Report: Penalties possible for drivers wearing Google Glass in US and UK [w/poll]

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Technology, UK

Google Glass may be banned by the UK and West Virginia before it's released.

The key feature of Google Glass is that it basically puts an Android smartphone on users’ heads, allowing them hands-free operation of many smartphone features, including web browsing, phone calls, texting and navigation. A small heads-up display rests directly above the right eye, making it seem like a match made in heaven for drivers, who could use Glass without taking their hands off the wheel. But lawmakers already are planning to ban the device from being used while driving before it has even been released to the general public, Engadget reports.

A UK Department for Transportation official told Stuff that it is “in discussion with the police to ensure that individuals do not use this technology while driving.” Similarly, as Gizmodo reports, West Virginia House of Delegates member Gary G. Howell has said he thinks the technology would be just as problematic as texting while driving and is introducing a bill to ban Google Glass from being used on the roads in that state.

Glass has been tested while riding a motorcycle with mixed results, and there’s even an application in development for Tesla Model S owners, but it could all be for naught if Big Brother says no. Do you think using Google Glass should be prohibited while driving? Sound off in the poll below.

View Poll

Penalties possible for drivers wearing Google Glass in US and UK [w/poll] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Aug 2013 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spy Shots: Renault Alpine mule captured wearing Lotus duds

Filed under: Spy Photos, Coupe, Performance, Renault

Renault Alpine mule caught on test track - front three-quarter view

A curious, heavily modified Lotus Exige has been spotted lapping the Nürburgring, and, to hear our spy shooters tell it, the car is actually a disguised Renault Alpine A110-50 out chassis testing with Swedish suspension company Öhlins. It was spotted in the company of several key performance cars from Renault Sport, including the Megane RS and Clio. These spy photos confirm that Renault is serious about making the Alpine a production reality and suggests that it needed more than its alliance with Nissan to help foot the development bills.

Caterham became Renault’s partner in this venture last year, and rumors have suggested that this Lotus-disguised Alpine will be mid-engined, with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine offering about 1.6 liters of displacement and making around 270 horsepower.

We have reported in the past that Renault, Infiniti and Lotus were developing a gas-electric hybrid together, and the Renault version could become the Alpine (with Lotus building the production versions of all three cars), but we don’t truly know what the future holds for Renault’s reborn performance division.

Got all that? Neither do we, so we’re going to sit tight and see where the chips fall, but we’ll be sure to let you know when that happens.

Renault Alpine mule captured wearing Lotus duds originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 17 Jul 2013 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spy Shots: Subaru’s RWD sports car caught wearing same outfit as Toyota sibling

Filed under: Spy Photos, Scion, Subaru, Toyota

spy shots subaru coupe

Spy Shots: Subaru Coupe – Click above for high-res image gallery

Judging by the recent influx of spy shots, Toyota is working hard, fine-tuning its upcoming Scion FR-S sports car. Now, we’re finally getting a look at the Subaru version. Spy photogs snapped the two-door Subie undergoing some road testing. The style is similar to the Scion we’ve been seeing, but the Subaru appears to get a different front-end treatment.

Though most of the important bits and pieces are well-covered by all the swirly graphics, the spy photographers did manage to grab a shot of the interior of the coupe. A paddle shifter is clearly visible, and we hope to eventually spy a version with a manual transmission as well. Check out all of the spy shots of the Subaru coupe by clicking through the gallery below.

Subaru’s RWD sports car caught wearing same outfit as Toyota sibling originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 27 May 2011 14:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spy Shots: Audi S1 caught testing, likes wearing A1 clothing

Filed under: Spy Photos, Hatchback, Audi

spy photo audi s1

Spy Shots: Audi S1 – Click above for high-res image gallery

Spy photographers have been training their lenses on upcoming Audi models as of late. Earlier, we got a look at the R8 GT Spyder, and now those cameras have captured the S1 hot hatch. Though it may look like a standard Audi A1, this mule is covering up S1 guts. What’s the give-away? A set of large exhaust pipes planted in the rear end.

Rumor has it that the mill powering this sporty hatchback will pump out 270 horsepower. That energy will be sent out to all four corners courtesy of the Quattro all-wheel-drive system. Expect to see more aggressive bits of body work on the real S1 when it finally shows its face.

