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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.

Top student technicians compete for $12 million in scholarships

Jimbo Paranada and Marc Paguirigan wore their leis made of lucky Hawaiian ti leaves, but it wasn't quite enough to give the Maui High School students the win in the 62nd-annual Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills national competition on June 14 at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Mich. The Hawaiian duo finished second to the two-person team of Matthew Saunders and Drew Torrey from Vale High School in Vale, Ore. The Oregon pair won the title of "America's Best Student Auto Technicians," outscoring at field of state champions from all 50 states.

Ford Fiesta – Good. Fiesta advertising – not so good.

The billboard on a US Fiesta Display (click for bigger image) We have to hand it to Ford. They have handled the introduction of the Fiesta to the US market in a very clever, 21st century way. Their Fiesta Movement campaign paid big dividends and delivered a record level of awareness for a relatively unknown little car in the land of the V8 gas guzzler.