.1 million Windstars, the other 3.4 million are classified as low risk, but Ford has issued a recall to be safe. Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood said that Ford went beyond the normal recall and wanted to add the others even though the presented less risk.

We should really start to worry, as this is the second big recall in recent months, which begs the question, what is going on. Could it be something to do with the companies using cheaper products to try to make as much money as possible, or is there another reason.

For more information, visit CNN Money