13 14 15 Chevy Equinox Radio Control Panel 380089 on 2040-parts.com

CES: Cranking up Harman's QuantumLogic 3D surround-sound system

Yesterday we reported how Audi was readying a lavish 3D sound experience with 23 speakers and 1,400 watts of goosebump-inducing audio power. Not to be outdone, Harman had been quietly developing a system of its own: Quantum Logic 3D brings together 25 speakers and more than 2,000 watts of Tubthumping power to a new car near you, like driving inside Phil Spector's Wall of Sound. Sitting inside the demonstration BMW 7-Series that Harman painstakingly lifted into the Studio at the Palms, Global Audio Engineering vice president Phil Muzio explained, "great music is delivered in stereo, yet our consumer research indicates that people enjoy surround sound." QuantumLogic 3D's surround sound expands beyond the boundaries of the vehicle's cabin, providing "a sense of detail and spatial placement that you don't get in stereo." Five height component speakers mounted in the corners of the headliner, and above the rearview mirror, elevates audio beyond the confines of the roof, "almost like you're in a convertible," said Muzio.

Volkswagen mulls new Phaeton for the US market

Volkswagen is giving some serious thought to bringing back the Phaeton sedan to the U.S., Automotive News reports. We haven't seen the Phaeton since 2006, when it was withdrawn from the North American market after lackluster sales. Built at the same factory as the much more expensive Bentley Continental GT and sharing much of the underlying mechanicals, the Volkswagen Phaeton managed to be a slower seller in the U.S.

Interior Motives Design Awards 2010

As the doors closed to the press at the Mondial de L'Automobile in Paris, the world's top designers and automotive journalists gathered at the nearby Palais des Congrès d'Issy to watch a new generation of designers celebrate success at the 2010 Interior Motives Design Awards. Never before has the automotive industry been in greater need of fresh perspectives and innovation, and the students gathered here tonight provided both in spades - perhaps none more so than Kosin Voravattayagon of Sweden's Umeå Institute of Design, who walked away from the event with the Interior Motives Student Designer of the Year 2010 title and prize money totalling $5,000. Themed ‘Driving the Interior Revolution', this year's contest attracted entries from an incredibly diverse range of schools and nationalities - from Israel and Iran, to Slovakia and South America.