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Pioneer App Radio officially unveiled

Pioneer has officially unveiled the App Radio that AutoWeek told you about earlier this month. Now that it's willing to talk, Pioneer claims that the radio and audio system is "the first in-vehicle product designed to utilize the processing power, storage capacity, network connectivity and apps of the iPhone and iPod Touch as the primary source for its information and entertainment capabilities." That does sound a lot like what Mini Connected and, in a more platform-agnostic sense, Ford Sync are doing. Pioneer said it couldn't speak to the similarity of those systems, but Ted Cardenas, director of marketing for Pioneer's car-electronics division, briefed us on installation of the device and what Pioneer is doing to minimize driver distraction.

New Fiat Panda Cross is a rugged Panda 4×4 baby SUV

The new Fiat Panda Cross (pictured) debuts at Geneva It might not be the top of everyone’s wish list as a baby SUV, but the Fiat Panda Cross has always been better than you’d imagine, and the latest Panda Cross – revealed ahead of a debut at the Geneva Motor Show – looks even more able than the last Panda Cross and better looking too. The 2014 Fiat Panda Cross (although it will really be a 2015 model by the time it arrives in the UK) looks like a proper baby SUV thanks to its new front bumper with a satin titanium skid plate full of round cut-outs, new back bumper with skid plate, new lights, big wheel arches, roof bars and a new set of 15″ alloys (with ‘All Seasons’ 185/65R15 tyres), whilst the interior gets Climate, Blue&Me Infotainment and height-adjustable driver’s seat. The Panda Cross also gets proper baby SUV toys like automatic drive between the axles according to grip, torque control of individual wheels when off-road and hill descent control for controlled downhill descents.

CAR tech: who's to blame for your car's terrible fuel economy?

In early 2013 Audi lost a case brought by the Advertising Standard Agency (ASA) because of ‘misleading’ fuel economy figures used in an advert, after a customer complained they couldn’t get anywhere near the 68mpg quoted. The court case once more exposes the yawning gap between officially sanctioned mpg figures and those experienced by owners. A recent study by the Independent Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) looked at cars sold in the UK and Europe, and discovered the difference between official mpg figures and real-world driving had grown from 8% in 2001 to a barely believable 21% in 2011.