Volkswagen has been known to dabble in exotic places when it comes to in-dash entertainment, and while it's latest initiative isn't totally far-fetched, it's still worth a peek. The automaker has recently teamed up with Intel in order to develop a prototype head unit that's completely self-enclosed, meaning that there's no carputer hanging out in the trunk handling the dirty work. The touchscreen-based infotainment center shown in the video past the break is rocking Windows XP underneath and gladly accepts a number of gesture-based inputs. For example, motorists can swipe down to play or pause a track, while swiping left or right anywhere on the panel moves the playlist forward or back. The project manager doesn't bother to say when this stuff will actually hit the showroom floor, but CNET has it that you'll be waiting at least three years -- and that's if you're lucky.

[Via CNET]

Just hours after General Motors put forth a proposal for a standardized plug for electric vehicles, in flies this. German energy firm RWE has stated that a cadre of respected automakers and energy firms have all come together in agreement on a three-point, 400-volt plug that will enable electric cars the world over to be recharged anywhere, regardless of which recharging station they stop at. Caroline Reichert, an RWE spokeswoman, noted that the idea here is to ensure that "a car can be recharged in Italy in exactly the same way as in Denmark, Germany or France." We're told that the agreement includes nods of acceptance from the likes of Volkswagen, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Fiat, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Eon, Vattenfall, EDF, Npower, Endesa and Enel, and while there's no time frame for when it'll be introduced, we're pretty stoked to hear that at least something has been decided upon.

Volkswagen sure is talking tough about going green, but we've yet to actually see any of these long-teased concepts hit the show floor. In case a plug-in Twin Drive hybrid just wasn't enough to look forward to, the suits in Wolfsburg have just inked a letter of intent with Toshiba in order to form a collaborative agreement that will see the two working together in the development of "electric drive units and the accompanying power electronics for Volkswagen's planned New Small Family." If rumors prove accurate, the NSF crew will mimic that Up! concept we've been drooling over for ages, and if you were wondering where the batteries would be coming from, this here arrangement suggests that it'll be from within the partnership. Oh, and you want a launch date, don't you? How about "forever from now," or as VW's Dr. Martin Winterkorn put it: "A considerable amount of research and development work still has to be carried out until we can produce the electric vehicle."

With an electric MINI Cooper just around the bend, a Twin Drive hybrid Volkswagen landing in 2010 and Chevrolet's Volt rolling into showrooms in a matter of months, Audi's ten-year plan is looking a little awkward. Though we've yet to hear that it's actually speeding things up, Peter Schwarzenbauer, who sits on the management board at Ingolstadt, recently confirmed that the company would be offering "a pure electric car" sometime in the future. Additionally, rumors of it being based on the A1 were dashed, opening the door for speculation that it will instead be built around the VW Up! (Lupo) concept. Here's hoping we find our prior to 2018.

[Via Autoblog]

You know how we love plug-in hybrids around these parts, particularly if they're actually going to get built -- crazy, we know. Now it looks like Volkswagen is going to get into the game, with a "Twin Drive" Golf powered by a 122 horsepower diesel engine and 82 horsies of electric motor. The car should debut around 2010, and VW plans on spending $769 million on the project, helped along by a $23.5 million program put in place by the German government to help along such development. The car, which uses the electric motor for primary power, supplemented by the diesel motor and regenerative braking for extra juice, should be able to squeeze about 31 miles out of its Sanyo-developed lithium-ion batteries in all-electric mode.

Sure, we've heard rumors about a possible iCar before, but it's not every day that a German auto magazine (Autobild, in this case) throws some wacky VW concept with an iPod touch floating above it on its cover. We know that the two companies have collaborated in the past, with old Jobsy and Volkswagen head Martin Winterkorn supposedly sipping brandy and regaling each other with tales of their salad days, but up until now the closest we've seen to an actual product was that Space Up! blue concept interior from back in November of last year. Will you finally have the perfect set of wheels to dock your iPhone on the go? Doubtful... but feel free to dream.

[Via Autoblog]

Although you can definitely pre-order an Aptera if you're okay with space-aged design, Volkswagen is hoping to provide another option for those looking for ridiculous MPG and a little bit of normalcy in construction. Okay, so maybe the 1-Liter isn't exactly standard fare -- with its plastic / magnesium shell and all-glass roof -- but at least it packs four whole wheels and an iconic VW badge, right? According to Motor Authority, the automaker will be producing said vehicle and pushing it to market as early as 2010, and while the minuscule engine will only take you to 75MPH, it will still seat two people -- one in front of the other, though -- and get around 235MPG. No word on a price or any of that good stuff, but we're hearing that they'll only be produced in "limited numbers" whenever they're launched.

[Via EcoGeek, thanks Yossi]

Although Audi isn't aiming to beat Chevrolet to the punch with an electric whip, it does plan on joining the party a bit further down the road -- according to company bigwig Rupert Stadler, that is. Based on an interview with Germany's Welt am Sonntag, Mr. Stadler noted that he expected diesel and battery technology to dominate within five to ten years, and he made mention that "by then, [Audi] would offer cars without exhaust emissions." Curiously enough, he also stated that "electric cars offer opportunities, which [the company has] already seized on," but alas, he didn't elaborate beyond that. Just to confirm, we've got you, me and a whisper-quiet ride in five- to ten-years? It's a date.

[Via News]

Volkswagen is showing off its new Park Assist Vision technology at the Hanover Fair in Germany. Unlike VW's previous attempts, this version of Park Assist is fully automatic. As such, the driver-turned-spectator can stand outside the car while the Passat maneuvers its way into cramped spots with the help of external cameras and proximity sensors. The driver selects his space on the monitor of the navigation system and then sets the vehicle into "P" mode. It's just a trial for now so you'll still have to get by with the ol' bump-smile-n-flirt approach that's gotten you and your Aquanet hair into the city up until now. Video demonstration after the break.

