The land speed world record for a production car has been smashed by a Bugatti sports car. In a flash of orange and black, the Veyron 16.4 Super Sport achieved an incredible average top speed of 267.8mph – far exceeding the expectations of Bugatti’s engineering team. Bugatti’s chief engineer Dr. Wolfgang Schreiber said: ‘We took it that we would reach an average value of 264mph but the conditions today were perfect and allowed even more.’ It was accepted into the Guinness World Book of Records by officials. More
(AD Remarks ~ Thats some speed. Quite a turn around in economy, from all the green and fuel efficient cars they are trying to develop these days!)
The Terrafugia Transition, a light aircraft that can convert into a road-legal automobile, is to go into production after being given a special weight exemption by the US Federal Aviation Administration. The Transition was designed as a “light sport” aircraft, the smallest kind of private aeroplane under FAA classification, with a maximum weight of 1,320lb. But the manufacturers found it impossible to fit the safety features – airbags, crumple zones and roll cage, for instance – that are required for road vehicles into that weight. Uniquely, however, the FAA has granted the Transition an exemption – allowing it to be classified as a light sport aircraft despite being 120lb over the limit. Light sport aircraft licences require just 20 hours’ flying time, making them much easier to obtain than full private licences. The two-seater Transition can use its front-wheel drive on roads at ordinary highway speeds, with wings folded, at a respectable 30 miles per gallon. Once it has arrived at a suitable take-off spot – an airport, or adequately sized piece of flat private land – it can fold down the wings, engage its rear-facing propellor, and take off. The folding wings are electrically powered. Its cruising speed in the air is 115mph, it has a range of 460 miles, and it can carry 450lb. It requires a 1,700-foot (one-third of a mile) runway to take off and can fit in a standard garage. More and video
(AD Comments ~ The ultimate Boys Toy at the moment, but a technology improves, we could many more of these multi-puropose vehicles.)
Jun 102010
REVOLUTIONARY new hydrogen fuel cell-powered cars could be taking to the streets of Leicester thanks to a ground-breaking deal between the city council and a manufacturer of sustainable cars. Leicester City Council has signed a memorandum of understanding to work with Riversimple – a firm specialising in designing and building environmentally-friendly vehicles – which intends to bring 30 of the ultra-efficient cars to the city. The project, which will be the first of its kind in the UK, will see the council and Riversimple work together on a 12-month pilot scheme in which private residents and organisations will be able to test-drive the vehicles. The pilot scheme, which is expected to be up and running by spring 2012, will also involve Leicester University and De Montfort University, and will also work on a suitable location for a filling station to power the cars. The prototype of the car, which was built at the Silverstone racing circuit, was launched at an event in the grounds of Leicester’s De Montfort Hall on Thursday, June 10. The city council’s cabinet member for regeneration and transport, Councillor Abdul Osman, signed the memorandum of understanding between the council and Riversimple at the event. If the pilot is a success, Leicester and Riversimple will also discuss the potential of Leicester being the site for a factory producing 5,000 cars a year. Another pilot scheme is also planned for elsewhere in the UK. Leicester City Council’s cabinet member for regeneration and transport, Councillor Abdul Osman, added: “This is great news for Leicester, and confirms the city’s status as leading the way in environmental terms. More
(AD Comments ~ Another step forward in the new generation of cars. We are in desparate need for them to succeed, if we believe the stories of fossils fuel supplies running low over the next decade.)
A trial of New York-style “countdown” traffic lights will begin in London in late June, BBC London has learned. A Transport for London study found many pedestrians are unsure of how much time they have on zebra crossings after the green man light goes out. Now leaked documents show eight crossings with illuminated countdown signs will be installed, including in Balham, Blackfriars and Holborn. In the US lights with timers are common. The study authors said: “Research showed many pedestrians assume the only safe time to cross is when the green man is displayed at junctions. “In fact, the green man only signals the invitation to start crossing the road, and the blackout period that follows continues to give people the right of way. “This means even if a pedestrian steps off the kerb as the green man signal goes out and the blackout period begins, they still have enough time to cross the road before traffic starts to move.” The behaviour of pedestrians at the new crossings will be monitored closely. More
(AD Comments ~ Will only be successfull if pedestrians use the information wisely. Perhaps a similar countdown for drivers would help pedestrian crossing become safer as well!)
