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]

The Swiss issue a $290,000 speeding ticket

Posted by Ilia Lou on January 9th, 2010 at 11:46 am

An unnamed driver of a Ferrari Testarossa was fined $290,000 for speeding in Switzerland. The driver was going 35 mph over the speed limit of 50, and because of his wealth, he was given a record breaking speeding fine. Even with his $20+ million however, $290k seems a bit steep, it’s over double the last record breaking fine of $107k.

The court clerk stated that the driver can appeal this decision, so we’ll see later on what happens with that.

[Via: Askmen.com]

Garmin Voice Studio: Give Yourself Directions

Posted by Peter Loeser on January 6th, 2010 at 9:33 pm

Garmin has introduced some new features to its nüvi GPS navigators at this year’s Consumer Electronics show.  Among the new features is one that allows users of certain models to download software from Garmin’s site record themselves giving basic directions.  At least, that’s Garmin’s intention for the new technology.  Users are limited as to what commands they can record (well sort of) and text-to-speech is not available.

The basic idea is for users to personalize their devices with their own voices.  Typically it would be used for commands like “turn right in 200 feet’, or “take exit 9″.  I don’t imagine there is a way for the software to determine if you’re really saying what you should be saying during the recording, it seems as though users are free to, *ahem*, express themselves in whatever ways they should so desire.  You can even trade custom voice commands with other drivers.  I can think of a few friends I’d rather not do that with…  Needless to say, if you’ve got one of these make sure none of your prankster friends manage to get access to your recording software.  You could be in for a confusing (or possibly offensive) surprise!

[Source: AutoBlog]

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]

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]

2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe – Official Details and Pics

Posted by Bradley Wint on January 5th, 2010 at 7:00 am

In an earlier post, we mentioned that Caddy had a few gifts for us at the Detroit Auto Show. One of their new releases was the Cadillac CTS-V Coupe. However much details were not given back then. We now have full information about the vehicle, as well as high res screenshots of the new model.

The notable things about this new car include the 6.2L supercharged V8 engine, taken from the CTS sedan. It pumps out 556bhp or 415kW and can do 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds. It comes in either a manual or automatic transmission, both of which are 6-speed. There have been a number of structural and visual improvements including the addition of LED lined headlights, a more sloped windscreen, touch-pad door control and much more. Ride height is controlled by their innovating Magnetic Ride Control technology and the brakes are fitted with the very popular Brembo brand.

Anyway, check out the full press release below for more details, and view the gallery just below it.

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