Category Archives: Transport
His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has always been a flag bearer of all that’s green and has been known to promote environment-friendliness. Renault recently commissioned Gruau to modify and craft this Kangoo Maxi Z.E., which has now been donated to the Vatican. Complete with a white body and the Papal Seal on the doors, this car uses lithium-ion batteries to power up, and is an eco-friendly way for His Holiness to get around. with an estimated range of 105 miles, this EV sports seats comfortable enough to seat the Holy Father and comes with an opening roof, allowing users to stand upright in the car and wave to the masses. And that’s not all. Renault has donated an addition EV in blue and white for the Pope’s bodyguards, with both the vehicles using a 44kW (60hp) electric motor.
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Jaguar is busy laying the groundwork for a revolutionary plug-in hybrid electric supercar that could pretty much hit the streets in future if all goes as planned. Giving the C-X75 a plug-in hybrid update, Jaguar is currently planning to roll out five cars of the type, check them for performance and practicality, and if all goes as envisioned, begin production of these. Expected to hit streets by 2014 with a price tag of $1.1-1.4 million, the car is being designed to touch the 60mph mark from scratch in less than 3 seconds, a jaw-dropping performance for a hybrid. With the car’s electric motor pushing it to a range of 60 kilometers before the gas powered combustion engine kicks in, the car touches 60mph in 6 seconds in electric-only mode. Using a 1.6-liter engine with 500 horsepower and a supercharger for an extra kick, the car also sports lithium-ion batteries to store juice and front and rear axial flux-type electric motors.
[motortrend]
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People travelling to the Democratic National Convention to be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, will be introduced to a green-as-a-leaf way to get around town using an energy-efficient public transportation system envisioned and developed by the Humana insurance company. Called the Freewheelin’ concept, this pedal-powered mini bus-like vehicle seats eight and works with pedal-power, requiring the travelers to jointly pedal their way to a destination. With “bus-stops” being setup near the convention center, the concept comes into play particularly when visitors wish to head back to their hotels or hop out for lunch. A concept that worked great at the Republican National Convention in Tampa recently, these eco-friendly modes of transport could greener with solar panels propped up on the roof that in turn could be used to juice USB-powered devices!
[earthtechling]
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Supersonic aircrafts are the pinnacle of human-made technology and were long-destined to go green. Paving the way ahead, Ge-Chen Zha a University of Miami engineer with help from a team from Florida State University has come up with an exceptional bi-directional flying wing (SBiDir-FW) supersonic aircraft that not only sports cutting-edge technology and design, but is also extremely fuel efficient and green. Realizing the potential of the concept, NASA has vested a whopping $100,000 in the project that will involve further development of the Ninja-star-like aircraft. Capable of travelling without producing the usual sonic boom, these aircraft have low drag and fuel consumption making them an ideal development for a world with quickly depleting fossil fuels.
[inhabitat]
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Most electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle charging schemes are locally based, and more often than not, using these are comparatively expensive, making travel far and wide with your EV a cringing affair. UK’s largest electric vehicle company, POD Point, has now unveiled the first Pay As You Go EV-charging system that can be accessed from your phone! Using an SMS to access the system, priced at a refundable £10, this one uses an Oyster PAYG-based system and is extremely convenient, allowing users to access charging points in areas not usually-visited without a high monthly fee. With about 200 points currently initiated in the network, POD Point has drawn plans for over 750 of these by the end of 2012 and a good 4000 charging points by the next two years.
[autoevolution]
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The UK has always had a thing for particularly smaller cars unlike American folk who prefer their rides to be bug, muscular and chunky with healthy appetites. Renault, seeing the potential market for their little egg-on-wheels the Twizy, has now unleashed a six minute long video showering praise on the vehicle, its practicality, safety and styling. With a range of up to 75 miles on a single charge, the Twizy could indeed do pretty well, helping you quickly navigate around the crowded streets of London or drive down a country lane without suffocating the environment with the emissions a usual gas-powered metal shell would spew. Renault has currently sold nearly 6,500 of these little one-seat electric quad-bike like vehicles across Europe and is currently planning to take its brainchild overseas to South America and countries like Turkey, Israel, Japan and Singapore.
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Gas-guzzling cars taking to urban streets on a daily basis is one of the main causes of city-air-pollution levels soaring high. One of the best ways to have people leave their chunks of metal at home and ride efficiently instead is promoting better mass-transit systems. Take Dresden’s newest pride for example. A City known for its history and architecture, Dresden is now the proud home of one of the longest and greenest buses in the world, the AutoTram Extra Grand. In essence a 30-meter-long bus capable of carrying 256 passengers, this one was developed with the Innovative Regionale Wachstumskerne program and sports on-board computer systems that make it a breeze to maneuver. With a multi-axle system, the AutoTram packs a battery storage system and is capable of being driven on electricity alone for a good 8 kilometers. With a compact range extender to top it all, this super-long bus is energy-efficient and is an inexpensive way to get around town without harming the environment.
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Nissan has taken up the cause of promoting electric-vehicle use, and in an initiative to help spread the word in regards to the same; the manufacturer has recently donated two shiny new Nissan Leaf cars to the Middle Tennessee State University. These electric cars will find a place in the University’s fleet and will use three charging stations, also donated by Nissan to the University, to power up. Also, these charging stations will be available for use to the students, faculty, staff and visitors who’re looking for juice for their electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. The move is expected to promote the feasibility of electric vehicles and help educate the students in regards to energy-efficient modes of transport.
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Driving toilets around has never really been one of the best ways to travel. Attention grabbing, yes! Practical? Well, we wouldn’t say so until we came across the Toilet Bike Neo, a project by Japanese toilet company Toto Ltd. In essence a three-wheeled 250cc contraption with a toilet for a seat, this one runs on livestock waste and waste water, and not on the rider’s droppings, which would indeed be an eye-sore on city streets. A clean and eco-friendly vehicle to ride around, we’re sure this one would have a dozen takers if the manufacturers simply replaced the toilet-seat with a more acceptable one and left out the toilet paper roll.
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Ferry-boats have never been the cleanest way to travelling by sea, more often than not relying on gasoline to power up, which in turn chokes our environment and eco-system. As an answer to all these woes, Sauter Carbon Offset Design has just unveiled a fabulously green way to travel by sea called the Leap to Zero Greenline Ferry. Sporting a PV exoskeleton and turbine props to generate energy which in turn is used immediately, stored in batteries or if in excess returned to the grid, this vessel also sports 0.5MW UPS and automated Dynawing sails which enable the boat to travel at speeds of 12 knots without stamping a carbon footprint. And that’s not all. To keep this one going after sunset, the vessel also packs two Duramax V8 Hybrid Eco Marine Propulsion motors, the greenest marine engines around. Measuring 25 meters in length, the Greenline ferry helps reduce GHG emissions by nearly 5,000 tons in 10 years and is an eco-friendly way to sea-travelling.
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