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Not quite as well-equipped as a standard Porsche.

(Credit:
Porsche)

The 2014 Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid goes on sale for $99,000 later this year. Or you could save $98,100 and go even greener with a human-powered Porsche Go-Kart. Not satisfied with just tackling the adult sports car market, the automaker is trying to corner the kids’ market too.

The go-kart comes in a spiffy combination of black and orange. It’s missing some of the luxuries normally associated with Porsche vehicles, like a windshield, headlights, and an engine. It can only hold up to 110 pounds, meaning you need to be a very small adult or one of the kids the kart is actually aimed at to take it for a spin.

The company did use some of its big
car technology to craft the small vehicle. The kart weighs just 55 pounds and uses bicycle parts for the drive components. The automaker attributes this light weight to a mysterious thing called “Porsche Intelligence Performance,” a performance philosophy developed for its hybrid vehicles.

The Porsche Go-Kart will be available from some dealerships for $900. Since many of the world’s most famous race car drivers got their starts with go-karts, perhaps the next generation of F1 stars will get jump-started by a cheap, absolutely no-frills Porsche.

(Via Luxury Launches)

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We round up and update a bunch of favorites this episode, including a look at the Tesla Model S that, since our first look in Fall of 2012 has gone on to become about the most celebrated
car in the world.

We have also updated our Top 5 Electric Cars list with two cars getting bumped by new entrants in the market and 6 months from now we’ll do it again as more solid EVs are in the wings. It’s a busy sector, but largely because California requires carmakers to offer a certain number of zero emission vehicles and EVs are coming to market there as what are called “compliance cars”. Don’t let the number of models make you think there is similar growth in sales, there is not and electric cars are still very much out with the jury.

We got a lot of email about self-parking tech from one of our very first episodes you may have missed so its back and self-parking tech has only become more common and affordable in the interim. In fact, it is showing up a lot these days as part of driver assist packages which means a lot of people will sample it and tell a friend. It really works and is a Godsend for those millions who can’t park.

No XCar video this week, they are back with us in Episode 21 with a look at the latest VW Golf and the history of that longtime favorite of car people everywhere.

As always, e-mail me your thoughts, suggestions, and comments.

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Waze’s mobile navigation app.

(Credit:
Waze)

Google has agreed to acquire Waze, the Israel-based company behind the mapping app Facebook was also reportedly vying for, according to blog posts from both Google and Waze.

The deal, for which terms weren’t disclosed, follows months of speculation about who would land the startup. Reports later in the day pegged the price at a little more than $1 billion. In recent days, Google was said to be close to a $1.3 billion deal and that Facebook talks had fallen apart.

The acquisition could help Google improve its own mapping services and put a bigger moat around them against the likes of Facebook and Apple. Monday, Apple promised to bring iOS maps integration into cars.

At its Worldwide Developer Conference keynote, Apple Vice President Eddy Cue said Honda, Mercedes, Nissan, Ferrari, and Infiniti are all working on functional integration of more iOS features in their
cars, including making its maps program available on a car’s LCD like music functions already are. Cue said this integration could come out as soon as 2014, making it likely to be in 2015 models.

Apple’s troubled map program has vexed users since its launch, when it was panned for charting some wildly inaccurate locations and having awkward usability. The backlash brought about a rare public apology from Apple, but earlier this year Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said at a conference that his company didn’t enter the race for Waze, after taking a look at its books.

For its part, Google said in its post about the takeover that it planned to enhance Google Maps with some of the traffic update features provided by Waze and bolster Waze with its own search capabilities. The Waze product development team will remain in Israel and operate separately for now.

Waze leverages a growing community of drivers to find the best routes through traffic. It said joining Google’s ranks, rather than moving toward an IPO, will keep attention focused on its community of drivers, instead of shifting it to lawyers and Wall Street.

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Station wagons, once the family car of choice, plummeted in popularity after the 1970s, making the 2013 Cadillac CTS-V Wagon a rare thing. Such a powerful wagon is an even rarer thing, yet fitting a wagon with CTS-V performance gear seems so right.

The CTS is, of course, the model that carried Cadillac through the recession. It proved so popular that the company offered it as a sedan, coupe, and wagon. A convertible was the only type the company did not release. This 2013 model is the CTS’ victory lap, as Cadillac showed off a much-needed update, the 2014 CTS, at the last New York International Auto Show.

The CTS-V is, of course, the high-powered version of the car, also available in sedan, coupe, and wagon form. Boasting 556 horsepower from that supercharged V-8 and an adaptive suspension, the performance is let down somewhat by the six-speed automatic transmission. Fortunately, a six-speed manual is available.

