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vehicles
hybrids
Fisker Karma Hybrid Sports Car Gets Production Plans
Once we learned that the Fisker Karma hybrid sports car would produce fake engine sounds we knew plans to produce the beast had to be underway. And Fisker today has announced a letter of intent with producer Valmet Automotive to actually build the luxury hybrid sports car. First vehicle roll-off the production line will be in early 2009 and will become the "first ever plug-in hybrid 4 door sports sedan to hit the market," according to Fisker anyway. They're predicting big successes, since the annual production is predicted to reach 15,000. Press release below. More »
top gear
Top Gear Races Nissan GT-R Vs. Bullet Train In Japan
The Top Gear crew is in Japan for this week's episode and they've got another heated race for us: A Nissan GT-R R35, a gadget car by dynamic handling and Playstation inspired dashboard vs. a bullet train, running both from Japan's northern Hakui-Shi coast to Tokyo. With no surprise ol' Clarkson is driving the fiery beast while Hammond and May are left traveling Japanese public transportation. I'm not gonna spoil the race for ya though, but Jalopnik has the results for you. [Jalopnik]
german engineering
A Look Inside Futuristic German Car Factories
Today's list from OObject features a collection of 10 videos focusing on German car factories. Why? Because they are gadgety, first and foremost—but the architecture of the factories is significant as well. In other words, German car manufacturers are realizing a vision where both the product and the factory are an integrated work of art. Examples include the VW factory in Wolfsburg that features 200-foot-tall robotic silos at the end of the production line and an eco-friendly VW assembly plant in Dresden that is transparent and sits right center of the city. German engineering at its finest folks. [OObject]
car audio
So you got yourself a fancy new stereo for your car. It's all well and good while you're driving, but when you're out of the car you know damn well that it's a magnet for ne'er-do-wells who are just itching to take a crowbar to your window and forcibly remove your fancy apparatus from your dash. What to do? Simple: disguise it with a really crappy looking stereo faceplate, complete with a half a cassette sticking out.
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Hide Your Fancy Car Stereo Behind a Very Crappy Car Stereo
So you got yourself a fancy new stereo for your car. It's all well and good while you're driving, but when you're out of the car you know damn well that it's a magnet for ne'er-do-wells who are just itching to take a crowbar to your window and forcibly remove your fancy apparatus from your dash. What to do? Simple: disguise it with a really crappy looking stereo faceplate, complete with a half a cassette sticking out.
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toys
Infrared Tracking R/C Car is Remote Control Toy for the Truly Lazy
This remote-control car has an infrared follower system built in, so you steer it simply by pointing the IR beam from the controller somewhere ahead of the car, and it works out where you want it to go. So yes, it's a simple remote control for those who can't be bothered to learn how to steer their toys with a joystick or wheel and throttle remote. Or kids. Ah... now I understand. The "magic dot" can be up to five feet ahead of the 9-inch car and it'll still work, and you get about 20 minutes of racing, cat-bothering action from one charge of its batteries. Available now for $49.95. [RedFerret]
dude where's my car
G-Park iPhone App Lets the Forgetful Bookmark Their Car
Park your car and tap "Park Me" to take a GPS reading; on the way back, hit "Where Did I Park" for turn-by-turn directions back to the whip. It'll work for first-gen and iPod touch users (although not as well, I would imagine) via Wi-Fi and cell-tower positioning but 3G users will get turn-by-turn directions via GPS. Sure, you could just drop a pushpin in Google Maps, but part of the charm of these apps is going to be the simple execution of simple ideas, Xbox Live Arcade style. I recommend just remembering where you've parked. [PosiMotion]
death trap
Topia One-Seat Electric HUVO Prototype Might As Well Be Shaped Like a Coffin
