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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.

Hennessey completes first VelociRaptor SUV conversion [w/video]

Start with a Ford F-150 SVT Raptor as your base vehicle for modification, and chances are high that you'll end up with something pretty cool. Now, have those modifications done by professional lunatics Hennessey Performance, make the project turning the pickup into an ultra-long SUV, and the result stands a real chance of being a total kick in the ass. Let us present the Hennessey VelociRaptor then, in all of its awesomeness.
Hennessey has taken care in grafting a "Expedition style" rear cabin onto the Raptor, complete with an optional third row. The pictures we have show a cabin that's up to the fit and finish standards of the original Ford truck, too. The cab added over the bed also makes room for a massive load space out back, accessible via split out-folding doors and long enough for a person to lay down in (see video).
Mechanically, the truck-turned-SUV sticks with Ford's stock 6.2-liter V8, rated at 411 horsepower, or can be had with a supercharger and some 600 hp. Hennessey says the stock-motor VelociRaptor will run from 0-60 miles per hour in 7.5 seconds, while the hi-po version takes just 5.9 seconds. The SUV does take some of the off-road ability away from the Raptor, with the company saying it hasn't yet had the opportunity to test its capabilities. On-roading and "moderate off-road duties" are the current prescription.

Transit Courier completes Ford's new commercial van line, will we get it?

This week Ford rolled out the 2014 Transit Courier, the fourth addition to its Transit range. Ford says its the first time for the nameplate in the compact van segment.
"Ford has now completely transformed its commercial vehicle line-up, with four all-new, class-leading Transits for European customers," said Barb Samardzich, vice president of product development for Ford Europe. "With the all-new Transit range, we expect sales to grow to 400,000 units per year by 2016, well over 50 percent more than we sell today."
When the Courier goes on sale in the Spring of 2014, it will offer more than 1,400 pounds of payload capacity, multiple mounting points for racks or other framework and a rear cargo area that can carry items 5.3 feet-long. An optional folding passenger seat boosts the cargo length to 8.5 feet.