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Video: Race-Star ConverTTable may be the coolest coffee table we’ve ever seen

Filed under: Toys/Games, Design/Style

Race-Star ConverTTable is our kind of furniture – Click above to watch video after the jump

A driving wheel sounds like a nice addition for any racing video game, but in reality it might not work as well as you hope. You have to find a place to mount the wheel and a make sure your pedals aren’t sliding around the floor. It’s not that much of a hassle, but a dedicated space for both wheel and pedals would be nice… throw in a racing seat and the virtual-racing ante has officially been upped.

But where would you store something like that and how do you craft it so as not to be a total eye-sore? Austrian company Race-Star has the answer and it comes in the form of the ConverTTable.

What appears to be a fairly basic box table actually hides a special gaming secret. The ConverTTable unfolds to reveal a driving wheel, adjustable pedals and a track mounted racing bucket. You can slide it in front of your TV and the Nürburgring on Gran Turismo 5 goes from a controller-hucking experience to a carousel-shredding event. When it’s time to shut down the fun, simply fold the table back up and it turns right back into drink-holding furniture.

The price for a Race-Star ConverTTable setup is listed at €4,999, which translates to about $6,605 USD. That is a lot of coin for something you might be able to engineer in your garage. Can you produce the same level of fit-and-finish as Race-Star has achieved? Probably not, unless you are used to working with high-quality plastics. Regardless of the price, the Race-Star ConverTTable has earned its place on our Autoblog Holiday Wish List.

Hop the jump to see it in action.

Gallery: Race-Star Converttable

Race-Star Converttable

[Source: Race-Star]

Continue reading Video: Race-Star ConverTTable may be the coolest coffee table we’ve ever seen

Video: Race-Star ConverTTable may be the coolest coffee table we’ve ever seen originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Dec 2010 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iRacing star gets chance to try real thing at Road Atlanta

Filed under: Motorsports, Etc., Toys/Games, Racing

Most people would love a chance to show their stuff behind the wheel of racecar. Problem is, most people probably wouldn’t be any good at actually driving one. We can all try to hone our skills through the use of racing simulators, but just how much can they actually teach you without the visceral feedback and life-or-death consequences that you can only get from real life? Apparently, they can teach us plenty. One person in particular, who goes by the name Greger Huttu, got to put his virtual racing prowess to the test.

Greger Huttu hails from Vaasa, Finland, where he can be found spending putting a lot of time into the iRacing simulator. Huttu is not just good at the game, he utterly dominates it. For the last six years, he’s turned 2,581 laps and led for 2,339 of them. He’s won every race from the pole position, including the iRacing World Championship that netted him a cool $10,000. Still… he’s never actually driven a real racecar, and the folks at Top Gear were curious to see if he actually could.

Top Gear flew Huttu out to Road Atlanta – one of America’s toughest tracks – and stuck him in a Star Mazda racer. Both the track and the car are familiar to Huttu because he’s experienced both in the iRacing simulator. How did he do? Quite frankly, he did amazingly well. Entering corners at 100 miles per hour, which is just 10 mph shy of where experience drivers come in, Huttu was able to rip off clean lap after clean lap and eventually came within three seconds of what the experts consider a solid time at Road Atlanta.

The difference between a professional driver and a professional simulator driver soon became apparent, however, as Greger Huttu’s body began to be affected by the G forces. The pros work hard to stay fit for a reason, and the toll on Huttu resulted in a helmet full of vomit. Though he wanted to continue, Huttu had to eventually throw in the towel because his body could take no more.

Still, his accomplishments are pretty remarkable and suggest that a good simulator can indeed prepare the armchair racer for a car and a circuit. Head over to Top Gear to get the full scoop on Huttu and his real-life racing adventure.

[Source: Top Gear]

iRacing star gets chance to try real thing at Road Atlanta originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 18:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One Last Texan: Nissan Juke named CUV of the Lone Star State

Filed under: Crossover, Hatchback, Nissan

2011 Nissan Juke – Click above for high-res image gallery

We told you yesterday about a whole slew of awards doled out by the Texas Auto Writers Association, but we missed one. The 2011 Nissan Juke has earned the nod as as this year’s CUV of Texas. The gaggle of Lone Star writers that hopped behind the seat cited the vehicle’s interesting styling and engaging driving experience as the top-ranking reasons for the high-riding hatch’s win. Of course, we’re pretty big fans of the 32 miles per gallon (highway) that the 188-horsepower 1.6-liter turbo-four turns out, and the super-trick HVAC controls are worth a win in our book, too. Still, we can’t help but be a bit surprised that historically conservative Texas would recognize such an otherworldly looking machine. We’re guessing that a healthy contingent of the jury comes from “Keep it Weird” Austin, and that’s just fine by us.

Nissan says that the TAWA will present the automaker a trophy at its award ceremony on November 12 at Space Center Houston. Seems only fitting for a CUV that looks like it could have spent its formative years roaming the surface of Mars. Hit the jump for the press release.

Gallery: 2011 Nissan Juke: First Drive

[Source: Nissan]

One Last Texan: Nissan Juke named CUV of the Lone Star State originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 26 Oct 2010 16:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NHTSA to update 5-star testing process

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety

2011 Chevrolet Cruze Crash Testing – Click above for high-res image gallery

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is set to debut a new testing procedure for the 2011 model year that will make it more difficult for new cars and trucks to earn the government agency’s coveted five-star safety rating. Just as interestingly, the recent influx of electronic safety gadgets, such as lane departure and collision warning, will be included in the testing regiment as well.

NHTSA will calculate one simple-to-understand grade for each vehicle based on how it manages to perform throughout the agency’s testing. While the revised parameters promise to make safety-minded comparison shopping between new automobiles a bit easier, it also means that pre-2011 ratings will not be directly comparable to the new ones.

A total of 55 new 2011 cars, trucks and minivans (including the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze seen above undergoing GM’s internal safety testing) will be tested by NHTSA with the new procedures, and the list is made up of both brand new models and some of the more popular nameplates Americans seem most likely to purchase in large numbers next year. You can check out NHTSA’s official release and the initial list of what cars will be subjected to this new testing regime after the jump.

Gallery: 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Crash Testing