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Our brothers-in-green have already covered the fact that Ford saw fit to provide new rides to the two American Idol finalists. This isn't a shocker; Ford is a major sponsor of the hit talent show on Fox. The chosen rides? Ford Escape Hybrids, which we have found to be very nice vehicles that return ......

Click above for a high-res gallery of the lifeguard EscapesThe Los Angeles County Lifeguards (cue the Baywatch theme and visions of Pamela and the shirtless Hoff) are getting new rides. A fleet of customized 4WD Ford Escape Hybrids is replacing the group's current pickup trucks, and the first ten (o......

For 2009, the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner (as well as the Mazda Tribute) are getting the powertrain updates that they missed out on when their exteriors were revamped last year. While the 2008 models had all-new looks and interiors, the engines and transmissions were carried over from 2007, incl......

If your thing is paying to be verbally upbraided by a celebrity, Navtones has you covered. Novelty of novelties, you can now get celebrity voices for your TomTom satnav. I like the way the celebs will bust your chops if you miss a turn, or give you a verbal dope-slap to pay attention, but it might g......

Siemens and Microsoft have announced a joint partnership to develop the next generation of in-car entertainment and sat-nav products, which, much like the Ford/Microsoft Sync system, will allow users to connect everything from mobile phones to media players. Recognizing that standalone audio system......

Mercedes is introducing a feature called Search and Send to that will allow you to send Google and Yahoo! driving directions directly to your car's navigation system. How it works: you get driving directions from either source, and then hit a button labeled Send to Car. If you have a Tele-Aid subscr......

A technician friend once opened the hood of a 1994 Topaz to find everything under the hood was covered in aluminum foil. When he asked the lady why she would do such a thing, she said it was because the government was following her. At the time we thought she was crazy, but she just may have been on......

There's already been a silent technology explosion in automobiles over the last ten years. Command and control has become largely a computerized affair. With high and low speed data buses throughout the automobile, your car is basically a network. It used to be that you'd press the power window swit......

Looking for a restaurant, a gas station, a hotel, or directions? There's an in-car navigation system that can help you. If you want to know what the weather ahead is like, or exactly which lane is closed in an accident, or where the earth has a tendency to split in two, then you need to buy a Honda ......

How's this - you pay a nearly ten percent premium to get a factory navigation system in your new whatever, and when it's replacement time, that very same nav system will cost you again, whacking 1% off the car's resale price. It makes perfect sense if you try to use some of the integrated nav setups......