YOU’VE taken them out for driving lessons, helped them pass the test and watched them tear up the L plates – but now do you allow them to actually drive the family car? The dilemma facing every parent with a teenage driver could be eased with a new “youth key”, which automatically cuts a car’s performance and limits its speed. The duplicate key also keeps the radio volume low when the windows are open and prevents the car from starting until everyone has their seatbelt on. It can even set the car to “Cinderella mode”, forcing a curfew-busting driver to limp home after midnight no faster than 40mph. The technology, which is currently available only in the United States, is expected to reach the UK in the next two years. It was showcased for the first time yesterday by the motor insurance research organisation Thatcham at an airfield in Oxfordshire. The youth key is aimed at helping parents keep newly motoring offspring safe by enabling them to use the family car rather than having to resort to a smaller and older model with inferior safety features. It is expected to cut sky-high insurance premiums for young drivers because the cars logs when the youth key is in use. More
(AD Suggests ~ Restricting cars speed my help many others accross the board, not just the young.)
A mind-controlled robotic arm is bringing new independence to an Austrian man who lost his arms, even allowing him to drive a car, the arm’s maker announced earlier this week. Created by the German firm Otto Bock HealthCare, the arm has allowed 23-year-old Christian Kandlbauer to pass a driving test with flying colors, giving him the freedom to drive the seven kilometers to and from work each day without assistance. The device is the first mind-controlled arm prosthesis in Europe. After a high-voltage electrical accident struck Kandlbauer back in 2005, both his arms had to be amputated. His right arm has since been replaced by a myoelectric DynamicArm, which now operates the steering wheel when he drives his specially equipped Subaru Impreza, modified for him by Paravan. Taking the place of his left arm, however, is the new, seven-jointed prosthetic arm, which he controls in real time using just his thoughts. He now operates that arm to control the direction indicator lights, horn and all other safety-related devices of his vehicle. More
(AD Suggests ~ Well done to the guy, and just shows what techology advances can make possible.)
Hands-free tweeting is coming to Britain. New technology being fitted to some Ford cars will give drivers Twitter updates read out loud to them robotically while they’re driving. Future versions will enable drivers to dictate their own tweets via a voice recognition system without taking their hands off the wheel. The system, already in the American Ford Fiesta, also reads out text messages received on drivers’ smartphones, and is expected to be fitted to the Focus in Britain next year and then rolled out across the range. More
(AD Suggests ~ A great bit of new technology to assist drivers. We need to be careful that all these in-car gadgets we have these days, do not distract from the important task of looking at the road!)
In what could give Sinbad reason enough to roll on the floor with laughter, a sailor set out to the seas armed with a mere car sat nav. The sailor ran his boat aground and was later rescued by coastguards. The sailor, probably a novice and a fellow passenger set out from London in a 32 ft Myra Two motor cruiser and were heading toward Rochester in Kent before they ran ashore near Canvey Island in Essex. Coastguards were reportedly flabbergasted to find that the £20,000 vessel was equipped with no proper navigational aids other than a satellite navigation device that was meant to be used by cars to drive along the streets of London. More
(AD Suggests ~ It would be funny if it wasn`t serious!)
Speed cameras which communicate with each other by satellite are being secretly tested on British roads. The hi-tech devices can follow drivers’ progress for miles to calculate whether they have broken speed limits. Combining number plate recognition technology with global positioning satellites, they can be set up in a network to monitor tens of thousands of cars over huge areas for the smallest breach. Known as SpeedSpike, the system uses similar methods of recognition as the cameras which enforce the congestion charge in London, and allow two cameras to ‘talk’ to each other if a vehicle appears to have travelled too far in too short a space of time. After a covert national trial which has not been publicised until now, just days after a report showed motorists have been fined almost £1billion in speeding tickets under Labour, authorities hope the new cameras will enable them to re-create the system used on motorway contraflows. The Home Office is currently testing them at two sites – one in Southwark in London and another on the A374 between Antony and Torpoint in Cornwall. Details of the secret trials emerged in a House of Commons report and immediately attracted criticism. More
(AD Thoughts ~ If this works it will either make a massive contribution to road safety slowing traffic down, or provide even more revenue in fines for the government.)
New radar technology will help eliminate the problem driver’s blind spot for motorists driving a new S-Max or Galaxy. Ford has introduced the new Blind Spot Information System which informs the driver when another vehicle enters it blind spot zone on either side of the car. An LED warning light illuminates in the corresponding wing mirror to indicate the vehicle’s presence-be it a motorbike right up to something bigger like a truck. “In busy traffic, it’s very easy to lose sight of vehicles when they move into your blind spot,” said Dr Torsten Wey, Ford’s driver assistance technologies supervisor. “With its distinctive warning light, this system helps drivers to think twice before switching lanes or changing direction without checking their blind spot, hopefully preventing a collision or a near miss.” More
(AD Thoughts ~ Would be an excellent addition to any vehicle, may even be a standard feature in a few years time.)
