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Amazon looking to bring Kindle to your next car?

Maybe so. The online retailer and digital media monolith recently announced the Amazon Cloud Player, an application for Ford Sync that allows users to stream media from their Amazon Cloud account directly to a Ford vehicle. This foray into automotive technology got the minds at Gigaom.com thinking about what could be next for Amazon. As Kevin Fitchard writes, the logical step is to make audio versions of your Kindle library selections available in your car. As he points out, Amazon has already laid the groundwork for such a move.
Amazon pulled the sheets back on Whispersync for Voice last year. The tech pairs ebooks with an Audible book for a small extra fee, allowing users to either read along with a narrator or switch between audio and text versions on command. Fitchard says it wouldn't be some great leap to apply the same principles to a car, where voice recognition software would allow users to pause or select chapters without ever taking their eyes off of the road.
It all sounds just fine to us, but Amazon hasn't said a thing about such a move. Still, we wouldn't be surprised to see the company come down this road in the near future just the same.

Focus STs for SEMA include Lotus and Gulf liveries, rally-fied police car

Ford, as we mentioned on Saturday, is pulling out all the stops for November's SEMA show, bringing 57 vehicles to the Las Vegas event. Ford will be staggering the release of its SEMA flotilla, though, so expect to hear a lot about the new additions to the fleet in the weeks to come. We already showed you the Fiesta, Fiesta ST and Mustang models that made up the first batch of SEMA cars. Next up, we have a quartet of modded Focus STs joining Ford's SEMA roster.
Our first Focus ST (pictured above) sports the legendary livery of Gulf Racing. The orange-on-blue scheme, which Ford helped make famous at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, has been updated for 2013, with a more vibrant blue. This ST was built by Universal Technical Institute, while the exterior was done by Neil Tjin of Tjin Edition. Side exhausts, a Vortech supercharger and a Motiv Concepts high-flow cat allow the ST to breathe a bit easier, while Forgestar wheels contrast well with the iconic paint scheme.
Focus ST number two has been done-up by PM Lifestyle and is inspired by "Southern California car culture." Sporting a sleek, pale blue paint job, there's also no shortage of carbon fiber on the car's exterior. The 2.0-liter, turbocharged, four-cylinder engine has been massaged by the likes of Banks Power, COBB Tuning and Ford Racing, while the suspension is wearing a shiny, new set of coilovers and sway bars. The meaty brakes, tucked behind 19-inch, Rotiform wheels, come from Wilwood, while the cabin has been fitted with a pair of Sparco Chrono seats and five-point, Schroth harnesses.

Shelby to auction 2012 GT350 No. 1 in Vegas

With Shelby preparing to wind down production of its brutal GT350, a 624-horsepower Mustang that's meant to go up against the Roush Stage 3 in the world of tuned Ford ponycars, the Las Vegas-based tuner is looking to give back to one lucky customer. It'll auction off the very first GT350 ever produced, at the 2013 Barrett-Jackson auction in Las Vegas, a three-day event that runs from September 26 through September 28.
The GT350 is a monster, with a 5.0-liter, supercharged V8 that's been tuned well past 600 horsepower in a time when Ford's own Shelby-branded GT500 barely reached 550 horsepower. The GT350 is much louder than Ford's effort, too, both visually and audibly. The wide body look isn't what we'd call conventional, but on a car that sounds and goes like this, something extreme is needed. According to Shelby American's vice president of production, Gary Davis, "Carroll was very excited about the new wide body option, so that was included on this car. It's the first 2012 GT350 serial number from our anniversary year. It is a very special car." Wilwood brakes, a massaged suspension, and some very fat, sticky tires add to the Shelby experience.
This particular GT350 will be lot number 750, and will cross the Barrett-Jackson stage on Sunday, September 28.