Category Archives: Transport
BMW is doing it again. It’s now come out with an idea to slash fuel use and reduce carbon emissions by at least 5 percent. It plans to do so by attaching radioactive heat collectors to the tail pipes in its future cars. The technology was originally used to design power space satellites, capture waste heat transferred down the tailpipe and convert it to electricity via a radioactive thermol-electric generator. The company says it will be ready for production in five years.
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The New York Police Department is going one step forward by getting 40 brand new Nissan Altima hybrid vehicles. The car will allow the cops to race up to 40 mph with not a drop of gas used and the hybrid vehicle will be able to go up to 32 mpg from the Ford Crown Victoria’s 16 mpg. This way the city saves fuel, helps catch the culprits and all remains well ending well. The Nissan Altima hybrid bunch will cost the city $1.1 million with hopes to curb pollution. Eighteen of the hybrids are priced $30,752 per car and another 20 at $25,595 each. Two will also be disguised as yellow cabs for anticrime work at $28,600 each.
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This guy has really had it with parking I am guessing. Jason Jung has designed what many would bless him for, a compact foldable scooter called Alpha! This red color wonder is like a dream box especially for shorter distances like driving to pay a bill or meet your annoying aunt who found some insect on her bed. It runs on electric power. It has a seat which you can adjust according to your comfort and also has a double arm suspension. Instead of parking, you can now carry it along with you even if you are taking a bus or train!
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Designer Matias Conti has come up with a concept of transformable spin vehicle which looks like a very flexible tricycle. It contradicts the old style by having two huge wheels up front and a smaller one on the behind. The pressure here is given to the steering just above the front wheels. The driver can use his body weight to drive the vehicle with a variation in driving complexities. This is done by using an electronic actuator and lateral arms to rotate the wheels.
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The Italians have always had a way with great car making. Supercar designer Italdesign has launched images of what the claim to be the fastest hybrid car in the world, Namir, at the Geneva Motor Show. The car will feature 370hp, top speed of 187mph and its 50 litre gas tank will allow it to travel over 1,200 miles WITHOUT a refill! It will also have a lithium ion battery pack and fuel efficiency of 39km/l. the company also says that the car will release less than 60g/km of carbon dioxide.
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Free Louis Vuitton luggage for every Infiniti-Essence diesel-hybrid bought. Who said the rich don’t get super cool offers? They are paying all that money after all! Nissan has come up with this great concept at the Geneva Motor Show. It is the Infiniti Essence diesel hybrid car with lithium ion batteries and a mind-blowing Louis Vuitton luggage that will come along free with it! The car will be a dashing two-seater and oozes luxury. What’s even classier is that the company hadn’t thought about a great trunk space so they got the luggage custom made to fit in well. With the combination of hybrid and diesel, the car is only meant for the cherries on top of the cream crowd and if someone does have the cash ready, then why not!
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Since the Geneva Motor Show is in full swing, watch out for lots of green vehicles on Greenlaunches over the next few days. Starting is this cool concept by Swedish Koenigsegg’s concept of a four-seater electric car. The Koenigsegg Quant car keeps up the company’s reputation with its super speed feature as it is expected to reach 62 miles per hour in only 5.2 seconds and a top speed of over 170 mph. Instead of traditional batteries, the company teamed up with NLV Solar AG to build the super car using a technology called Flow Accumulator Energy Storage (FAES) and seems it just needs to be charged for 15 minutes. It will also have a special paint with photovoltaic properties for extra energy generation. The car will feature an aerodynamic design and an electric motor at each rear wheel for propulsion and equipped with regenerative brakes to enhance range. It will also boast a three-zone climate control and three video screens, one in front and two at the back.
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MIT has introduced their all new solar-powered racing car for the tenth World Solar Challenge in Australia. The carbon-fibre race car called Eleanor can go up to 90 mph and operates on a 580 silicon solar cell array manufactured by Sun Power. What the car will be checked on at the competition includes the batteries, power management systems and motor technology. The car not too great in looks was made in six months. it was tested at a wind tunnel owned by the Ford Motor Company and is taller, faster and with more battery life than other cars made by MIT in the previous years (seems they have been making race cars since 1987).
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Japanese Mitsubishi and French PSA Peugeot-Citroen will tie up to create an electric car. The I MiEV will be sold under Peugeot brand and is being planned for a late 2010 and early 2011 launch in Europe. This could go really well with the Japanese brain and the French look but unless we are sure that is how the combination goes, we won’t be able to speak much of how exciting this is going to be. This is a good idea though, for car makers to unite at such difficult times to create something that is seemingly highly popular these days. Environment and financial control. Humankind is yet again evolving.
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The Federal Motor Transport Authority has declared that BMW and MINI lead the way in the reduction of fuel consumption than any other German cars. The report shows that newly registered cars under these premium brands in Germany in 2008 have an average fuel consumption of 5.9 litres per 100km and an average CO2 emission level of 158 grams per km as compared with 165 in others. Between 2006 and 2008 BMW was able to achieve a reduction of up to 16 per cent in fuel consumption. The MINI brand from the BMW group was able to achieve 206 per cent reduction in the same time period with an average level of 139 g per km.
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