Solar Powered Rickshaws ready for the streets of India

Posted by Bradley Wint on January 11th, 2010 at 11:07 am

If you thought only car makers were finding new ways to power vehicles, the Indian Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has developed an electric/human-powered hybrid Rickshaw to help drivers get to their destinations faster. On top of that, they are also promoting zero-emissions transport by ditching the regular fuel supplies such as petrol or diesel.

The Soleckshaws are battery powered and can reach speeds up to 9 mph with a distance of about 25 miles per charge. The good thing about this is that drivers won’t have to plug their vehicles into a wall socket and wait for it to recharge. Instead they can head to assigned stations, exchange the drained battery for a new and fully charged cell for a small fee, thus saving them on lost trips. Also, the Council was in favor of electric power to help drivers reduce their pedalling time. According to them, an average drivers gets only 1600 calories a day due to the constant pedaling, which is well below the 4,000 calories needed. This puts them at risk of getting TB due to malnutrition. With battery power, they can more easily retain those needed calories.

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Aston Martin One-77 wins 2009 GOOD DESIGN TM award

Posted by Bradley Wint on January 11th, 2010 at 9:49 am

The Chicago Athenauem Museum of Architecuture and Design has selected the Aston Martin One-77 as one of its winners in the 2009 GOOD DESIGN TM awards.

Competing against other entries like the 2030 NASA Mars Landing Rover, water purification systems and other innovative structures, the One-77 was selected because of the number of highly innovative features, body invention and design. The One-77 features a number of totally new aero design concepts which have helped increased its speed, plus look good.

With only 77 being built and already pre-sold, it’s quite an exotic vehicle.

[Via: Aston Martin]

JMW Motorsport to Spearhead Aston Martin Racing GT2 program

Posted by Bradley Wint on January 7th, 2010 at 10:08 am

JMW Motorsport, runners up in their debut Le Mans Series GT2 season in 2009, will be competing with the Aston Martin Vantage GT2 in the 2010 Le Mans Series and Le Mans 24 Hour, having become Aston Martin Racing’s official global GT2 Development Partner.

The Essex based team, headed by Team Principal Jim McWhirter, will become an official Aston Martin Racing partner and will work closely with the Banbury-based team on a three year programme to help develop the Vantage GT2.

JMW Motorsport are retaining their strong partnership with Dunlop who have renewed their long term commitment to the team as Development Partners in the GT2 programme. The JMW Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT2 will feature in Dunlop’s 2010 Le Mans Design Competition.

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Flavio Briatore’s ban overturned

Posted by Bradley Wint on January 5th, 2010 at 12:03 pm

Flavio Briatore has come out on the winning end of his appeal to have his ban overturned, after he was exiled for life for plotting with driver, Nelson Piquet Jr. to crash in order to give Alonso the first place position in the 2008 Singapore GP.

The French Court found that the actions on the part of the FIA were illegal. Also on the winning end is Renault F1’s ex Director of Engineering, Pat Symonds. This is a big victory for Briatore, even though he now has some damage control to do. With regards to his financial claims, he was only able to recover  £18,000 of the  £900,000 he wanted.

[Image]

Aston Martin DB7 Pizza Car, No Joke

Posted by Bradley Wint on January 5th, 2010 at 11:10 am

We definitely have accepted that economic times have been rough for the past year. As a result, the Job Market has taken quite a beating resulting in many people unemployed, while others are doing jobs which they would not even consider in favorable circumstances.

Now, it’s not 100% confirmed whether the driver used it as an actual delivery vehicle, but according to the photographer, the car has been parked at the same spot quite regularly in the Santa Monica area. The regularity possibly means the guy might be an actual pizza delivery driver. At least your pizza is delivered in style.

[Via: Jalopnik]

Another Renault Megane CC teaser image, confirmed Geneva debut

Posted by Bradley Wint on January 5th, 2010 at 10:33 am

Renault has published the first official teaser image of their new Megane CC (Coupe/Cabriolet) and has confirmed that it will make its debut at the 2010 Geneva Auto Show.

It will go on show in Switzerland on March 2, as well as at L’Atelier Renault on the Champs Elysées in Paris, France, on March 5. Click on the image above to see the higher res teaser photo.

[Via: Renault]

We need a favicon, so how about you all make us one?

Posted by Bradley Wint on January 5th, 2010 at 10:00 am

Hey there. It’s been a while since Carthusiast has been online. However we still don’t have a favicon, and our minds are pretty much blank of ideas.

We want to extend the offer to our fans to make up a pretty favicon. If you have the skills to make a pretty 16×16 icon that uniquely represents us, we will be very happy to use your icon and will also send you $10 via PayPal for the effort. However, don’t think you can slap together some crap in Paint. We need an icon that is very detailed and crisp, something unique and innovative.

T0 send in your entries, just send the 16×16 icon either in .ico or .png format to bradley.wint@carthusiast.com before February 15th 2010. The winner will be notified via e-mail (please use a working address), and we will send you your money.

Renault Megane CC first teaser image

Posted by Bradley Wint on January 5th, 2010 at 9:30 am

A leaked photo of the new Renault Megane CC has hit the Internet, giving us a fairly good idea of the new shape.

It seems to be in keeping with the style of the current model, but if compared to spy shots, the headlights definitely will be different, among a few other minor body details. The launch period has not yet been confirmed, but since it’s already basically finished, the Geneva Auto Show seems to be the most likely place for its debut.

[Via: WorldCarFans]

Mercedes S-Class Hybrid Electric model coming soon

Posted by Bradley Wint on January 5th, 2010 at 9:00 am

Mercedes R&D execs have stated that customers should except a hybrid S-Class when the new model is introduced.

The model which is powered by both a battery and petrol engine, is expected to do about 80 mpg and is expected to chug out less then 100 g/km, which works well for the EU emissions policies implemented. They have increased the aerodynamics and reduced some of the weight making it much more efficient. However, there is not going to be a fully electric model, simply because today’s batteries are still not able to keep up with what they need to power.

There will be other 6 and 8 cylinder petrol models that will be made available.

[Via: AutoCar | Image]

Car Visors for Females

Posted by Bradley Wint on January 5th, 2010 at 8:00 am

Ladies! Are you tired of dealing with those useless sun visors in your car? I mean, who the heck cares to block the sun out of your eyes when you have those huge bubble glasses. All jokes aside, here is a product aimed at the female driver. It’s got pockets for everything, the CDs, shades, pen and lipstick. It also has a mirror for assistance when putting on make up and lipstick while driving (oh no).

Funny thing is, don’t sun visors come with most of these things already (mirror, CD holder)? A guess some pink makes it new!

[Pukka Pressies]

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