With the arrival of Topia's one-seater prototype, I think it's finally safe to say the SMART car has something it can take in a fight. Called the HUVO, this diminutive electric car forgoes features like "well-being" and "sanity" for "lightweight" (330 lbs.) and "Jesus Christ watch out for that MINI Cooper!" To save weight and development costs, the HUVO is made out of materials that would make any contemporary golf cart proud; mainly plastic, ceramic, more plastic, and a bit of high-tensile steel plate. Although, as the headline implies, if HUVO goes into production Topia should probably just make the thing out of a nice, sturdy wood, and save your immediate family a step at the funeral parlor. More »
cars
Part giant Segway, part car, part Tron light-cycle, part whirling glass-walled deathtrap...think of it as you will, the Ozone is actually a pretty interesting concept vehicle designed by Ozkan Koral. Accessed by rotating doors within the wheels, the passenger cabin is actually inside the wheelbase. It's powered by fuel cells driving twin electric motors and steered by joystick. So it's pretty eco-friendly, though I'm not sure how travel over rough terrain would feel when you're inside. Plus, World War II gadget afficionados may remember the Great Panjandrum when they see this, and shudder. Just a concept. [OzkanKoral via Ecofriend]
Ozone Concept Car is Wheely Eco-Friendly
Part giant Segway, part car, part Tron light-cycle, part whirling glass-walled deathtrap...think of it as you will, the Ozone is actually a pretty interesting concept vehicle designed by Ozkan Koral. Accessed by rotating doors within the wheels, the passenger cabin is actually inside the wheelbase. It's powered by fuel cells driving twin electric motors and steered by joystick. So it's pretty eco-friendly, though I'm not sure how travel over rough terrain would feel when you're inside. Plus, World War II gadget afficionados may remember the Great Panjandrum when they see this, and shudder. Just a concept. [OzkanKoral via Ecofriend]
9:30 AM on Fri Jun 27 2008
By Kit Eaton
5,392 views,
51 comments
Latest by n/a: Wonder if this was the inspiration for that... [www.sandisk.com] Suddenly,drive-throughs and toll booths present new and interesting challenges... more »
prius battery
Aftermarket Plug-In Prius Battery Causes Balls of Fire, Explosion
A Toyota Prius outfitted with one of Lithium Technology Corporation's plug-in conversion kits exploded after the owner saw balls of fire in the backseat. Luckily the owner was smart enough to vacate the cars after seeing flames, but not smart enough to not drive the car even when its PHEV15 plug-in kit was experiencing "charger-related problems." Other than the fact that you should learn to be careful after installing aftermarket parts on your car, the only other thing we can take away from this story is to jump out of your vehicle when you see fire. [CRN via Daily Tech via Jalopnik]
vending machines
SMART Car Vending Machine Only Dispenses Marketing Materials, False Hope
Here I was, credit card in hand, ready to fly across the Pacific and purchase my very first SMART Car from a vending machine, when I'm told it's just some advertisement. Sure, SMART Cars can't float (they can barely survive the SUV-congested streets of the U.S.), and the Japanese steer on the opposite side of their automobiles than us Yanks, but this was the promise of a car via a vending machine. I would have figured out a way to bring it home and make it work. To paraphrase the late, great comedian Mitch Hedberg, things are just better when they fall. More »
gas crisis
Running a car on water has been the holy grail for car manufacturers for some time now, but it appears that a Japanese company named Genepax may have pulled ahead of the competition with a prototype vehicle that runs entirely on water and air. Their new "Water Energy System (WES)," generates power by supplying water and air to the fuel and air electrodes using a proprietary technology called the Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA). The secret behind MEA is a special material that is capable of breaking down water into hydrogen and oxygen through a chemical reaction.
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Genepax Unveils a Car That Runs on Water and Air
Running a car on water has been the holy grail for car manufacturers for some time now, but it appears that a Japanese company named Genepax may have pulled ahead of the competition with a prototype vehicle that runs entirely on water and air. Their new "Water Energy System (WES)," generates power by supplying water and air to the fuel and air electrodes using a proprietary technology called the Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA). The secret behind MEA is a special material that is capable of breaking down water into hydrogen and oxygen through a chemical reaction.