The look of this 2013 CTS-V Wagon remains fresh, and the example delivered to CNET showed off a sparkly tri-coat paint job, satin-black rims, and yellow brake calipers. Not so fresh is the CTS-V Wagon’s cabin tech. Demonstrating the lack of synchronicity between electronics and automotive development, what were cutting-edge features in 2008 now appear dated and react slowly, at least compared with my expectations.

Pop-up LCD
The CTS-V still features a motorized LCD, showing navigation when deployed and neatly leaving a little ribbon of screen available for audio information when recessed. Its interface is a little confusing, mostly controllable with the touch screen but offering some menu navigation and selection from a dial on the center stack. Hard buttons on the stack give ready access to audio and navigation functions.

Voice command in the car was primitive by today’s standards. It offered limited control over the stereo, and when entering a street address, it made me say each part separately, tediously pausing and confirming at each step. For the Bluetooth phone system, voice command did not make it possible to place a call by saying the name of a contact.

The CTS-V Wagon uses a hard drive to store maps, and shows navigation on a pop-up LCD.

(Credit:
Josh Miller/CNET)

In fact, the Bluetooth hands-free phone system is one of the weaker elements in the CTS-V Wagon. Cadillac didn’t include it all in the original CTS electronics package, wanting drivers to rely on OnStar’s hands-free phone feature. As an add-on feature, the Bluetooth system is very primitive, with no screens available on the LCD.

This feature-poor Bluetooth implementation means no Bluetooth audio streaming for the stereo. However, the CTS-V Wagon does have hard-drive space for music, as the navigation stores its maps on an internal hard drive.

I like the look of the maps in the navigation system, and appreciated some icons representing landmark buildings in San Francisco’s downtown area. The traffic data worked well, and was easy to read from the maps. And one thing I’ve always liked about this navigation system is that it will warn about traffic jams on the road ahead even when you don’t have a route programmed. It’s a useful warning.

The route guidance worked well, showing useful graphics and reading out street names, but the maps seemed very out-of-date. For example, it did not seem to know about the Fremont exit from I-80 in downtown San Francisco, even though it has existed for years.

The lack of Bluetooth streaming in the stereo also showed the CTS-V Wagon’s age, as did the iPod connector in the console. This 30-pin connector plugged into the car through a Y cable terminating in USB and 1/8-inch auxiliary audio plugs. Connecting my iPhone 5 to this mess with a 30-pin-to-Lightning adapter, I had full control over my phone’s music library on the touch screen.

The CTS-V Wagon uses its traffic data, received from satellite, to warn drivers of problems on the road ahead.

(Credit:
Josh Miller/CNET)

The CTS-V Wagon’s stereo also parsed the MP3 files on a USB drive I plugged into the car, showing a full music library interface on the screen.

The car has satellite radio, of course, but it predated widespread adoption of HD Radio, so that feature is not available.

The 10-speaker audio system in the car is one of the best I’ve heard from Bose. Its balanced output was an enjoyable accompaniment to my driving, delivering nice, clear tones. It wasn’t huge on bass, though, and I wouldn’t put it against top systems in other luxury cars, such as the Bang Olufsen stereos in some Audi models.

App control
A more modern electronics component in the CTS-V Wagon comes in the form of OnStar, which has been upgrading and gaining features irrespective of the car’s own electronics. There are, of course, the concierge and roadside assistance features accessible at the push of the blue button on the rearview mirror casing, but more exciting is OnStar’s recent app, which works on Android or iOS. With it, you can view the car’s fuel level (very useful considering the CTS-V Wagon’s excessive consumption), unlock the doors, and make the horn honk so you can find the car in a vast suburban parking lot. Best of all, you can look up destinations and send them to the car, bridging the gap between smartphone and in-car navigation system.

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Chevrolet Volt.

(Credit:
General Motors)

Chevrolet is offering a sizable price incentive in the face of price slashing in the electric car market.

The 2013 Volt now comes with a $4,000 cash-back incentive and the 2012 model ups that to $5,000, according to Michelle Malcho, a Chevrolet spokeswoman.

That’s the largest Volt cash incentive that Chevy has offered to date, Malcho said.

Alternatively, a Volt can now be leased for $269 a month for 36 months with a $2,399 down payment.

The Volt is a plug-in hybrid (GM refers to it as an extended-range electric vehicle or E-REV) with a range of about 40 miles on electric power and another 300 to 400 miles on the range-extender gas engine.

The base price is $39,995 but — in addition to the new Chevy incentives — the Volt comes with other cash-back incentives and tax credits to effectively bring the price far below what’s on the sticker. That includes a federal tax credit of $7,500 (if you buy the vehicle) and a $1,500 cash incentive in California.

Why now? In addition to getting ready for upcoming 2014 Volt, “there’s increased price competition in the market, whether it’s electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles or plug-in vehicles,” Malcho said.

