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U.S. Government Orders Hybrid Vehicles
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Transportation
The government will be spending about $285 million by June 1 in Detroit by trading in their older gas guzzlers to purchase about 17,600 new vehicles from GM, Ford and Chrysler. Part of the stimulus bill, it couldn’t have come at a better time for the beleaguered industry. About 2,500 hybrid sedans like the Chevy Malibu, Saturn Aura and Ford Hybrid Fusion have been ordered. Now if we could just get our local governments to follow suit.
Read More 
| Freep
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Nano Vehicle Released in India
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Transportation
Today is the day that Tata Motors debuts its Nano in Mumbai, India. The starting price of $1999.00 means that it is pretty basic. The car is 10.2 ft. long, has a 623cc rear engine, a very small trunk and only one windshield wiper. Power steering, a radio and air conditioner are optional. The fact that it doesn’t have airbags or antilock brakes tells us that it will undoubtedly not reach the States without some upgrading. Tata Motors has been having financial problems of late so we hope the mini-car can get them out of their difficulties.
Read More | USA Today
TH!NK City Automobile
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, Transportation
Kleiner Perkins and RockPort Capital have invested in the TH!NK City, an electric environmental vehicle, emission free and 95% recyclable. It reaches a top speed of 100 km (65 miles) per hour and can drive up to 180 km (110 miles) on a single charge. Made in Norway, the TH!NK City meets all European and U.S. Federal motor vehicle safety requirements. The car will start off in Scandinavia, Switzerland, and France, then expect to see the TH!NK here next year. Knowing that the Chevy Volt will not arrive at least until 2010, we applaud the efforts of the two companies to invest and help us save the planet.
Read More | I4U News
VW Redesigns Eco Car
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Transportation
Take a look at Volkswagen’s revamped carbon-fiber microcar that gets over 200 mpg. The VW features two-cylinders, weighs a mere 660 lbs., and seats two. A basic model will include ABS/ESP, a driver’s airbag, a sequential motorbike-style transmission, as well as LED head and tail lights. Don’t look for extras though, as power steering and brakes won’t be available and air conditioning is optional. Set to debut in 2010, the price should be somewhere between $30,000.00 and $40,000.00.
Read More | Car Magazine
Smart Car Vending Machine
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Misc. Tech, Transportation
In a kind of belated April Fool’s joke, a vending machine was constructed in Japan that holds a full-size Smart Car. Located in the Smart Vendor in Shibuya station, you get to choose between a Coupe and Cabrio and deposit your $20,000.00 in the slot. While we realize this probably an incredible effective marketing ploy, we were thinking that we might go for the real thing since it wouldn’t involve smarmy automobile salespeople looking for commission.
Read More | C Scout
Italian Car Maker Develops Wiper-Free Windshield
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Misc. Tech, Science, Transportation
Imagine not having to deal with the noise and hassle of replacing windshield wipers. This is exactly what Italian Car Designer Leonardo Fioravanti has done with his prototype Hindra. The windshield not only filters out UV rays, it repels water. “Nano-dust” forces dirt to the glass edges activated by sensors. Electricity is used to run the entire mechanism. The process is completed by drag which allows freer flowing air over the windshield. The Hindra and its technology will be on display next month at the Geneva Motor Show.
X Prize Offers A Million for Green Car
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Transportation
The green heat is on. To continue a quest for a car that can make it up to 100 mpg, The AXP (Automotive X PRIZE) promises $10 million to the company that can make a “safe, affordable, and desirable” vehicle for middle America. There are two categories, mainstream and alternative.
The foundation putting up bucks was created by Peter Diamandis when Charles Lindbergh went after the $25,000 reward for flying from New York to Paris. We figure there are plenty of creative Gear Livers that could use the bucks and certainly can come up with their own idea or two by 2009.
Read More | MSN
sQuba Goes From Land to Sea
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Transportation
There is nothing like spending an afternoon at the beach and then getting inro your car to drive into the ocean. Designed after the Lotus Esprit from the movie “The Spy Who Loved Me,” the sQuba can do that in a depth of up to 33 feet. Rinspeed’s Frank Rinderknecht is excited that he finally made his dream a reality. The vehicle features an electric motor for rear wheel drive and 2 propellers in the stern for when it is in the water with zero polluting emissions. Carbon Nano Tubes supply air inside in a self-contained system. The sQuba will make its debut at the Geneva Motor Show this March, but unfortunately it will not become available to the rest of us for quite some time.
Read More | Rinspeed
Smart Car to Invade the U.S
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Transportation
The Mercedes designed ultra-compact Smart (Swatch Mercedes Art) Car is about to hit the States. Designed in the 90’s, it has been in 36 countries for about 10 years and gets around 40 mpg. The car was designed for mostly localized driving, definitely not for salespeople continuously on the road. The Smart Car comes with a price starting at about $11,600.00. The delay comes, according to Mercedes market specialist Jessica Gamarra, because they didn’t feel the U.S. was ready for the minute automobile. We beg to differ. We fondly remember a Honda 600 Coupe that we had in the 70’s that had only 2 cylinders and got over 40 mpg highway.
Read More | CNN
Audi’s A1 Part of Concept Car
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Cameras, Cell Phones, Corporate News, GPS, Handhelds, Transportation, Wireless / WiFi
Audi has decided to include a mobile phone as part of its A1 Metroproject Quattro concept hybrid. The handheld acts as a phone, video and audio player, and supports both 3G UMTS and WiFi technology. Before sliding it into it’s slot on the dashboard, it will also start your car, unlock it by remote, and heat it up before you are forced out in the cold.
There’s more. The A1 will alert you by snapping an image on digicam in the car if someone likes your new purchase as much as you do and decides to borrow it. If that occurs, it will track the thief’s wild ride by GPS. We would just be happy to use that feature to let us know where we parked before the lot got overcrowded with hordes of Holiday shoppers.
Read More | Motor Authority
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