Cars Of The Future On Tonight
April 22, 2008
For those of in the US, tonight premieres “Car of the Future” on PBS at 8pm. It’s a look at the innovative technologies that could one day transform the way we drive. Apparently it’s a “screwball automotive odyssey that doubles as a serious environmental wake-up call. From Detroit to California, Boston to Iceland, Tom and Ray mix their trademark slapstick with serious nuts-and-bolts analysis of what it will take to make our autos more energy-efficient.”
A distinguished group of engineers doubles as Tom and Ray’s straight men, including Lee Lynd of Mascoma Corporation, who is working to bioengineer microbes that can produce ethanol from plant wastes, and Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute, who is developing an ultralight, full-size “green” car that is efficient and almost indestructible.
For more info, check out the NOVA website, again it’s on tonight, Tuesday, April 22 at 8 pm ET/PT on most PBS stations. Check your local listings.
The Magic Wheel Eco Product Review
March 21, 2008
If you ever look what category posts on Life Goggles are put in, you may notice this one says Product Reviews, but also Transport. That’s in the loosest sense of the word as I haven’t been able to go anywhere on this yet.
But I’m jumping ahead. The Magic Wheel, as you can see from the videos and pictures, is a cross between a unicycle, skateboard and scooter. Sort of. It’s a wheel with steps either side (and a shopping trolley/cart wheel on the back) that you have one foot on while you push off with the other like a skateboard until you reach sufficient speed to put both feet either side and glide to your destination. Well glide for a bit until you need to start pushing again.
First of all - it’s trickier than it looks in the promotions video - check out my video for my (embarrassingly, not first) attempts at mastering the Magic Wheel. I know it’s April 1 so I might as well look at fool. To be fair, I’m not very good at skateboarding etc which I think would have helped, but it’s a bit tricky and young, cool kids are probably better at it than me. The package comes with some vague safety instructions and a dvd with some dubious English subtitles. But between them they tell you enough about the product to be able to give it a go.
You stick the knee pads on yourself at the right height which makes it a bit more comfortable and easier to control, and away you go. Sort of. I didn’t go very far to be honest but again, I think you could if you persevered. Despite the backdrop of London’s Tower Bridge, after an hour I’d had enough and went for a drink.
One thing you will notice is how everyone looks at you when you’re on it, or even carrying it. I haven’t seen another one in London and they’re pretty cool looking, if slightly impractical. That’s my main problem with it, not that I can’t get the hang of it. What is it actually for. It’s less portable than a skateboard and it advises you not to go downhill or do tricks on it. It’s less stable than a bike or even a scooter and I’m left wondering why it doesn’t have a thicker tyre/tire on it to help make it more stable. Probably because it means your legs will be a lot wider and you’ll end up walking like John Wayne. Also if you’re short it might be a bit dodgy going on this. On a couple of occasions I came close to injuring myself between the legs and I’m 5′ 10″.
The Magic Wheel is a fun thing for a while, but at $199 or £120 your investment might be better placed elsewhere.
Tesla Electric Supercar To Arrive In March 08
February 20, 2008
Absent from the Detroit Auto Show, Tesla’s electric sportscar will go on sale in March 2008. At $100,000 it’s too rich for my blood, but for those who are going to buy a sportscar anyway (yeah, right), and want to do it in a more environmentally friendly way then this will soon be a reality.
[Via: EcoGeek]
Automotive X-Prize
February 8, 2008
The X PRIZE Foundation was created by Dr. Peter H. Diamandis who strongly believes that focused and talented teams in pursuit of a prize and acclaim can change the world. It’s an educational nonprofit prize institution whose mission is to create radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity.
You’ve probably heard of it before, when the first private vehicle went into space to win the $10m Ansari X PRIZE. The foundation now has the $10m Archon X PRIZE for Genomics and the $30m Google Lunar X PRIZE and the Automotive X PRIZE.
It has the goal of designing viable, clean and super-efficient cars that (and this is important) people want to buy. Beginning in 2009, with the final round in 2010 teams will compete to build cars that meet strict emissions guidelines (including the construction of the vehicle), fuel efficiency targets using a new measure called Miles Per Gallon Equivalent, and they must be capable of producing a minimum of 10,000 vehicles.