[Via Gizmag]

Nice interior huh? And how 'bout that 7-inch touchscreen display slapped onto the center console. Pretty sweet right? You're looking at the inside of VW's third iteration of their Space Up! -- the Space Up! blue -- just revealed at the LA auto show. Now try this on. Reader Joona wonders if this is the result of recent collaborations between Apple and VW. After thinking about it some, we're starting to wonder too. As Autoblog describes it, the concept touchscreen monitor "controls all conceivable functions" and is meant to demonstrate how future human-machine interfaces might look and operate. The touchscreen (no mention of multi-touch support) uses proximity sensors to react to gestures, apparently, without actually touching the display. The user can simply touch the "main menu carousel" to navigate to the desired category or manipulate the system with simple hand gestures near the display. Autoblog says, "Visually, this control is just as spectacular as it is intuitive." Now, chew on this for a second. VW announced earlier this week that all new VW models in 2008 2009 will have touchscreens. Is this what Apple has in store for us at January's MacWorld? Who knows, but it's a compelling story, eh? Now, anyone have a video of this in action? A few more pics after the break.

Update: Found a video on YouTube. It's a slightly older version of the Space Up! revealed in Tokyo but the control panel looks the same. Interface in action at about 1:10 in and then again at 4:00.

Update 2: Jumpin' Johosephat, reader Rat128 just nailed it. That looks like cover flow on the dashboard. In fact, that artwork is from Jack Johnson's In Between Dreams... an Apple fave.

Update 3: Second video found courtesy of Edmonds Car Space showing a slightly different design of the carousel in much more detail, quirks and all.

Read -- All VWs to get touch screens
Read -- Space Up! blue

Check your pulse Apple fanatics, "the beat goes on" September 5th... now just two days away. Unusual for Apple rumors, this event has pretty much all the analysts and so-called insiders in sync with their predictions. Mass disillusion or divine soothsaying, we don't know. Certainly everyone's been expecting this to be a big quarter for product transitions. While we wait, we figured you might as well get up to speed on all the predictions for Wednesday's big show:

• iPod Touch with flash-memory, WiFi and OS X-based Cover Flow user interface
• iPod nano "phatty"
• Wireless iTunes store sales for iPhone and wireless iPod(s)
• (PRODUCT) Red iPod shuffle
  
• iTunes ringtone service
• Beatles on iTunes -- yes, again
  

While not necessarily rumored for Wednesday, there's always a chance that we'll hear a bit more about Apple's automotive collaborations with Volkswagen and Jaguar. Just sayin's all.

Continuing the trend of wild Cupertino-related rumors, while simultaneously bringing to mind an old joke about Microsoft and GM, a German magazine is claiming that Apple and Volkswagen have entered into discussions over a concept vehicle to be dubbed -- you guessed it -- the iCar. If you believe what they say, the two companies are in the early stages of planning for an entire line of new VWs that would incorporate Apple-sourced designs and features. Given that we've seen the firms collaborate in the past, this isn't too far out there -- though we wouldn't go wagering on this rumor, either. As you can see below, the Engadget gang chimed in on the news, but what do you think the iCar would be like?

Ryan: "Can hit 100Mph, can't hit 100Kbps."
Evan: "The scroll wheel would be hard to steer in sharp turns."
Paul: "Give it a few weeks and you should be breaking 25Mph no sweat."
Nilay: "It only uses one kid of gas!"
Josh: "I hear it doesn't have 3G either."
Chris: "Internal combustion engines were stupid until we decided to use them."
Dante: "White."

[Via AppleInsider, image courtesy of Chris3D]

Just a day after a clever Jetta owner figured out how to chart his joyrides with a Wiimote, it looks like Volkswagen has a trick up its own sleeve, too. Reportedly, the automaker is developing an "adaptive sun visor" that recognizes the position of the sun and darkens the areas that require it in order to make your drive a less squint-filled one. The technology supposedly works around curves and elevation changes, meaning that leaving your sunglasses behind may not ruin your afternoon commute. As expected, further details are few and far between at the moment, and while there's no set date (nor vehicle) for the innovative sunshade to be launched on, the sun-lovin' Eos wouldn't be a bad guinea pig.

[Via Foursprung]

Looking to collect a little acceleration / braking data on the cheap? Even if you're just scouting alternative uses for that oh-so-handy Wiimote, a recent project from klee just may suit your fancy. A proud owner of a 2000 Volkswagen Jetta managed to rig up a Wiimote-based tracking system that gathered information on g-forces, acceleration, turning, and overall speed, and thanks to a little Excel computation, the results are neatly graphed once the outing concludes. Of course, you may need a little help in the script writing department, by judging by the looks of things, most everything you need is awaiting you in the read link -- you know, except your own Wiimote and a Vee-Dub.

[Thanks, Matt]

Just in case you didn't have enough reasons to ignore your kids, here's another in the form of a GPS enabled headrest LCD for your car that informs your child of how far away you are from wherever you're going, and entertains them with pretty flashing lights in the meantime. Using Volkswagen's prototype child navigation system, children can watch an animated worm eat down the time until they reach the destination, and play games and "in-seat" exercises (hopefully not involving hitting the nearest sibling) as instructed by the all seeing screen. Personally, we'll not rest until someone develops a direct video link with the driver, so parents can yell at their kids while keeping their eye on the road. Dem kids gotta get teached.