Microsoft Surface: Behind-the-Scenes

Check out this video showing off the new Microsoft Surface Computer. It’s pretty wild. A Surface computer is able to recognize physical objects from a paintbrush to a cell phone and allows hands-on, direct control of content such as photos, music and maps. Surface turns an ordinary tabletop into a d

Microsoft Surface: PM Gets Video First Look

The software giant announced today at the D5 conference that it’s built a new touchscreen computer—a coffee table that will change the world. Go inside its top-secret development with PopularMechanics.com, then forget the keyboard and mouse: The next generation of computer interfaces will be hands-o

Learn the language of car designers

At one of the Hot Rod Power Tour stops a few years ago, I met a GM designer at the automaker's booth. I can't recall his name, but I was so starstruck I think I remember our conversation consisting mostly of me saying, "Hey, you're cool."

Don't let this happen to you. The New York Times provides a lexicon of design slang to help you at least fake a conversation if you happen to run in to, say, Brian Nesbitt at the local bowling alley. We're sure most Autoblog readers know many if not most of the terms defined in the story, but there are a few that might surprise, and a refresher course is rarely a bad thing. Here are a few of the more obscure terms to get you started:

I.P. - The NYT's story warns to never use the word dashboard when speaking with a designer, but instead to refer to it as the instrument panel, or , preferably, the I.P.

D.R.G - Cars designed with traits of its company have what is called Down the Road Graphic. It's the "visual signature" that with only a quick glance, communicates the brand.

Dead Cat Hole - We can guess the origins of this term, but it refers to the space between a car's tire and the wheel well.

Check out the NYT story for more terms defined, like gummidinger and rat hole.

Call Magnum, there's a new 308! Oh wait, it's a Peugeot...

Click image for a gallery of the Peugeot 308

In our minds, the number 308, as it pertains to cars, is inextricably tied to Ferrari, and by extension, one Thomas Magnum, whose 308 GTS was one of the cooler TV rides of the 80s. Unfortunately, the number will soon be associated with Peugeot's "gaping maw" front end treatment on the new 308 hatch. Regardless of how anyone feels about Pug's corporate schnoz, it's very...um, distinctive, and naturally, it adorns the automaker's newest 5-door. The photos here leaked earlier in the week, and there's no official release to accompany them yet (that will come on June 5, according to WorldCarFans).

The prevailing wisdom, however, is that is that the 308 will launch with the BMW-PSA 120-horsepower 1.6L four cylinder (also used in the Mk2 MINI Cooper). A range of diesels will also be available, and as previously reported, PSA's diesel-electric Hybride HDi system is also going to be in the mix. That powertrain should be good for something in the neighborhood of 69 mpg in the combined-cycle, which is obviously fantastic. Finally, an E85-capable engine will also be offered.

A wagon and coupe+convertible will join the hatchback later on, and a spunky, turbocharged 308 RC is expected sometime in the future. All these new 308s may well be fine cars, but we'd still rather have the kind with that horse on the hood...

[Source: WorldCarFans]

Enter the rumormill: Lexus IS coupe cometh

Although we've heard the rumors before, and it still seems like a no-brainer, Lexus has remained mum on the introduction of an IS coupe. With its assault on everything held dear to the Bimmer and Merc people, it's simply a matter of time before Lexus takes aim at the 3-series and C-classes that have remained largely unchallenged in the sports coupe market.

The most recent news rumor comes via Nihon Car, who procured the above scan from the Japanese mag Car-Top. Granted, the photochopped image above is simply wishful thinking (that rear window looks a bit awkward), but a hardtop convertible version of the IS would be right at home in Lexus dealerships and in the garages of BMW and Mercedes refugees. But until we start seeing spy shots, we'll be taking that grain of salt, thank you very much.

[Source: Nihon Car and Bike]

F1's secret safety car showdown

On Thursdays before a Formula 1 GP weekend really kicks off, Bernd Maylander, the F1 safety car driver, and Dr. Jacques Tropenat, the F1 medical car driver, check out the trackside cameras and timing equipment. Steering identical Mercedes CLK 63's, they also check out their driving skills by seeing which one of them can set the best lap.

Bernd is a former race car driver who has been doing safety car duty since 2000. When the FIA decided to hire a professional safety car driver instead of using former F1 pilots, Bernd was plucked from the DTM series and given two years of training. Now, the hardest driving he does is when he's called out to parade the racers around during a caution. He knows how slow it looks on TV, but he says "I have to drive 99% up to my limit. I can't drive over my limit - that extra 1% is to make sure I'm safe. The drivers know I have to drive really hard in a much slower car, but if they push me then I know I can drive a little bit quicker. We have to play together." He also wins the award for The Most Obvious Quote of Memorial Weekend when he says "The difference between a safety car and a F1 car is like a jumbo jet and a star fighter. To put it simply, I could never win a Grand Prix in the safety car." That said, his only real competition is the Thursday bout with his medical colleague. Call it Fire Marshall Bill vs. McDreamy.

Thanks for the tip, Patrick!

[Source: BBC]

These kids today: college students think Volvo is German and Land Rover is American...

Do you know where babies cars come from? Anderson Analytics took a survey of 1,000 college students from more than 375 universities and discovered that many of them don't. A third of the respondents thought Lexus was American. More than half of them thought Hyundai was Japanese, and at the same time, two-thirds of them think Korean products are no good. Almost half thought Volvo and Saab were German, and more than half thought Land Rover is American. Which, technically, it is, but probably not in the way they meant it.

The survey, carried out last summer, was actually a study of country-of-origin on brand perception. Carmakers weren't the only ones to suffer from "They don't make that here?" syndrome. Almost no one knew that Nokia is Finnish, and almost everyone thought that Motorola's Japanese. But country origin doesn't have the same effect on brand perception for cell phones that it does on cars. However, how important can it be to make sure people know your car is Swedish if those people can't point Sweden out on a map? Just make sure they don't think it's Korean.

[Source: Carscoop]