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Automotive
The Carbon E7 purpose-built police car dashboard takes shape
By Mike Hanlon
20:14 February 11, 2009 PST
Carbon Motors is building the world's first purpose-built law enforcement patrol vehicle, the Carbon E7, so the announcement earlier this week that it would use L-3 Displays interface equipment in the E7’s On Board Rapid Command Architecture (ORCA) will probably impact most patrol officers at some point in the future. ORCA will replace the laptops that most officers are currently utilizing in their patrol vehicles to send and receive data while on patrol. That's the new Carbon E7 Cockpit pictured. Read More
Chevy Volt to get energy efficient Bose sound system
By Darren Quick
19:20 February 11, 2009 PST
It’s obvious that car manufacturers working to provide consumers with environmentally friendly vehicles must deal with power, weight, and space constraints to make the next generation of automobiles a reality. What isn’t so obvious is that manufacturers of in car systems will also need to address these constraints, which is the reason Bose has been working on a new sound system that utilizes a proprietary design to produce a system that is 30% smaller, 40% lighter, and uses 50% less energy than conventional Bose sound systems, while still delivering premium, high-quality audio. Bose will debut its Energy Efficient Series sound system in the Chevy Volt, which is set to hit showrooms in 2011. Read More
McLaren to significantly increase road car production
By Mike Hanlon
03:55 February 11, 2009 PST
The bitter rivalry between McLaren and Ferrari which has dominated F1 of recent times looks certain to spill over from the track to the showroom floor. In a typically bold move, McLaren is to ramp up production of its elite sports cars from 100 to 1,000 per year by 2011 and eventually to 4000 annually. The SLR McLaren sells at UKP 300,000 plus, but McLaren supremo Ron Dennis told the Financial Times earlier this week that volume production would enable McLaren to make a ‘far more affordable’ car and compete with its F1 rival Ferrari in the sports car market. Read More
SEAT Exeo solar sunroof harnesses sun to cool car
By Mike Hanlon
20:53 February 10, 2009 PST
SEAT, the Spanish arm of the Volkswagen Group, will launch its new Exeo upper medium sector saloon in April, along with some interesting technologies designed to keep it cool in the Spanish sun. The optional solar sunroof uses mini solar panels embedded in the glass to generate electricity which powers the car’s ventilation system, even when the ignition is off, drawing in cooler ambient air and significantly reducing the automotive ‘greenhouse’ effect on a hot day. Read More
Ford’s first Battery Electric Vehicle confirmed as the 2010 Transit Connect
By Paul Evans
15:34 February 9, 2009 PST
True to their word Ford Motor Company has become the first of the big three to announce plans to market a pure battery electric-powered light commercial vehicle in North America. Based on the all-new Transit Connect global commercial vehicle platform, the Transit EV will be available in U.S. Ford dealerships in 2010. Read More
640 bhp Hulme Spyder to follow 600 bhp Hulme CanAm
By Mike Hanlon
02:23 February 9, 2009 PST
Last week we ran the news that New Zealand-based Hulme Supercars had demonstrated a 600 bhp two-seat CanAm version of the lightweight carbon fibre machine at the New Zealand round of the A1GP series. A subsequent conversation with Hulme MD Jock Freemantle has revealed the news that a Hulme Spyder will follow the CanAm with a supercharged 640 bhp Chevrolet LS9 engine as used in the ZR1. The initially-announced F1 car will now be third in the development queue. Read More
Thermoelectrics to replace car alternators and improve MPG
By Paul Evans
16:06 February 8, 2009 PST
Thermoelectrics - the phenomena in which a temperature difference creates an electric potential - have been known about for almost 200 years, but practical applications have not been widespread due to their low energy efficiency. That may all now be about to change as Germany automakers Volkswagen and BMW have developed thermoelectric generators (TEG) that recover waste heat from a combustion engine. Read More
Monster truck turns snowmobile
By Mike Hanlon
15:21 February 8, 2009 PST
With arctic conditions bringing the entire United Kingdom to a halt, the staff at Santa Pod Raceway in Northamptonshire decided to employ Podzilla, the racetrack's 1200 bhp Monster Truck, to travel the otherwise inaccessible 180 acre grounds. With a fuel consumption of 15 gallons per mile (that's not a misprint), Podzilla isn't exactly practical winter transport, but it is a lot of fun in the snow and the six foot tall tires get traction everywhere. Read More
1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa expected to break world auction record
By Mike Hanlon
17:22 February 7, 2009 PST
IMAGE LIBRARY UPDATED The world record auction price for a motor car was set last May at the Ferrari Leggenda e Passione by a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder which sold for USD 10,894,400 (€7,040,000, £5,598,208 GBP). The event is held annually in Maranello, during the final stretch of the Mille Miglia and the RM/Sothebys auction always sees the finest available specimens of the Prancing Horse go under the hammer. This year a Scaglietti-designed, ‘pontoon-fender’ 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa (pictured) is expected to break the record once more. Read More
