On Gear Live: Circuit Breaker: The Tech Newsletter that Elevates Your Gadget Game

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Drag racing seems like a simple sport, but that’s far from the truth. Sure, you hit the right pedal as hard as you can and hope to cross the quarter-mile before your opponent does, but there's more to it than that. The fact is that at any given moment the world of drag racing can turn into a one-vehicle-demolition-derby bent on self-destruction.

Here’s a clip rarely seen from both angles of cockpit and sidelines view. Watch as the 1968 Camaro gets ready to launch, only to have its left axle disintegrate followed by the tire tearing the left-rear-quarter panel to shreds.

Gallery: Video: How not to finish a race: Axle fail


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We’re not the biggest of fans seeing red and blue flashing lights behind us, as that usually means the fun has just ended. Thanks to a new initiative in Richmond, Virginia, folks will have to worry about early-morning knocks on the door from the boys in blue as well between the hours of midnight and 4:00 a.m if they leave valuable gadgets in their cars.

RPD has started a new initiative, or wake up call service for drivers who leave itesms like smartphones, tablets, and MP3 players in their cars. Night shift officers will be patrolling the streets, peering into curbside vehicles to see if there are any valuables left behind. The motive behind the initiative is to curb vehicle break-ins, which hit a record 20 incidents over the last month. The wake-up call service is way to teach drivers a lesson, RPD says. Though we’re not too sure drivers will be coherent at 4:00 in the morning, we're hopeful that the officers will be able to teach them a little common sense. 

Checkout the video above as WBBC 12 NBC reports on the initiative, and let us know in the comments if you think it’s a smart move on RPD behalf below.

Read More | Autoblog

Gallery: Richmond Police will wake up residents who leave gadgets in their cars


Sure, we’re not huge fans of Justin Bieber’s music, but it’s a sad day in the automotive world when the pop phenom is gifted a six-figure Fisker Karma, made by arguably the best car designers in the world, and then proceeds to ruin the car by chroming it out and placing LEDs under the fuscia, while rolling on black rims.

Celebrity news, or shall we say stalker, site has caught the Biebs rolling around in his Karma with his near-celebrity-almost-a-singer girlfriend, Selena Gomez at a Chick-fil-A. Check out the video above to see reactions to Bieber and his now hideous Fisker Karma, which is actually illegal in California (and that’s not because of the paint.)

Read More | TMZ

Gallery: Justin Bieber’s chromed-out Fisker Karma


Volkswagen Scirocco

Disappointed you can’t get your hands on the Volkswagen Scirocco? Yeah, we are too, however that disappointment may not last long as Volkswagen’s Jonathan Browning suggests that the Scirocco may be heading stateside with its next redesign.

Browning, who attended  the New York Auto Show, suggested that the Scirocco may be appearing in the USA soon, along with the Alltrack Passat. The Scirocco is said to feature a diesel motor and, like the Alltrack Passat, would also be an AWD vehicle. Regardless of what set up the Scirocco comes in, we’re eager to see it in the States.

Read More | Autoblog

Gallery: Volkswagen Scirocco headed to the US with next redesign?


Ferrari 458

Here’s a look at the top 10 vehicles with a high male ownership. We’re not all too surprised with the list of cars, minus a couple of choices.

The Ferrari 458 Italia finds itself on the top of the list with 95.3% of its owners bring men.

After you’re done thinking about who might own the other 4.7% of the 458, the list continues with the BMW 1 Series M taking second followed by Audi R8, Mercedes SLS AMG, and the Ferrari California. We’re not surprised to see all these high-performance, lead-footed fun cars hitting the list. I know that most these cars are on my list of must drive cars before I die.

Number six goes to the Porsche 911, a classic, if you ask us, followed by the Nissan GT-R with 87.9% male ownership. Number eight is were the list take a turn for the worst, the all-ever, cookie-cutter-remixed-Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra pickup trucks; following closely behind it the Ford F-Series. Number ten goes to the ever-classic, mid-life crisis Chevy Corvette.

What leaves us bogged are the number eight and nine slots, is there really nothing better out there other than pick-up trucks?

Read More | InsideLine

Gallery: Top 10 vehicles with highest male ownership percentage


Chrysler Dodge Dart Powerbin

Chrysler recently announced that it will be offering wireless in-vehicle charging stations for your mobile devices. For $200 bucks you can clear your car of messy wires that clutter it, while charging your smartphone. The forthcoming Dodge Dart will be the first of vehicles to feature the “Powermat-like” technology. The car is set to hit dealer lots this summer, and is offering a great alternative to the compact car market.

The power bin is integrated into the cars center consoles, measuring about 8-inches x 9-inches x 3-inches deep. The grid becomes activated when your device is dropped in and shuts off when your device is removed. However, there is a small catch to the system, like the Powermat, Chrysler’s system too calls for a special case to be used in conjunction with its power bin. The case is included with the power bin package.

Read More | Jalopnik

Gallery: Chrysler releases a Powermat-like system in Dodge Dart to charge devices wirelessly


Just an FYI to any drivers out there who think that fleeing the scene of an accident is a good idea, check this out. In the situation above, a metro bus driver decided to block the escape route of a driver that thought a hit-and-run was the best way to handle things. The cyclist who was hit seems to be fine, althogh his bike is likely totaled. The driver, a minor, is faced with several charges and fines.

Read More | AutoBlog

Gallery: Video: Metro bus driver blocks car getaway path after a hit-and-run


Fifth Generation Dodge Viper

It’s big, it’s loud, we’re pretty sure it spits out Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth as it rolls by—the long awaited, fifth generation, Dodge Viper.

Unlike most sensible automakers who are seen tuning down their cars, replacing motors for batteries and what not, Dodge decided it’d be a fitting time to have a proper V8 roam the streets once more. Yet, this wasn’t a simple redesign, but an overhaul of the Viper posters that hung on our walls as children.

So how do you welcome the new Viper? Through YouTube videos, of course! Follow the jump to watch them all.

Click to continue reading Fifth generation Dodge Viper video showcase

Gallery: Fifth generation Dodge Viper video showcase


Many cars now feature blind spot detectors, lance sensors, and other safety features that keep the drivers safe on the road. However, having all these sensors in a car can get annoying from all the warnings and beeping the car sends to the driver. For some, the nuisance of all the different alerts will cause a driver to turn the system off, which defeats of paying for the warning system in the first place. However, Cadillac believes they’ve found the solution to all this noise with the launch of the Safety Alert Seat in its spring models.

Cadillac has developed a safety system, which utilizes all the current safety features, but adds vibration to the mix. Good vibes so to speak, the safety system vibrates the driver’s chair and notifies them of where the danger is on the road. The vibrations are pinpointed via external sensors and vibrate the seat in the appropriate location.

Click to continue reading Cadillac’s Safety Alert Seat keeps you well-informed when on the road

Read More | GM

Gallery: Cadillac’s Safety Alert Seat keeps you well-informed when on the road


Audi has been around the block a few times. It's had hit or miss models throughout its history, as has any manufacturer. However, some of Audi’s models were not only a miss, but ugly too. Case-in-point, is seen in the video above. Though its was only a concept car, it was still rather odd-looking.

Uglyness aside, Audi is trying to bring your attention to its streamlined features as it strives to keeping its cars aerodynamic. In the video, we see Audi’s concept transform into the a A5, which is sexy by all means, but wonder if it would have been better for them to use the A7 instead? That aside, we hope that you enjoy the clip as much as we did!

Gallery: Audi focuses on ugly past to sell sexy 2012 A5


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