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cars
Electric vehicles are pretty great as it is, but ones powered by superconduction and liquid nitrogen cooling are even better. That happens to be the case with Sumitomo Electric's car, which promises to be 10% more efficient that the typical electric vehicle. Built using an old Toyota Crown Comfort, the combination of superconducting wires and cooling nearly brings resistance and current loss to zero, allowing for better efficiency and more torque. The car was unveiled today in Osaka, and will be shown at the Hokkaido Toyako G8 Summit on June 18. [Pink Tentacle]
Superconductor-Powered Car is Energy Efficient Awesomeness
Electric vehicles are pretty great as it is, but ones powered by superconduction and liquid nitrogen cooling are even better. That happens to be the case with Sumitomo Electric's car, which promises to be 10% more efficient that the typical electric vehicle. Built using an old Toyota Crown Comfort, the combination of superconducting wires and cooling nearly brings resistance and current loss to zero, allowing for better efficiency and more torque. The car was unveiled today in Osaka, and will be shown at the Hokkaido Toyako G8 Summit on June 18. [Pink Tentacle]
automobiles
Forget boring hydrogen-hybrid supercars and the like: a one-off vehicle mod like this recently-spotted Rocket Car is how to really impress passers-by. Built by Baron Margo, its shiny bullet-shape is all pipes, rocket exhaust (with what look like real jet engine parts), dials and a whirling propeller that apparently spins as you drive, keeping time with a ring of flashing lights. Basically it's like the car that Chitty Chitty would dream of being when it grows up, and I can almost forgive its steampunk-esque nature as it's just so astonishing. [LAMetblogs]
Rocket Car Mod is Like Steampunked Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Forget boring hydrogen-hybrid supercars and the like: a one-off vehicle mod like this recently-spotted Rocket Car is how to really impress passers-by. Built by Baron Margo, its shiny bullet-shape is all pipes, rocket exhaust (with what look like real jet engine parts), dials and a whirling propeller that apparently spins as you drive, keeping time with a ring of flashing lights. Basically it's like the car that Chitty Chitty would dream of being when it grows up, and I can almost forgive its steampunk-esque nature as it's just so astonishing. [LAMetblogs]
windowseat
This Griffin WindowSeat is a suction cup-based iPhone/iPod touch mount for your car, allowing you to keep your phone at eye level for easy map viewing and voicemail checking. What's left unsaid is how sturdy this thing is in case of an accident, and whether it will come careening off your window or dashboard into your face to make a comically iPhone-ish indentation on your cheek. Either way, it's $29.99, which isn't all that expensive for the ability to surf the internet while driving (kidding). [Griffin via PCWorld]
Griffin WindowSeat Holds Your iPhone/iPod Touch at Eye Level For Convenient Viewing, Face Hitting
This Griffin WindowSeat is a suction cup-based iPhone/iPod touch mount for your car, allowing you to keep your phone at eye level for easy map viewing and voicemail checking. What's left unsaid is how sturdy this thing is in case of an accident, and whether it will come careening off your window or dashboard into your face to make a comically iPhone-ish indentation on your cheek. Either way, it's $29.99, which isn't all that expensive for the ability to surf the internet while driving (kidding). [Griffin via PCWorld]
emoticons
Drivemocion LED Sign for Cars Now Does Animated Emoticons
Chinese company Au-my has updated its Drivemocion LED car sign with a new animated version. Now you can display your anger yet more graphically, or even give flirtatious winks at other drivers. But is it a recipe for increased road friendliness, or worse road rage? Just don't distract the following car so much they crash into your trunk: there's no emoticon in the five available strong enough to answer that. Available for $60. [Drivemocion]
mergers
JVC and Kenwood Will Join Forces, Merge in October
JVC, the group behind the scenes of popular projectors and thin LCDs, and Kenwood, known for their car stereo equipment, will merge in October. The new company, JVC Kenwood Holdings, has been discussed for almost a year, when the two first collaborated on car electronics. So what happens when you merge TVs and car equipment? Lots of ugly rides. And, hopefully new, great gadgets. [Forbes]
the dark night
The Tim Burton Batmobile Is For Sale
While most of us enjoyed yesterday's Dark Night trailer—though we found typing on lopsided laptops for the remainder of the day a bit inconvenient—watching Batman on the silver screen has and will always be a vicarious experience. It's a humbling reminder that we weren't separated from our parents by tragedy and that we don't live in cities completely overrun by psychotic criminals who lust for torture more than money.
But at least we can score the real Batmobile.
More »