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BMW and Toyota come together, right now, over batteries
Clue's in the headline, really. Car makers BMW and Toyota have finally gotten around to confirming that they're pairing up to research next generation lithium-ion batteries. The focus will be on building environmentally friendly technologies that'll boost the power of future EVs. The duo will also examine new ways of combining materials to build better cathodes, anodes and electrolytes. As part of the deal, Toyota will be buying diesel engines for its European subsidiary from its Teutonic new best friend from 2014.
Tesla lands sudden deal with Toyota, will build Model S sedan in Fremont NUMMI plant
Tesla's still got a ways to go before it overtakes those conventional automakers, but darn if it's not on the right track now. The company today announced a deal with Toyota -- yeah, Toyota -- in order to collaborate on the "development of electric vehicles, parts, and production system and engineering support." Reportedly, the tandem will form a specialist team to further these efforts, with Toyota agreeing to purchase $50 million of Tesla's common stock issued in a private placement. In the short term, Tesla is purchasing the former NUMMI factory in Fremont, California in order to build the Model S sedan and other "future Tesla vehicles," which should employ around 1,000 workers now to produce around 20,000 cars per year. For those unaware, the NUMMI facility was recently vacated, leaving 4,500 Toyota employees holding pink slips and ginormous frowns; Tesla CEO Elon Musk did confirm, however, that some of those have already been rehired. The good news here is that consumers should see lower prices due to Tesla having access to Toyota's streamlined supply chain (not to mention those hugely leveraged bulk buy deals), but the bad news is that citizens of Downey, California -- a town that was purportedly ready to sign a similar deal with Tesla "tomorrow" -- now have to deal with an erupted bubble. You win some, you lose some, as they say.
Pioneer set to release AVIC-X3 GPS entertainment system in Europe
Those looking for a few more distractions than the ordinary GPS / PMP device has to offer may want to consider Pioneer's new AVIC-X3 unit, which looks like it should please even the most demanding car-dweller. Up front and center on this one is a 7-inch touchscreen which, in addition to displaying the usual GPS information, can also be used a display for the integrated DVD player (which'll handle DivX files stored on a CD-R or DVD-R as well). Otherwise, you'll get real time traffic information from the built-in TMC receiver, along with 1.5 million points of interest for 26 European countries. If the standard fare isn't enough to keep you busy, you can also make use of various optional cables and accessory to hook up an iPod, a video game console, additional screens, or a rear view camera. No word on price, but it'll apparently be available in Europe sometime in September.[Via Akihabara News]
Leadtek cranks out LR9750 / LR9752 GPS systems
It's been a good while since Leadtek caught our eye, and considering that just about everyone who's anyone these days has at least one GPS system with their name on it, we're not shocked by the latest developments. Yes, even Leadtek is storming back with a pair of rather capable navigation devices, each of which sport the SIRFstarIII GPS module, a built-in media player, an oh-so-shiny scroll wheel to navigate the menus, text-to-speech support, an image viewer, and RDS-TMC functionality. Those opting for the LR9752 will also be graced with handsfree calling via integrated Bluetooth, and while it'd be awfully nice to know exactly when these forgettable units would be headed for store shelves, Leadtek's not divulging any of that information just yet.[Via NaviGadget]
MyGuide Splash S navigation system shows off at CeBIT
Joining the array of GPS systems showing off at this year's CeBIT is MyGuide's Splash S, which doesn't really strive to be different outside of its tethering abilities, but gives us all one more option in the saturated 3.5-inch GPS market if nothing else. Encased in a rugged enclosure that can purportedly resist shocks and extreme temperatures, this navigation system touts a 320 x 240 resolution screen, 300MHz Centrality Atlas II processor, handsfree Bluetooth capability, 64MB of built-in RAM, integrated RDS / TMS traffic information receiver, an SD / MMC card slot, rechargeable Li-ion battery, music / video playback, an image viewer, and a copy of Windows CE to run the show. Per usual, no details regarding price or availability were divulged, but feel free to click on through for a few more snapshots.[Via NaviGadget]
