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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.

More Saab products coming, Muller says

Saab's new Dutch owner, Spyker Cars NV, intends to spin additional models off its new Phoenix platform after it yields a redesigned Saab 9-3. Saab dealers will receive the latest 9-3 in 2012, Spyker founder and Saab Automobile AB Chairman Victor Muller said Thursday at the CAR Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, Mich. The dealers, who have been starved for product as former owner General Motors attempted to sell or liquidate the brand, also will obtain a Cadillac-based 9-4X crossover when it goes into production in April 2011 in Mexico.

Terrafugia's next flying car to be a tiltrotor?

It took Bell, Boeing and the United States military decades to get the V-22 Osprey from idea to deployable platform. But with one flying car in the final stages of development, Terrafugia's looking to the military tiltrotor for inspiration. With their Transition model slated to begin deliveries in 2015 or 2016, Terrafugia's TF-X has hit the drawing board.