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babies
Air Protect Baby Seat Is Strong Enough to Take a Punch
We don't cover a lot of baby seat tech around these parts, but we found Air Protect, a new technology meant to soften the blow to a baby's head in a side-impact crash, downright punchable. More » -
jets
Just $1200 Stands Between You and Death by Jet Bike
Last year, we raved about a crazy/genius pulsejet engine bicycle builder named Robert Maddox. Now you can buy his biggest and baddest engine on eBay. More » -
blockquote
Would a Sub $10,000 Zero-Emissions Car Be The Greatest Consumer Gadget Ever?
Speaking at the Wired Business Conference in NYC, Shai Agassi, the founder of green transportation company Better Place, made a bold statement about near-future electric cars: More » -
mods
Monkeylectric Turns Your Bike Wheel Into a Display While You Ride
Monkeylectric is a system of LEDs that attaches to your spokes and displays patterns and even words as you ride. If you hadn't guessed its target market, the FAQ includes an assurance that yes, it will work at Burning Man. More » -
transportation
I Want Robot Taxis
This morning the L line was halted in NYC—my roommate and hundreds of desperate Williamsburg hipsters couldn't get into Manhattan. And while the subway is still great*, I wish we had Robot Taxis. More » -
tragic
Watch My Furniture Truck Get Decapitated By a Bridge
Last week I received a furniture order around 11pm. Yeah, it was late—but the drivers had good reason. Earlier that day they fell victim to the infamous Gregson Street RR bridge in Durham NC. More » -
trains
Obama's Crazy-Ambitious Plan for High-Speed Rail Lines in America
Europeans and Japanese already enjoy high-speed rail service, but Americans are woefully dependent on cars and planes to get from city to city. Not for long, if Obama has anything to say about it. More » -
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safety
Demon Motorcycle Helmets: A Cheap Way To Terrorize Motorists
So the Hell's Angels laughed at you for pulling up to the roadhouse on a moped with a basket. Ok, you're not biker material—but you can still look the part with these spooky helmets. More » -
helicopters
Stay At the Hotelicopter: The World's First Flying Hotel
Since 2004, the company behind the Hotelicopter has been working to modify a Soviet-made Mil V-12 into two world firsts: the "world's biggest helicopter" and the "world's first flying hotel." More » -
cars
Sub-$2000 Tata Nano is Officially The World's Cheapest Car
India's Tata Nano has been in the works for some time, but pre-orders are starting today with a MSRP of 100,000 rupees (under $2000)—officially making it the cheapest car in the world. More » -
transportation
Japan's Bullet Trains to Get Wi-Fi
Starting this week, Japan's Shinkansen bullet trains will feature wireless LAN from Tokyo to Osaka. More » -
transportation
Downloadable Dashboard Apps for Cars Coming in 2010
Why leave your car out in the cold while your smartphone gets all the app fun? Hughes Telematics is aiming to bring downloadable apps to car dashboards, and the possibilities are pretty crazy. More » -
cars
MIT Shock Absorbers Harness Speed Bump Energy For Better Fuel Economy
A team of undergraduate students at MIT have developed a shock absorber that actually generates electricity from bumps in the road. This results in up to a 10 percent improvement in overall vehicle fuel efficiency. More » -
cars
$2 Million DiMora Natalia SLS 2 Features World's First MP3-Enabled Car Horn
If you could play any audio clip over your horn, what would it be? Would you honk more just to hear your jam? These are good questions for any potential owner of a DiMora Natalia. More » -
green
80 Buses in Oslo Will Be Powered by Raw Sewage
This might be the most disgusting use of green technology I've ever seen, but yes, Norweigan fecal matter will keep their Buses up and running. More » -
cars
Plug-in Prius Averaging 65 mpg in Tests, 15 More Than Standard Model
Toyota claims that their upcoming plug-in model Prius averages 65 mpg in real-world testing. That's about 15 more than the 2010 Prius—the current leader in fuel efficiency. More » -
scooters
Wooden Vespa Is Dining Room Furniture You Can Die On
We're torn in our appreciation of the classic Vespa—after all, Vespas are scooters and scooters equal wedgies. But when they're handcrafted like fine furniture, we can overlook the inevitable flag on the back. More » -
bicycles
Folding Bicycle Backpack Makes Good Use of Gravity
