Archive for the ‘Automotive’ Category
Land Rover has made a rather bold claim for the LRX concept car - "it incorporated technologies with the potential to make it the cleanest car in its class".
The design uses light weight materials and ensures low drag and drivers have the option of a 2.0 litre turbodiesel hybrid powertrain.
Electric rear axle drive propels the rear wheels while the front wheels are driven by the diesel engine, so you get the traditional Land Rover off-road capabilities.
And the engine is biofuel compatible - just for extra eco points.
Land Rover is promising a production model "early next decade" so start saving your pennies.
Sure, these in-car crash loggers are a dime a dozen these days, but Brickhouse Security is pushing its Car Camera Voyager Pro as better than those ho hum alternatives thanks to the inclusion of GPS. As with most of its highly functional rivals, this one also packs a G-sensor that detects when a vehicle has been slammed into, bumped or otherwise rocked in an unorthodox manner; after that, it captures the 10 seconds immediately prior to and the 30 seconds immediately following the incident. Of course, you’ll also be able to pinpoint your exact location thanks to the corresponding GPS information, which could certainly help you out when hunting down CCTV footage of the nut-job who rammed your whip and wheeled off to Wendy’s as if nothing happened. Hand over $449.95 now and expect it to arrive later next week.
From Engadget
Ok, no Flintstones jokes please…this is serious business. Africans in rural areas often need ways to traverse vast distances to seek immediate medical attention. Most of the time a traditional ambulance or even any motorized vehicle is simply not available. Designer Benoît Angibaud addresses this issue with his “Jaambaaro” pedal car design. The Jaambaaro is literally a pedal-car with a stretcher, driven by two persons pedaling and assisted by electrical power generated from solar energy. Made of salvaged materials, and will hopefully fuel the local economy through localized manufacturing, thus making this vehicle not only sustainable but also fun for the kids. Yaabaadaabaadooo!
Designer: Benoît Angibaud
BMW has faced a lot of crass for the shortcomings of the iDrive control system, which helps driver access infotainment and car functions in the car. Giving in to the demands, in the new 7 series models, a new iDrive screen is incorporated, which is a drastic change from the previous generation. Pictures of the new main screen for iDrive, in German, and some trickles of details from the news release are out. The controller for iDrive is the same as before, a big knob with joystick functionality. Also included are a set of dedicated buttons for immediate access to the radio, CD, navigation, and phone menus. As observed from the picture released by BMW, the new main interface shows a stack of menus that you can scroll through and select. The earlier interface used four quadrants. The news release points out “letters of the alphabet and numerals are arranged in circular form for more intuitive input of addresses and phone numbers.” BMW will show the new 7-series at the 2008 Los Angeles auto show.
Let’s see what we can look forward to in the year 2028. Britney’s kids will be readmitted to rehab for the 14th time after getting caught being average and functional. The US is bought by two Chinese business men as a place to keep all their stuff and my girlfriend will still think she looks fat in her 9,763rd pair of jeans. Oh and Volkwagen will be releasing some pretty “safe, comfortable and efficient..” vehicles. Sure, these cars still won’t fly, but they will interact with traffic lights, park automatically and change color with the press of a button. Volkswagen presented this concept exercise into what the future of automobiles may look like in 2028…cast your eyes into their crystal ball and tell us what you think.
Seems Italian car maker Ferrari has had just about enough of their whinny customers wanting custom this and custom that on their mid-life crisis. More than enough customers have waltzed into their Maranello headquarters with their own design ideas of the perfect Ferrari to convince executives at Ferrari to launch a “One Off” program. I can almost hear the conversation now between two Ferrari generals….Ferrari Exective #1 ” Asa matter witha all of dees people and their-a estupid designs ideas…? Mama mia! Whata we gonna do-a to shut-a dem up-a?” Ferrari Executive #2 ” Hey, I gotta a good idea! We take-a der money and we let-a them make-a whatever dey want-a…” Ferrari Executive #1 “ok, but no SUVs-a and no Ferrari Mini Vans-a”. So that’s the deal. For two million Euros you can bring in your own design. As long as it fits onto a current Ferrari chassis and your check clears, you can have your very own Ferrari “Dave” or Ferrari “Mohammed” or Ferrari “Takashi”… Enzo is spinning in his hand stitched leather grave.
According to Nikkei, Toyota’s apparently going to be equipping future high-end Priuses with Kyocera-built roof-mounted solar panels. Somewhat counterintuitively, the sun’s rays won’t be used to power the car itself, but will instead run the AC. It also sounds like your next solar-assisted Prius won’t be around for a while, as the panels aren’t designed in yet, nor will they be until early next year when Toyota starts work on revamping the line.
Sony Xpl?d takes multi-disc playback to a new level with the MEXR1! Equipped with DVD, MP3, JPEG and VCD, you’ve got complete playback flexibility, and the capacity to fit an astonishing 1000 MP3 tracks on a single DVD±R/RW disc! Also, the new Zone x Zone feature lets front seat passengers tune in to the radio or playback CDs from a CD Changer, while passengers in the back watch their favourite DVDs with headphones.
The next generation of the BMW 5-Series will sport an advanced version of the iDrive system and more cues to bring its interior closer to those found in Audis.
TheCarConnection.com’s spy photographer ring has nabbed these new photos of the next BMW 5-Series, including the first interior photos. The cabin shot shows a relocated iDrive controller with satellite buttons, which may provide shortcuts like the buttons that surround Audi’s MMI controller. A joystick-style shifter is also found inside, as is a button for an electronic parking brake.
The new 5-Series also has a redesigned cockpit; the steering wheel has roller-type controls again like those in Audis. On the equipment list: keyless start/stop, an active suspension, a night-vision system, a head-up display, and a navigation system with a larger display.
The body styles for the new BMW 5-Series will include a Sedan, a Touring wagon, and a fastback version along the lines of the new X6. All-wheel drive will be offered across the lineup. A debut at the 2009 Frankfurt auto show might be in the cards for the new 5-Series, which likely will make it to the U.S. as a 2011 model.
MITSUBISHI held a press conference with the introduction of its 4-wheel drive sedan ‘Lancer Evolution’ in Korea market in order to enter Korea market.
Powered by 2.0-liter MIVEC turbocharged and intercooled engine with 295 horsepower, the Lancer Evolution will be available in September for around 40,000,000(KRW).