NYC

While it may not be the first GPS navigation system we've seen sporting augmented reality, Pioneer'slatest in-dash series may offer the first built-ins to bring AR to the open road. Using a windshield-mounted camera, the AVIC-VH09CS and AVIC-VH09 stream live footage to a 7-inch in-dash display, adding layers of pertinent information to real-time video. Among other things, the AR-capabilities provide visual cues that alert drivers to the changing of upcoming traffic lights and the exact distance of the next turn. Both systems sport a USB port, SD reader, CD and DVD drives, and Bluetooth. Pioneer will let them loose in Japan later this month for an as of yet undisclosed amount, but it looks like American drivers will just have to keep rolling with plain old reality for now. CrunchGear Pioneer Japan

New Yorkers, this is your "Taxi of Tomorrow." After two years of deliberation, Nissan's NV200 was chosen as the city's exclusive taxi yesterday, edging out models from Ford Motor Co. and Turkish manufacturer Karsan. The four-passenger van is slated to hit New York's streets in late 2013, after which it will be gradually phased in on a more widespread basis. With a manufacturer suggested retail price of around $29,000, the commodious NV200 boasts a 2.0L 4-cylinder powertrain, transparent roof panel, driver navigation system, overhead reading lights and a mobile charging unit, replete with a 12V outlet and two USB ports. Nissan also placed an emphasis on passenger and pedestrian safety, with front and rear-seat curtain airbags, standard traction control and an external lighting system designed to alert others when the NV200's doors are opening. The van's microbial seat fabric should help assuage the fears of many germophobes, while its "low-annoyance...