RSS Feeds are an excellent way to attain real-time updated information on just about any topic. This page contains links to some selected RSS feeds about the car industry and more specifically in regards to to German automobiles.
Blogroll
General Automobile RSS Feeds
- The Car Blog - 7/10 Despite the overly-bright color scheme, this site is pretty informative and has some information that doesn't always pop up in other locations. I'm just not a fan of the layout.
- CarSpace Daily Connect - 6/10 Okay, so not the greatest place for information about cars, this is still an interesting read from the Edmunds team. Inside Line is where you'll find the real news from Edmunds.
- Jalopnik - 10/10 Jalopnik is one of the most informative automobile blogs on the internet. Updated 5 days per week, subscribing to this RSS feed alone will put you up on more current car knowledge than any of your friends.
- Edmunds Inside Line - 8/10 Founded in 1966, Edmunds has been providing car news, information, and reviews for over 30 years. When it comes time to buy your next car, Edmunds will be one of your best friends so make sure to bookmark this one in your RSS reader. Not the best place for current events, but definitely a wealth of knowledge.
German Only RSS Feeds
- German Car Blog - 8/10 As described on the blog links page, this is one of my favorite blogs for German auto information. Check out their feed because it is prettier than their web page (which is full of advertisements and hence the 8/10 rating).
- German Car Scene - 9/10Another German automobile blog with a bunch of interesting (and different) information. Check out their feed to hear more details than the German Car Blog.
- Audi Blog - 7/10 This blog is more my style, all Audis all the time. Albeit a smaller blog with information that may not always be at the cutting edge, this blog is still a solid read for Audi fans. Throw it in your RSS reader for when one the interesting stories pops up.
- BMW Blog - 7/10 This BMW specific blog has all the BMW spy photos you will ever want or need to see. Be the only one of your friends to know which car BMW is testing at the Ring this week. Check it ouf if you're a fan.
- MB Owners- 4/10 Probably would be more interesting if I owned a Benz, seeing as how this feed provides tips and tricks for owners.
- MB News- 8/10 The official location for MB news, there is no denying the validity of this feed. However, typically by the time news is released by the company it's already old.
- Porsche USA- 8/10 Another official RSS feed, same rating as MB News for the same reason.
- VW Australia- 8/10 More official news, this time from down under. Interesting to see how the models are different from what we see in the US.
- NYTimes VW- 8/10 VW is the only of the German automakers to have an NY Times company directory for their news. This is pretty cool, I wish they would create these for the other automakers.
Overall Impressions
Rating: A+
Using RSS to feed a combination of your favorite blogs, news sources, Yahoo Pipes, etc… is a fantastic way to aggregate all the information you want to read at once. For me, this has saved time throughout the semester. I can just log in to Bloglines or my software-based feed reader and fill up on all the new information of the day. With my busy schedule, this makes things more efficient while allowing me to check in on all the sites I like to view. For this project, I was able to combine news feeds from blogs, official websites, and other sources to provide all the information I needed. These feeds have probably been the single best resource.