Indeed, all-electric rivals are turning up the heat. Nissan is getting very aggressive on pricing for the Leaf, an all-electric with a range of about 75 miles. Since Nissan moved Leaf production to the U.S., the price has dropped to $29,650 — a $6,400 price reduction over the 2012 model.

And it’s showing up in sales. In May, Nissan sold 2,138 Leafs, up 319 percent over last year — beating the Volt in May.

The Volt’s May sales fell 4.3 percent, to 1,607, brining the total for first five months of this year to 7,157 compared to the Leaf’s to-date total of 7,614.

And Honda is getting into the price-slashing act. That company recently announced a low lease rate for its Fit EV, an all-electric
car offered in California. The Fit EV is being offered for $259 a month for a three-year lease with no down payment, unlimited miles, and included insurance coverage.

Honda is throwing in a Leviton home charging station for the car too.

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Waze’s mobile navigation app.

(Credit:
Waze)

Apple blew it big-time last year with the botched launch of its own Maps. At its Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, the company tried to show that it knows which direction to take Apple Maps.

We won’t how know well it works until the fall. But Google — the leader in online maps — isn’t waiting around.

Google’s purchase of Waze — a deal that Google confirms Tuesday but won’t elaborate on — will, if nothing else, keep a rival from snapping up the hot Israeli startup.

Google reportedly spent more than a literal ton of cash to buy the crowd-sourced traffic mapping company. The price, reportedly more than $1 billion, is no small sum for a company that does much of what Google Maps already does.

What Google is buying
While Google is the undisputed leader in the field, said electronic maps expert Marc Prioleau, Waze comes with three key assets. The app itself, which handles features like social interaction and route mapping; the map database, which contains all the location information; and, said Prioleau, “a really good team of 100 people.”

All of which Google has, he said — and then some. “It’s got 1,000 good people on geolocation, it’s got an excellent map, and they’ve got their own traffic app,” Prioleau said.

Marcus Thielking, co-founder and chief marketing officer at Skobbler, a German geolocation app maker that uses the OpenStreetMap platform, agreed. “For anybody [else] out there, Waze would have been a good buy,” he said. “But for Google? Google is so much more advanced, in all these things.”

All that said, Waze could add some flair. We could, for instance, see the real-time pothole updates and crowd-sourced map editing that Waze offers come to Google Maps, just as Google bought Nik’s photo filters and overhauled them to become a core part of the new photo editing tools in Google+.

Tough to get Maps right

With its purchase of Waze, which still needs antitrust clearance, Google has just taken one of the few players in the digital cartography world off the map.

Apple Maps will be coming to OS X Mavericks.

(Credit:
Apple)

The electronic maps field is small, said Thielking, now limited to just four companies. There’s Google; NavTek, which is owned by Nokia, which has contracts with Microsoft; TomTom, which powers Apple Maps; and OpenStreetMap, an open-source mapping Wikipedia of sorts. OpenStreetMap is popular in some European countries, such as the United Kingdom and Germany, and is used by some tech companies, such as Foursquare.

“Waze would raise their hand and say they’re the fifth. This is a real scarce resource,” said Prioleau.

For its part, Apple CEO Tim Cook recently denied reports that Apple was considering a bid for Waze, a marriage that Thielking said would have made more sense than the one with Google. So now Apple will chart its own map course.

While one survey found that Apple’s Map missteps did not cause much consternation with its users, it definitely angered developers. If nothing else, the whole mishap showed that mapping is hard to do well.

Apple, said Thielking, “knows they can’t put Apple Maps out there as a selling [point]. They just want to show people that they’re doing something,” he said. “It’s tough to establish a service, and it’s tough for them to fix that broken base.”

Clicking on a location, such as this karaoke bar, causes similar locations to also be highlighted on the new Google Maps.

(Credit:
CNET)

Apple’s announcement that its Maps will be coming to
OS X Mavericks and several high-profile car manufacturers in the next two years are signs that the worst of the maps storm has passed. “They spent a huge amount of time fixing problems,” said Prioleau. “The encouraging thing for me is that I’d love for Apple to succeed. I love Google’s product, but I don’t want them to be the only product out there.”

The problem is that Google Maps is so much further ahead, according to Prioleau and Thielking, that catching up is like trying to hang on to the outside of a freight train with a coathanger.

“Google Maps is out there, and it’s better on every count,” said Thielking. “Apple totally messed it up from the get-go, and Google isn’t standing still.”

Google’s already working hard at making personalized maps, by pulling in data from search and social. “If you type “tiramisu” into Maps, you’ll get restaurants that serve tiramisu,” said Prioleau. Google is taking personalization beyond that, Prioleau said, so that when you’re logged in, it knows when you search for “Mexican food” that you prefer locally-owned restaurants as opposed to Chipotle.

With upcoming
car and OS X integration, Apple may have finally found a way forward on Maps. But knowing which way to go and actually getting there are two things that can be miles apart.

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