Automotive

When weighing up the impact of electric-vehicles on the environment two factors come to the fore. EV's produce no emissions locally, but depending on where the energy comes from, they can still be producing greenhouse gases back at the power plant ... the so called "long-tailpipe" argument. That's one. The second is batteries – or more specifically, how much energy goes into making them and what to do with the massive battery packs in these cars once they've passed their lifespan. Auto manufacturers building EV infrastructure are taking this second factor into consideration and now EV pioneer Tesla has announced a battery recycling program throughout Europe that will help reduce the carbon footprint of its vehicles. Read More

Pneumatic Futurama-style transport systems were proposed as far back as the late 1800’s following the invention of pneumatic tubes for carrying mail around buildings. Swiss company Acabion sees such vacuum tube-based mass transport systems becoming a reality by 2100 and has conceived a vehicle capable of traveling at speeds of almost 12,500 mph (20,000 km/h) on such a platform. The company envisages a global network that would let users circle the globe in less than two hours and make transcontinental journeys possible in less than the time it currently takes to get across town. Read More

More than two million people witnessed the live presentation of the Ferrari F150 2011 F1 car on friday when the first F1 contender of 2011 was presented live on the internet. The most innovative aspects of the new car have been largely dictated by changes to the regulations. The double diffuser and the blown rear wing are banned, as is the use of apertures in the front part of the floor, while the use of an hydraulically adjustable rear wing has been introduced and KERS is back. Though engine performance has been regulated to be the same as 2010, the wing and KERS are effectively two new power sources with approximately an extra 82 BHP from the KERS and 60 BHP from the rear wing. Controlling the use of these additional technological parameters will tax the concentration of drivers but it is hoped that overtaking might happen occasionally during 2011 as a result. Read More

On January 29, 1886, Karl Benz filed a Patent No. 37435 at the Reich Patent Office in Berlin – it is generally regarded as the birth certificate of the automobile and became the first of over 80,000 patents awarded to the Mercedes Benz marque. Benz’ Patent Motor Car was equipped with a horizontal single-cylinder four-stroke engine, which developed an output of 0.55 kW at 400 rpm from a displacement of 954 cubic centimetres. The vehicle’s top speed was 16 km/h. Happy birthday to the automobile and congratulations to the company which today remains at the forefront of personal transportation. Extensive detailed images Read More

Watch any of those Caught on Tape!-type shows, and you’ll know just how valuable an in-car “black box” camera can be. Not only does it provide a visual record of who was at fault in an accident, but you can also use it to record any other questionable activity that takes place in front of your car. While most of the “sensational” footage comes from cameras in police cars, civilian versions such as the CarCam Voyager and the envisionCAM are available for us regular folk. You can go ahead and pay US$100 to $575 for one of those ... or you can shell out 99 cents for the iCar Black Box iPhone app. Read More

Volvo will introduce a "virtually production-ready" plug-in hybrid version of it's V60 sports wagon at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show. Expected to hit showroom floors in 2012, the hybrid V60 splices together a 2.4-liter D5 turbodiesel driving the front wheels with a 70 horsepower electric motor at the rear axle. According to Volvo this configuration delivers incredibly miserly fuel consumption of 124 mpg (1.9 l/100 km) along with the ability to cover 31 miles (50 km) using only the electric drive. Read More

When they set out from the United Nations Palace in Geneva, Switzerland, on August 16 last year, competitors in the Zero Race were looking forward to returning to that city for the end of the race at the beginning of next month. Unfortunately, due to “unforeseen delays with shipping from Mexico,” (we're sure the Cancún beaches had nothing to do with it), the racers’ 100 percent electric vehicles are still making their way across the Atlantic Ocean meaning the final nine-day leg of the competition won't get underway until mid-February. Read More

Aston Martin’s newly announced Vantage S is designed to bridge the gap between the V8 Vantage and the Vantage GT4 endurance race car which last year won its class at the Dubai, Nurburgring, Silverstone and Spa 24 Hour races plus the European GT4 Cup championship. Aston Martin’s own 4.7 liter V8 engine has been tweaked slightly to deliver slightly higher peak power of 430 bhp (321 kW) at 7300 rpm and torque of 490 Nm (361 lb.ft) at 5000 rpm but it’s the all-new seven-speed Sportshift™ II automated manual transmission which is the biggest change. Specifically designed for the Vantage S, the Sportshift II changes the seven short ratio gears some twenty per cent quicker than the current Sportshift. Read More

UK-based Cella Energy has developed a synthetic fuel that could lead to US$1.50 per gallon gasoline. Apart from promising a future transportation fuel with a stable price regardless of oil prices, the fuel is hydrogen based and produces no carbon emissions when burned. The technology is based on complex hydrides, and has been developed over a four year top secret program at the prestigious Rutherford Appleton Laboratory near Oxford. Early indications are that the fuel can be used in existing internal combustion engined vehicles without engine modification. Read More