Car giant Nissan has designed a groundbreaking new vehicle for the future which is half-car and half-scooter. The electric-powered Land Glider has four wheels but is little more than half the width of a family car and is designed with busy city streets in mind. The agile two-seater, which has a glider-like cabin, leans into corners and has a top speed of 62mph. A computer in the Land Glider takes into account speed and steering angle before automatically calculating the amount of lean required to corner. The vehicle is also equipped with a special crash avoidance system which uses sensors mounted in the body to detect other vehicles. The system then directs the Land Glider, which is described as a ‘personal city commuter’, away from obstacles. Nissan likens the system to the way ‘fish swim in schools without colliding’. A spokesman said: ‘Targeted at city dwellers of all generations, the Land Glider is a serious motoring statement of the new era of mobility that Nissan intends to lead. More
(AD Thoughts ~ Strange looking thing. As it is developed, we will surely see many more on the road. Sure to be more popular than the Sinclair C5 of athe 80`s.)
OK, it’s not quite as foldable as the space vehicle that cartoon figure George Jetson pops into his briefcase as he heads into the office. But the EN-V concept car, GM’s ‘automobile solution’ for the future, just might fit into an apartment foyer. The space age electric car has been designed to avoid accidents by automatically swerving around other cars by communicating with them. General Motors and its Chinese partner SAIC showcased the ‘Electric Networked-Vehicle’ yesterday in their joint pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, which opens May 1 and runs for six months. The EN-V, pronounced ‘envy’ is GM’s latest effort to burnish its credentials as a future-focused, environmentally friendly company and shed its image as the bastion of the gas guzzling Hummer. The automaker is in the process of winding down Hummer after a deal collapsed to sell it to a Chinese heavy equipment maker. The Detroit car manufacturer is hoping the helmet-shaped vehicle will help establish it as a significant player in fuel-efficient vehicles after emerging from bankruptcy last July. GM is not alone in viewing China as the ultimate landscape for tiny urban vehicles. Daimler introduced its Smart ultracompact here in 2008, though few of them can be seen yet on Shanghai streets. The concept behind the car has already been seen in Hollywood blockbuster films including Minority Report and I-Robot, starring Will Smith. The two-wheel, two-seater EN-V, which looks something like an oversized vacuum cleaner, is not just about making vehicles small, lightweight and emission-free, the company says. More
(AD Comment ~ A strange looking thing, can`t see much demand as yet!)
Mar 142010
Little Chef is bringing power to the motorist. The roadside chain, known for its Olympic breakfasts, will begin testing high-speed electric charging points at 10 branches within weeks, allowing cars such as the Tesla Roadster and Mini E to charge their batteries in as little as an hour. If successful, the trial could lead to a roll-out across all 173 branches. The company that developed the technology is planning a network of 1m charging points so that battery-powered cars can travel long distances without their drivers worrying about finding a place to “fill up”. More
(AD Comment ~ It may take a long lunch to get fully charged!)
A car that runs on coffee is unveiled today – but it certainly won’t take the grind out of commuting. And at between 25 and 50 times the cost of running a car on petrol, the invention won’t please any motor industry bean-counters either. Nicknamed the Car-puccino, it has been created using a converted 1988 Volkswagen Scirocco bought for £400 and chosen for its resemblance to the time-travelling DeLorean in the movie Back To The Future. The car will be driven the 210 miles between Manchester and London powered only by roasted coffee granules. It has been built by a team from the BBC1 science programme Bang Goes The Theory and will go on display at the Big Bang science fair in Manchester to show how fuels other than conventional petrol and diesel can power vehicles. The team calculates the Carpuccino will do three miles per kilo of ground coffee – the equivalent of about 56 espressos per mile. The journey will use about 70 kilos of ground coffee which, at supermarket prices of between £13 and £26 a kilo depending on brand and quality, will cost between £910 and £1,820, or between 25 and 50 times the £36 cost of petrol for the journey. More Update
(AD Comment ~ An expensive way to travel, but the aroma around the car might be more pleasant than petrol or diesel fumes!)
Potholes can cause significant damage to vehicles and lead to claims on car insurance policies; however, drivers may find it easier to avoid them in future if the brainchild of two Italian students is adopted. Domenico Diego and Cristina Corradini have developed a new project called the “Street Safe Initiative” which involves placing a brightly-coloured layer of asphalt beneath the surface of the road. If and when the road surface cracks and potholes begin to develop, the asphalt would be exposed and motorists will be able to see it in plenty of time and avoid it. More
(AD Comment ~ Sounds a good idea in principal. But as the authorities seem reluctant to spend money on laying/repairing roads properly in the first place, you would imagine they would not invest in this idea, even though it would be of grat benefit to motorists.)
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