EBDI ethanol engines surpass gasoline engine efficiency
By Mike Hanlon
18:30 February 6, 2009 PST
Automotive technology specialist Ricardo has revealed the development of technology that optimizes ethanol-fuelled engines to a level of performance that exceeds gasoline engine efficiency and approaches levels previously reached only by diesel engines. The technology, called Ethanol Boosted Direct Injection (EBDI), takes full advantage of ethanol’s best properties – higher octane and higher heat of vaporization – to create a renewable fuel scenario that is independent of the cost of oil. Read More
Electric garbage truck is powered by garbage
By Loz Blain
01:08 February 5, 2009 PST
Mr. Fusion it ain't, but in what is believed to be a world first, a small town in the UK has debuted an electric municipal garbage truck that's powered by the garbage it collects. Kirklees council has deployed a modified Ford Transit with a 40kWh lithium-ion battery pack as its first silent garbage truck - and the trash it collects is burned back at the Energy from Waste center, generating enough energy to recharge the truck's batteries and pump another ten megawatts back into the power grid. Read More
Aptera 2e specs released
By Paul Evans
21:10 February 3, 2009 PST
Aptera have displayed two prototypes at the Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) conference held annually at Long Beach California and have revealed more specifications for the 2009 production 2e. The big news is that we finally have some specs for the powertrain. The 1500lb (680kg) curb weight Aptera 2e will have a 60 ft/lb (81 Nm) electric motor driving the front wheels through a 10:1 single speed gearbox with power provided at 336 volts by a 10 – 13 kw/hr Lithium iron phosphate battery pack. Read More
Hypermiling Toyota iQ returns 71.6 mpg
By Mike Hanlon
22:13 February 2, 2009 PST
We're a competitive bunch us human beings, with the same evolutionary skill sets which took us to unquestioned lords of the fuel chain, seemingly able to turn our competitiveness to any challenge. Witness the alarming gas price rises of recent times, a marked change in our driving habits and … the advent of hypermiling - the best new word of the year according to the New Oxford American Dictionary. Last week a pair of Toyota-employed hypermilers managed to push Toyota's new iQ way beyond its official mpg figures. Read More
DIY Honda Civic gets 95 MPG
By Paul Evans
17:25 February 1, 2009 PST
It might look ugly but this 1992 Honda Civic has double the fuel mileage of a standard Civic simply by lowering the coefficient of drag (Cd) from 0.34 to 0.17 with a little engineering savvy and $400 worth of material bought the local hardware store. In fact the drag on this 350,000 miles (563,270 km) old Civic has been reduced to the point where it is virtually equal to the radical tear drop shaped Aptera which has a Cd of 0.15. Read More
The 600bhp 1000kg US$425,000 Hulme CanAm
By Mike Hanlon
16:09 February 1, 2009 PST
The name Hulme holds a special respect in New Zealand, partly because Denny Hulme won a World F1 title in 1967 and two CanAm (the nearest any major international racing series ever got to “anything goes”) titles, and partly for the Rambo-esque, Victoria Cross-winning exploits of Denny's father Clive during WWII. The Hulme Supercar which honours his name was announced in 2005, and recently former F1 driver Chris Amon did a demo lap of a pre-production CanAm Hulme at the NZ round of A1GP. The open top road legal CanAm weighs less than 1000kg and produces 600bhp and will go into limited production in 2010 for an expected GBP295,000 there's a coupe version coming too. Read More
Black Bess, famous Bugatti Type 18 goes under the hammer
By Mike Hanlon
23:55 January 29, 2009 PST
‘Black Bess’, the famous Bugatti Type 18 Sports two-seater will go under the auctioneers hammer next week. One of just three Type 18s in existence, the car was purchased new by pioneer French aviator Roland Garros and has been driven competitively on road and track by a string of distinguished owners for almost all of its 96 years. Black Bess, named after highwayman Dick Turpin’s legendary steed, will be just one of an array of very special automobiles at Bonhams’ auction at Retromobile in Paris on February 7, 2009. Expect to pay EUR1.3 to 1.5 million if you want a slice of this beauty. Read More
Aptera 2e pre-production model rolls out, on track for October launch
By Paul Evans
19:13 January 29, 2009 PST
Aptera has released news that the initial pre-production front wheel drive version of the all-electric model known as the series 2e has rolled out the door of its Californian production facility. For the next several months a small number of vehicles will be built for internal testing. Volume production for retail deliveries is now scheduled for October 1, 2009. Read More
The Extreme Bentley – fastest, most powerful ever
By Mike Hanlon
13:45 January 28, 2009 PST
It has been interesting to see the continued rise of the time-honoured Bentley automotive brand and its immense desirability to the young and nouveau rich. The attractiveness levels are about to rise another magnitude with the imminent unveiling of the Extreme Bentley, the perfect badge of success for extreme athletes and other non-conventional financial achievers. Only a promotional film and single darkened image have been released so far, along with the news the vehicle will feature Bentley’s new flexfuel powertrain, announced at the NAIAS a week or two back. Oh, and the news it will be the fastest, most powerful production Bentley ever. That means … Read More