There's no denying it, folding bicycles are hot with designers these days. While Bergmonch's design is not the first of these concepts to involve a backpack, it is definitely one of the most complete. More » -
segway
Dean Kamen Struggles With the Idea of Giving Up on the Segway
A recent CNN interview has revealed that Segway inventor Dean Kamen often loses sleep about giving up on a project that he knows deep down will never pan out. More » -
concept
The Cadillac WTF: All New For the Year 8000
The appropriately titled Cadillac World Thorium Fuel or "WTF" has features you are not going to find anywhere else. It runs on clean Thorium nuclear fuel and offers maintenance-free service for 100 years or more. More » -
ces 2009
Navigon Offering Red Light Camera Warnings For GPS Devices
After announcing their partnership with Rand McNally yesterday, Navigon has announced more downloadable content for their GPS devices—including data on red light cameras. More » -
back to the future
Build Your Own Mr. Fusion and Gasify Your Car With Garbage
Ever since Doc Brown added a Mr. Fusion to the Delorean, many of us have longed to fuel our car with banana peels and beer. Now you can, thanks to the magic of gasification. More » -
speeding
Smart Speed Bump Flattens When You're Driving Slow
My car has a terrible suspension so I hate speed bumps. Even people with decent cars probably feel the same way. Wouldn't it be awesome if the speed bump flattened when you were driving slow? More » -
lolz
See Saw Bicycle: Crashing is Only One of the Ways It Can Kill You
Once again, someone has taken absurd and dangerous bicycle design to another preposterous level. Thankfully, the See Saw bike is only in the prototype phase because if you didn't flat out crash and burn trying to ride it (with someone of equal weight), you would surely go brain dead repeatedly head-butting your partner. More » -
transportation
Google's New Zip Line Yet Another Reason to Hate Your Office
They built a new building at Google's Mountain View campus, but it happened to be separated from the building with the cafeteria in it by a ravine. While the logical solution would be to build a bridge, not at Google. No, they built a zip line. The insurance this company has must be great. More » -
manly
Action Mobil Globecruiser: Camper, Tank, Bombshelter
Sure, it costs $670,000 to buy plus an additional $800 to fill up, but the Globecruiser from Action Mobile is so worth the crippling financial burden and savage Eco-rape with its luxury interior, advanced navigation system and exterior that looks strong enough to withstand a ground zero nuke without spilling your coffee. Not surprisingly, hauling the weight of all that machinery (not to mention the the 219 gallon gas tanks and 154 gallon water tanks) requires some serious power—which is why the Globecrusier is packing a giant 783ci turbodiesel engine. It also features a 4 x 240W solar system that supplements the batteries and LPG tanks. There is no doubt about it, this is one rugged, unapologetic vehicle. It even says "MAN" right on the front. [Action Mobil via Squob via Born Rich] -
cellphones
DriveAssistT Saves Cellphone Addicts From Themselves
You know it's wrong, but you just can't help it. When your cellphone rings in the car you are compelled to answer it. New software called DriveAssistT (The extra "T" is...a silent nod to Mr. T?) aims to save you from yourself by automatically holding all of your calls when it detects that the phone is moving at car speeds. During that time, callers are greeted with a message saying, in effect, that the person they are trying to reach appears to be driving. They are also offered the option of going directly to voicemail. Currently, the creator of DriveAssistT is pitching the idea to cellular networks in hopes that it can start saving lives sometime soon. Estimates put the monthly cost at about $10 to $20 per family. [CNN] -
transportation
One-Person Maglev Car, Like Riding a 300MPH Roller Coaster to Work
It sure looks like a roller coaster, but this maglev (magnetic levitation) car is more likely in development for personal transportation. By Tyco and Gakken, the maglev system suspends the car 2-3 centimeters above the track, propelling the rider forward without friction. Since the fastest record for a full-blown maglev train is 361 mph, my guess is that an open cockpit like this one could make for one hell of a bug-faced ride. Maybe that face squeegee startup isn't such a crazy investment after all. [nikkei BP via NewLaunches] -
question of the day
Question of the Day: How Do You Use Your Cellphone in the Car?
