Archives for Auto category
For DIYers with a lot more technical know-how than cash, an Instructables user has put up a really interesting tutorial on building an electric motorcycle using just $3000. The vehicle has a 70mph top speed, but can only go about 10 miles before it needs to be recharged. It’s great for a quick trip to the store, if you don’t make any unexpected stops along the way. With gas prices being what they are, you should probably try to make it so Read more… »
1 Jul
Tesla’s following up their $100,000 super-electric roadster model with a four-door, five-passenger sedan. It’s called the Model S and will go on sale for about $60,000 in 2010. The Arnold (CA Governor) was on hand at the announcement because he’s giving an incentive package to Tesla to manufacture the car in California, and will probably be in the Bay Area where we are. Perhaps a Telsa manufacturing plant visit is in our future?
Update: Jalopnik says it’s going to have 225 miles per charge. Wowzers!
Progressive insurance has been testing out the MyRate driving monitoring system for a few years now (it used to be called TripSense), but it’s finally taking the system national, bringing pay-as-you-drive insurance into the mainstream. The little blue box plugs into your car’s ODB II diagnostic port (all cars made after 1996 have one), and studiously records your driving habits, wirelessly sending the data back to Progressive HQ (it’s not clear exactly how). Every six months, Progressive will crunch the numbers and issue a new rate for you based on how you drive — savings of up to 40 percent are possible. Read more… »
Volkswagen is going to get into the game, with a “Twin Drive” Golf powered by a 122 horsepower diesel engine and 82 horsies of electric motor. The car should debut around 2010, and VW plans on spending $769 million on the project, helped along by a $23.5 million program put in place by the German government to help along such development. The car, which uses the electric motor for primary power, supplemented by the diesel motor Read more… »
If Coda’s claims are true, their Self Inflating Tires in development now seem like an inevitable future for car owners. The simple mechanism works with classic principles of a peristaltic pump: a tube is placed in each tire’s sidewall. As it’s run over, the tube’s compression forces air in (filling the tire). A cut-off makes sure the tire doesn’t explode. That’s it. Sound too good to be true? Maybe. But having all tires on the road at optimal inflation could lead to a huge gas/energy savings every year (and as our friends at Jalopnik point out, it’s pretty good for safety as well). So our Read more… »
15 Mar
Volvo decided to built a full-on working concept model of the Volvo C30-based car. The company is teamed up with Saab in a five-year plan to develop plug-in hybrids, and they’re currently planning a fleet of 10 cars to be tested in Sweden. Volvo plans to announce a hybrid version of one or more existing models within the next five years, but they’re certainly playing it safe — though the lithium-polymer batteries and in-wheel electric motors might prove them otherwise.
MIT Media Lab’s RoboScooter prototype would be a lot more intriguing if it had some sort of autopilot button, and while that could very well emerge in the future, it looks as if the first models will still require human intervention. Nevertheless, the ultra-compact vehicle is entirely electric, and aside from supporting swappable batteries, it can also fold up for easy transport. Furthermore, its creators boast that the entire rig is constructed from just 150 parts, which makes life on the assembly line that much easier. Granted, even engineers realize that scooters don’t stand much of a chance in America, but if all goes well, this bugger could start conquering Asian streets as early as next year.
Pages
Categories
Archives
Subscribe