Audi S1 caught testing, likes wearing A1 clothing originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 17 May 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New York 2011: Chrysler’s new 300 SRT8 is a tuxedo-wearing thug

Filed under: New York Auto Show, Sedan, Performance, Chrysler

2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8

2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8 – Click above for high-res image gallery

We may have fallen all over the 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8 that debuted this past February at the 2011 Chicago Auto Show, but if we’re honest, The Pentastar’s latest LX-platform creation – the 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8 – is the one we’d want to take home. In its previous generation, this car was one of our favorite guilty pleasures, and with all of the new enhancements made for the 2012 model year, the top-rung Hemi 300 is sure to impress.

Gone is the 6.1-liter V8 of yore, and a new, fire-breathing 6.4-liter Hemi engine has been fitted underhood. With 465 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque on tap, the 300 SRT8 will easily sprint to 60 miles per hour in under five seconds, and all that grunt is managed by a five-speed automatic transmission, now enhanced with paddle shifters. Not the most modern transmission, yes, but we’re sure the 300 SRT8 will still be a total hoot to drive.

The 2012 300 SRT8 has made its debut this week at the 2011 New York Auto Show next to its Grand Cherokee SRT8 cousin, and we invite you to click through a handful of high-res images live from the Javits Center in our gallery below.

Gallery: 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8: New York 2011

Gallery: 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8

2012 Chrysler 300 SRT82012 Chrysler 300 SRT82012 Chrysler 300 SRT82012 Chrysler 300 SRT82012 Chrysler 300 SRT8

Live photos copyright (C)2011 Drew Phillips / AOL

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New York 2011: Chrysler’s new 300 SRT8 is a tuxedo-wearing thug originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 20 Apr 2011 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spy Shots: Lamborghini Murciélago replacement caught wearing only camo

Filed under: Spy Photos, Coupe, Lamborghini

Lamborghini Murcielago replacement spy shots

Lamborghini Murciélago replacement spy shots – Click above for high-res image gallery

We won’t necessarily argue with an automaker (especially Lamborghini) unwrapping its new hotness from the inside out. Recently, we received a photo of the Murciélago replacement’s new pushrod suspension – something we were first discovered during our talks with the Lamborghini’s CEO, Stephan Winkelmann, at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show. Now, our intrepid spy photographers have snapped Lamborghni’s new flagship, tentatively dubbed Aventador, wearing nothing but swirly camouflage over its newly redesigned body.

The new Lamborghini’s gorgeous bodywork takes many of its cues from the Sesto Elemento concept that debuted at the Paris Motor Show last year. Underneath the sexy exterior is the automaker’s new V12 heart of gold, and we should see the finished product in the flesh at this year’s Geneva Motor Show in March. In the meantime, continue the striptease for yourself in our high-res gallery below.

Gallery: Spy Shots: Lamborghini Murcielago Replacement

Spy Shots: Lamborghini Murcielago ReplacementSpy Shots: Lamborghini Murcielago ReplacementSpy Shots: Lamborghini Murcielago ReplacementSpy Shots: Lamborghini Murcielago ReplacementSpy Shots: Lamborghini Murcielago Replacement

[Source: KGP Photography]

Spy Shots: Lamborghini Murciélago replacement caught wearing only camo originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Start Wearing Purple: Pagani releases one-off Zonda 750

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Middle East, MISC

Pagani Zonda 750

Pagani Zonda 750 – Click above for image gallery

One of these days, we’ll turn around and find that the last of the one-off special editions of the Pagani Zonda has come and gone. And that’ll be okay, because by then we should have its oft-spied and highly-anticipated successor (tentatively dubbed C9) to ogle instead. But that day is not today, as yet another specially-commissioned Zonda has hit the interwebs.

Called the 750, this edition is based on the five-of-a-kind Zonda Cinque, but sets itself apart with an unmistakable magenta paint job and a redesigned rear window to accommodate that giant overhead fauxhawk air inlet. Specific details have not been announced, but given the one-off’s name, it could be packing a 750-horsepower version of the Mercedes-Benz AMG-built 7.3-liter V12 engine. Or the 750 could stand for something else entirely.

The supercar is currently undergoing construction, commissioned by an unspecified Middle Eastern buyer. Color us surprised… which happens to be a similar shade of purple.

Gallery: Pagani Zonda 750

[Source: Pagani]

Start Wearing Purple: Pagani releases one-off Zonda 750 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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