Yesterday's news about the train incident in LA got me thinking. We all know about the dangers of using a cellphone in the car, but let's face it—most of us do it anyway. So, this question isn't meant to judge. I am simply curious to know how you use your phone in the car. In other words, do you stick with the cellphone? Do you use a Bluetooth headset? Or do you have a hands-free system in the car itself? More » -
extreme unicycling
Future Victim of Everest to Ride Down Mountain on a Unicycle
The words "extreme" and "unicycle" should never be uttered in the same breath—unless you are referring to British mountaineer Steve Colligan. Starting next week he will attempt to traverse a 600-mile stretch of the Himalayas from Lhasa in Tibet to Kathmandu in Nepal, via Everest base camp riding on a mountain unicycle. More » -
design
Di-Cycle: A Bike That Travels Over Land and Water
Right off the bat the Di-Cycle design is eye-catching. Imagine the looks you would get pedaling this down the road, smashing into cars and bumping old ladies off the sidewalk. Now imagine the looks you would get when you turn sharply toward the neighborhood pool, ride in and mow down all of the swimmers flailing around in the water trying desperately to escape. Apparently that pleasant dream is possible with this bizarre looking contraption. Unfortunately, you are going to have to rein in your bicycle blood lust for now. The Di-Cycle is only in the design phase at the moment. [Core 77 via ffffound via Likecool via Ubergizmo] -
classic cars
17 Classic Car User Interfaces, Otherwise Known as Dashboards
Sure, your car dashboard may have a lot of cool buttons and computer displays, but chances are it lacks something that many classic cars have in abundance. A little something I like to call "style." OObject has put together a list of 17 classic cars (and even one new classic in the Audi TT) that fall into this classy category—cars like the 1906 Stanely Steamer (which looks like a friggin' time machine), the '58 Chevy Impala and the '57 Porsche 356 Speedster. [OObject] -
rolling thunder
DJ Mobile Car Speeds Along On Sound Rockets
For many enthusiasts, pimping out car sound systems (and even bicycles in some circles) is a time-honored tradition. However, Dutch artist Olaf Mooij may have taken this pastime to extreme new levels with his DJ Mobile. Inspired by the Popemobile and the song “God is a DJ” by Faithless, Mooij created a rolling PA system complete with two turntables and several gigantic speakers that look more like rockets. Details are scarce on the system itself, but it does appear that interested parties can rent out the system for loud and obnoxious events. [Olaf Mooij via Born Rich via Dvice] -
two headed
Dual Gooseneck Sat-Nav and Cellphone Holder: One Big Blind Spot
In an effort to make driving as dangerous as possible, a UK company called Santok has developed this hideous two headed freak of a gadget holder. The dual gooseneck design makes it easy to stick your sat-nav and your cellphone to the windshield, and it seems to do a fine job of creating a massive blind spot wherever you choose to put it. Fortunately for most of us, it looks like drivers in the UK are going to be the only ones dealing with this problem in the foreseeable future. Available soon for around $37. [Santok via Geekalerts] -
vi-fi
Microsoft Working on "Vi-Fi": Brings Seamless Internet and VoIP to Vehicles
As if you didn't already spend enough time on the internet, Microsoft is looking to feed your addiction even further by developing a reliable "Vi-Fi" system for automobiles. The major problem that must be overcome is the fact that current Wi-Fi networks suffer hiccups in service as you pass through. This is especially true when moving out of the range of one base station and into another. To smooth the transition process, Microsoft and a team from the University of Massachusetts are working on building a network based around a base station anchor that is backed up by several auxiliary base stations in the area. More » -
batmobile
'89 Batmobile Now on eBay: Hurry, Grab Your Wallet!
If you are impulsive enough to drop over $100,000 on a whim for a nerdy automobile, here is your chance to score one of the five Batmobiles made for the original Michael Keaton movie. Unfortunately, you only have until 5PM PDT today to put in a bid on this baby, so you had better hurry (I know you guys are all frantically searching for your wallets). [eBay via CNet]








































