Category Archives: Transportation

Tata Nano: World’s Cheapest Car to Go Hybrid

The Tata Nano , a four-passenger city car developed and sold in India, has become famous for being the world’s cheapest car . At just $2,200 a pop, the Nano has also gained a reputation for its fuel efficiency ( 51.7 mpg ). And while a compressed air version of the Nano has long been rumored to be in the works, Tata chairman Ratan Tata has just announced that a hybrid version could eventually hit the streets.
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Capstone Unveils Hybrid SuperCar Propelled by a Jet Turbine

Capstone Turbine is set to blow through the boundaries of conventional hybrid electric vehicles with its recently unveiled
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Los Angeles Without Traffic!

It’s a ghost highway in the middle of LA. Not the result of road closures, the apocalypse, a zombie scare, or a massive increase in the price of petroleum, this series of car-less highways are the brainchild of photographer Tom Baker . Curious as to what a traffic-less Los Angeles would look like, Baker went ahead and created it. The result is a series of images that are eerily calming.
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All-Electric Peugout BB1 is Part Scooter, Part Car

Although the Peugout BB1’s styling may be some of the funkiest design work we’ve seen, it’s causing quiet a stir in the Electric Vehicle world, and for good reason. The BB1 is part scooter , part car, and features two in-wheel electric motors and a solar panel equipped roof . Read the rest of All-Electric Peugout BB1 is Part Scooter, Part Car Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: alternative transportation , green design , peugeot bb1 , plug in electric vehicle , scooter car , Solar Roof , sustainable design
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ChargeCar Aims to Create Crowdsourced Electric Vehicles

A person who drives 60 miles to work every day has different needs than someone who drives across town. So instead of designing electric cars to match the performance of petroleum-powered vehicles, researchers at Carnegie Mellon ’s ChargeCar initiative think that EV s should be designed for individual commuting needs. To that end, ChargeCar hopes to create a so-called “commute ecology” based on crowdsourced data to develop EVs for different types of commutes. Read the rest of ChargeCar Aims to Create Crowdsourced Electric Vehicles Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: chargecar , crowdsourcing , electric car , ev , green design , phev , sustainable design , transportation
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Solar Parking Lot of the Future Does Much More Than Park Cars

We’re pretty certain that parking lots of the future will be more than just storage areas for our vehicles. They’ll generate their own power, have morphing advertisements, and likely recharge cars as well. Well our friends at Designboom and Nissan are way ahead of the curve. They just announced the results of their Think Outside the Parking Box competition, and while we’re certainly impressed with some of the imaginative ways to park cars (car ferris wheel, anyone?), we were most excited about the Solasis Light Tower . This renewable energy generating parking lot actually uses the cars’ windshields to shine sun onto a solar power concentrating tower adding valuable juice to the grid.
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Wireless Road Trains Keep Highway Vehicles Linked Together

What if you could drive onto the highway, take your hands off the wheel, and sit back and read a book? That might not be as far-fetched as you might think if an EU-financed research project is successful. The project, dubbed SARTRE (Safe Road Trains for the Environment) wants to link vehicles together in eight-car “road trains” led by a professional driver.
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275 MPG eVARO Electric Vehicle Goes From 0 to 60 in 5 Seconds

The Progressive Automotive X-Prize is heating up as the May 2010 start date approaches, and one of our favorite entrants is the eVARO, a three-wheeled plug-in hybrid from Future Vehicles Technology . The sleek electric vehicle can go from 0 to 60 MPH in 5 seconds and purportedly reaches 275 mpg under certain conditions. And for those times when there isn’t a gas station in site, the eVARO can cruise for up to 90 miles on pure battery power. Read the rest of 275 MPG eVARO Electric Vehicle Goes From 0 to 60 in 5 Seconds Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: auto x prize , electric vehicle , ev , evaro , green design , green transportation , phev , plug in electric vehicle , sema , sustainable design
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Novateq Guerrero Transport System Runs on Super-Strong Magnetic Fields

Instead of moving goods on resource-intensive trains , Spain-based technology company Novateq Guerrero SNL wants to build out a different kind of transportation network–one that uses super-powerful magnets to propel vehicles. Novateq has already developed a prototype of its system, which uses Neodymium magnets, or rare-earth magnets, as a driving force. The magnets are 9 times more powerful than conventional models. Read the rest of Novateq Guerrero Transport System Runs on Super-Strong Magnetic Fields Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: green design , magnetic fields , neodymium , novateq guerrero , Spain , sustainable design , sustainable transportation , trains
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Sun-Powered Japanese Racecar Wins World Solar Challenge

We’ll admit it: We’ve never totally understood Nascar’s appeal. I mean, come on, it’s just a bunch of cars going round and round a track like a zillion times! But the World Solar Challenge ? Now that is one car race we can really get behind. The event , which started way back in 1987, features solar-powered vehicles created by some of the world’s top engineering colleges. Using the power of the sun instead of polluting fossil fuels, the cars race across thousands of miles in order to advance solar and electric vehicle technology — and to achieve the satisfaction of winning, of course.
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