An example entrant is a man who gets 130mpg [via gas2.0]:
Chat Live With GM About The Environment
February 5, 2008
A great opportunity to chat to an executive from the automotive world, on Wednesday February 6th GM executive Brent Dewar (North America Vice President of Field Sales, Service and Parts) will be online answering questions regarding GM’s environmental programs and positions.
“Since the environment is a hot topic in today’s world, GM wants to set the record straights on its policies and initiatives. The chats are your exclusive chance to ask questions about the company and how it impacts the environment. ”
The first chat will take place Wednesday, February 6 from:
6pm to 7pm GMT
12pm to 1pm EST (time zone where chat takes place)
10am to 11am PST
Follow this link to ask a question at the time above. The chats are open to everyone.
This video of Brent Dewar below talking about environmentalism will give you an idea of what to expect.
Green Cars and Green Claims - Part 3
January 25, 2008
This is the final part of a three-part series. For the first part go here, or follow this link for all Detroit Auto Show 2008 articles.
Chrysler
Chrysler had a nice big sign up for their Aspen two mode hybrid but very little information on it. Their Global Electric Motorcars company had several vehicles on display, including the e2 pictured here. It’s under $7,000 and while a rear window and right side mirror are optional extras it does have a smog rating of 0.00.
BMW
BMW presented the BMW Hydrogen 7, the world’s first hydrogen-powered luxury saloon virtually free of emissions in everyday use. Currently 100 vehicles are on test drive, where the engine can be switched between hydrogen mode (200km/125miles range) or gasoline (another 500km/310 miles) to increase range. The advantage of hydrogen engines of course are they emit only water vapour. however, how green they are depends on how the hydrogen is manufactured.
Mini focused on lower fuel consumption as a unique selling point. With Brake Energy Regeneration they convert engine power into drive power for the wheels and electric power being generated only when moving or braking. With the Auto Start Stop function means that for all manual gearbox versions the engine no longer idles when stopped. When the gearshift is in neutral and the clutch isn’t pressed the engine switches off. Once the clutch pedal is pressed again the engine restarts. Finally they have a simple device called “the gearshift point indicator” that literally points to which gear you should be in for maximum engine (and therefore fuel) efficiency. Interesting!
Fisker Automotive
Fisker launched their $80,000 “eco-chic” car, which looks pretty nice as you can see from the photo below (or after the ‘Read more’ link if you’re reading this on our homepage). And yes, they are solar panels on the roof. Clearly aimed at the eco-conscious rich and celebrities, the vehicle is a plug-in hybrid that gets 50 miles from an overnight charge, and then a combustion engine takes over. 0-60 in 5.8 seconds is not bad at all, so if you can afford it (though you could get two Chevy Volts for the price) you can pre-order one for $5,000 now… The company was one of the few who printed their press kit on recycled paper with soy-based vegetable inks so get the thumbs up there.
[Read more]
Green Cars and Green Claims - Part 2
January 23, 2008
This is part two of a three-part series. For the first part go here, or follow this link for all Detroit Auto Show 2008 articles.
Toyota
Toyota is well known for their Prius, but this is a purpose built hybrid, not an exisiting model with a hybrid option. They hope to have all models with a hybrid option by 2020, however seem to be falling behind the competition in this respect, perhaps as a result of resting on the success of the Prius. They will have 400 demonstration plug-in hybrids by 2010 but not models for sale. It plans to offer diesel engines on the Tundra and Sequioa, though these are still pretty inefficient vehicles.
Their stand was made of eco-friendly materials and incorporated energy efficient elements such as using LEDs. They also unveiled the Toyota A-BAT concept runs on the same hybrid powertrain as the Prius (below left), and had an excellent cutaway of a fuel cell hybrid, demonstrating how it worked (below right).
Lexus didn’t have much of a green angle (like most of the luxury manufacturers) with only their RX 400 SUV on show, to my eye at least.
Ferrari
Yes, even the great gas guzzler Ferrari had a F430 Spider bio fuel vehicle on display, even though it’s just a concept. It runs on E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline for those who don’t know), and has actually slightly more horsepower than the current version.
Honda
Honda have the Accord ES is a “near zero” emission vehicle yet I don’t know whether it was because I was tired or they hadn’t yet put all the vehicles out for the public show, but I couldn’t find one on display.
[Read more]
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