Vehicle

If your kids are always running late for school then this little number might be just the transport option to ensure they arrive on time. Made by Micro Electric Vehicles (MEV), the Mini Seven is a hand-built, proportionally accurate child’s motorized car that is a slight departure from MEV’s other vehicles, which are powered by electric motors, as it is powered by a small petrol Honda HP motor that can propel the Mini Seven to 19 mph (30 km/h). Read More

Over the years, there have been numerous attempts to create vehicles that operate on both land and water. It's fair to say that such designs have generally not caught on. Perhaps it's because of the fairly limited effectiveness of some of those offerings, or maybe it's because so many of them have been ugly monsters. Then again, it could be that society just hasn't found a niche for them yet. By the year 2050 though, we may need to give such craft some serious consideration. Juan Pablo Bernal P has come up with a concept design that certainly ticks all the right boxes for looks, and also takes the environment into consideration. Read More

Satellite radio, while probably not that popular with the owners of your local radio stations, is great for those of us who want more variety in our listening choices. This is particularly true for people who live in smaller cities, that lack the population base to support stations that feature alternative content. Not everyone is willing to shell out for an in-dash satellite radio receiver for their vehicle, however, which is where many people do the majority of their radio-listening. SIRIUS XM is addressing that issue, with its new portable, transferable XM Snap! satellite radio. Read More

Ever thought of dumping the mortgage and living in the car? Well, it could soon be a more attractive proposition if the LTE Connected Car Concept is anything to go by. The prototype vehicle brings together ideas and technology from a range of companies to boast first-of-its-kind services and functionality including on-demand entertainment, infotainment, diagnostics, navigation and other mobile services made possible by connecting a vehicle to always-on, ultra-fast 4G/Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks. Read More

Having placed third in the prestigious DARPA Urban Challenge in 2007, engineering students from Virginia Tech have returned to the forefront of autonomous vehicle development by designing and building four GUSS (Ground Unmanned Support Surrogate) vehicles. Able to carry 1800 lbs and designed to resupply and evacuate troops in the field as well as reduce the load carried by them, the vehicles are due to make their debut at the impending 2010 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC)war games in Hawaii. Read More

Two years ago we reported that London’s iconic black cabs would be getting a green makeover with a fleet to be fitted out with zero local emissions hydrogen fuel cell power systems in time for the Olympics in 2012. Now the first prototype fuel cell black cab has been unveiled. It is powered by hydrogen fuel system hybridized with lithium polymer batteries that allow the vehicle to operate for a full day without the need for refueling. Read More

A team of Iowa State University students are busy putting the finishing touches to a solar-powered vehicle before setting off on a thousand mile race. Using computer-aided design and some novel engineering techniques, the students' three wheel craft weighs half that of previous creations and sports over 500 solar cells. Hopes are high for a winning result in the forthcoming American Solar Challenge. Read More

The "ultimate in road legal quad biking" is how the makers of the Venom Evil describe their creation. If its exclusive designer styling and the splash of shiny chrome on the front crash bars and speedos don't manage to turn heads, then perhaps the water-cooled 250cc engine, twin exhaust and sporty alloy wheels will. Read More

If you fancy getting amongst nature in some of the world’s wildest and most remote locations, but don’t really want to sleep in a tent, you might want to consider boarding a Rotel (rolling hotel) for your next holiday destination. The Rotel rolls a coach and hotel into one unit (or for larger groups, a bus and tag-along sleeping quarters). By day passengers sit in the front of the coach and take in all the sights, and by night they adjourn to the rear of the vehicle to enjoy their semi-private sleeping quarters. Read More