Ultimate Aero EV: 1000 horsepower electric supercar
By Paul Evans
03:18 January 28, 2009 PST
January 28, 2009 In the latest installment from the company that announced only four months ago that it is working on a new breed of EV super car “featuring a revolutionary power source allowing for the possibility of several years between charging”, we now have the just-as-fantastic prospect of the world's first roadgoing 1000 bhp battery electric vehicle. Shelby Sports Cars says it expects to roll out its first full-scale, pre-production Ultimate Aero EV in Q2 2009 so we won’t have long to see if this ambitious claim can become reality. Read More
P1-E electric car with a McLaren F1 beating 0-60 in 2.9 sec
By Paul Evans
23:09 January 27, 2009 PST
From the country with more cottage industry sports car manufactures per capita than anywhere else in the world, the British are at it again. No sooner has the much publicized British Lightning GT - an all electric Aston Martin look-a-like with four wheel motors - vanished from sight following wheel motor manufactures PML flight link being put into administration another previously unknown British sports car hopeful has announced an all electric sports car. Former McLaren employee Jim Dowle whose company JJAD first released details about his P1 sports car in February 2008 has now announced the P1-E. The P1 was originally conceived as a 200hp 870 kg petrol powered challenger to the Lotus Exige but Dowle has obviously seen the writing on the wall and the P1 has now been reincarnated as an All Wheel Drive battery electric sports car. Read More
Wet weather braking tests show budget tires don’t pay
By Mike Hanlon
20:26 January 27, 2009 PST
Tires are a distress purchase for many car owners, so when the time comes to replace them it’s no surprise that many motorists shop on price. British magazine Autocar has performed some interesting comparison tests revealing that fitting budget tyres can seriously affect your health. wet weather. With on average 200 days of rain each year in the UK, the magazine tested a range of budget Chinese imports against a premium brand in wet conditions and found an alarming discrepancy in stopping distances. Read More
Mitsubishi i MiEV SPORT AIR Concept with transparent removable roof
By Mike Hanlon
14:42 January 26, 2009 PST
Mitsubishi has just announced i MiEV SPORT AIR concept, which will be shown at the Geneva Motor Show in March. The i MiEV SPORT was announced at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show (announcement/show report/gallery), weighing 970kg with 107 kW (143.5 bhp) and a whopping 680 Nm of torque – compare that with the 2009 Tesla’s 185 kW, 375 nm and 1238 kg. Now a brief cryptic press release indicates that the new i MiEV SPORT AIR will be a "proper sports car", inferring the i MiEV SPORT was not. So we’re expecting some pretty special performance to match the stunning good looks and the transparent removable top. Read More
ZAP Alias three wheel electric vehicle unveiled
23:43 January 25, 2009 PST
ZAP has shown a pre-production version of its three-wheeled, all-electric Alias roadster at the National Automobile Dealers Association annual conference and exposition in New Orleans. The company, which is best known for its small-footprint, low-emissions, low-speed electric cars and trucks for urban use is looking to get on the highway with its latest creation. The preliminary specs for the two-seater Alias give it a top speed of 105 mph, acceleration of 0 – 60 mph in 7.8 seconds and a range of over 100 miles on a single charge. Throw in a sculptured low slung design, gull-wing style doors and a price point predicted to be under the USD$35K mark and you have another promising prospect for the soon to explode EV marketplace. Read More
The Prowler Emergency Response Vehicle
By Mike Hanlon
22:38 January 23, 2009 PST
January 23, 2009 We can see emergency responders queueing up for this one. ATVCorp has created versions of its Prowler Light Tactical All Terrain Vehicle (LTATV) for fire-fighting and emergency response. The Prowler Wild Fire ERV provides a self-contained fire fighting unit and can act as a remote pumping station. TheMedical Response ERV has a full EMT supply case and Stokes basket mount. The Prowler LTATV is a remarkable machine, with the ability to fit inside the lightest of cargo aircraft and be airdropped without the need for disassembly, ensuring immediate deployment of a fully equipped and crewed vehicle upon touchdown. Read More
Ferrari goes solar
18:34 January 21, 2009 PST
When you think Ferrari you think fire breathing supercars and F1 racing, not environmental consciousness, but the renowned marque is looking to boost its green credentials with the unveiling of a new photovoltaic system at its Engine Mechanical Machining facility in Maranello, Italy. The 210,000 kWh photovoltaic system is part of an ongoing sustainability program which also includes plans for a new tri-generation plant which the company says will cover "virtually all" of its electricity requirements and cut its annual CO2 emissions by 25-30% compared to the present levels when it becomes operational mid-year. Read More
Gary Noel
- November 22, 2009 @ 06:20 UTC
