Mission One electric motorcycle boasts 150 MPH top speed, extreme price tag

The Mission One EV electric sports bike got a proper unveiling at this week's Technology, Entertainment, Design (TED) conference, and boy does this baby exude power. Mission Motors says the motorcycle's got an 150 MPH top speed and 100 foot-pounds of torque at any point between 0 and 6,500 RPM. That's a good deal faster than the Electric Motorsport GPR-S, which tops out at a now-paltry 100 MPH. The lithium-ion battery keeps it running for 150 miles, and charge time is targeted for under 2 Hours at 240V (8 Hours at 120V). Its stylish form factor comes from famed industrial designer Yves Behar. Yeah, we're excited, too, but here's the part where you flinch: the deathly silent super-scooter will first show up in 2010 with a 50-unit limited edition run costing $68,995 apiece. A more affordable model will be announced sometime this summer. If you've got a need for this much muted speed, be prepared to mortgage a house or two.


[Via: Autoblog Green ]
[Tag: electric motorcycle, electric vehicle, ElectricMotorcycle, ElectricVehicle, ev, mission, mission motors, mission one, mission one ev, MissionMotors, MissionOne, MissionOneEv, motorcycle, one ev, OneEv, technology entertainment design, TechnologyEntertainmentDesign, ted, ted 2009, Ted2009 ]

Tesla can't get funding, postpones plans to build new factory

Looks like Tesla's decision to jack up options pricing on the Roadster to make the company's financials more enticing to investors didn't necessarily pay off: the company failed to score the required $100m in private funding needed to start building that new factory and HQ in San Jose. The new plan is to request some $400m from the government's Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program and spend it on both the planned facility and an advanced battery and powertrain lab -- which might mean Tesla would have to move elsewhere, since the ATVM requires the money to be spent rehabilitating an older factory. We'll see how this one plays out -- although we're still in love with the Roadster, Tesla itself always seems to be one stroke away from catastrophe.


[Via: Gearlog ]
[Tag: tesla, tesla motors, tesla roadster, TeslaMotors, TeslaRoadster ]

Johnson Controls rolls out re3 plug-in concept vehicle

You may not be seeing the car itself roll off an assembly line anytime soon, but Johnson Controls is hoping that some of parts in its new plug-in concept vehicle will eventually find their way into a few production vehicles. The car, dubbed the re3, made its debut at the Detroit Auto Show this week, and packs a whole slew of gadgetry, including an "extended cluster" with a 7-inch touchscreen, a seat-wing armrest and controller that moves some of the controls away from the dash, and a lithium-ion battery pack that makes use of "active cooling" and is able to be tucked in between the two front seats. Johnson Controls also says that the car makes use of renewable materials throughout and, supposedly, it can seat five people relatively comfortably. No word on any interest from automakers just yet, but you can get a closer look at it courtesy of autoblog at the link below.
[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: concept, concept car, concept vehicle, ConceptCar, ConceptVehicle, johnson controls, JohnsonControls, plug-in, re3 ]

Lotus powersliding into the hybrid car market

If you want to make a car handle -- and handle well -- you call Lotus. Just ask Tesla; without the help of the gearheads in Hethel, the US's hottest electric vehicle would probably still be just a concept. Perhaps dissatisfied with the relatively minimal PR love it's been receiving from the Tesla relationship, lotus has announced plans to develop its own battery-powered car. However, unlike the all-electric Roadster, this new offering will include a Volt-like supplementary fuel-burning engine to add a bit more range and, one would figure, rather a lot more mass. That's not exactly good news for those who worship the Lotus mantra of "to add speed, add lightness," but at this point we don't have any idea about what the thing will weigh, cost, or indeed look like. If all goes according to plan we should get some answers when those international automotive powerhouses who are still alive bum a ride to the Geneva Auto Show in March.
[Via: Autoblog ] [Tag: electric car, ElectricCar, ev, hybrid, hybrid car, HybridCar, lotus ]

Eaton's fuel saving hydraulic hybrid systems put traditional drivetrains in jeopardy

Eaton, which is better known for its involvement in supercharging muscle cars, has a thing for saving fuel, too. According to a writeup on the outfit's website, it's working up a series hybrid hydraulic system to replace the conventional driveline. The SHH system will wed a high-efficiency diesel engine and a custom hydraulic propulsion system, and by operating at its "sweet spot," it stands to reason that lots of gasoline will be saved as it runs. Better still, the setup involves regenerative breaking in order to recover and reuse energy that's typically wasted, and the engine can safely be shut off when not needed in order to save additional fuel when waiting at a stoplight. So, where is this stuff headed first? UPS trucks, naturally.

[Via: Autoblog ] [Tag: Eaton, hybrid hydraulic, HybridHydraulic, hydraulic, hydraulic hybrid, HydraulicHybrid ]

In-car fingerprint scanner keeps drunks, thieves from starting your car

How's this for dual purpose? Zhao Wencai and Li Zhoumu, two graduate students at the China University of Geosciences, have concocted a prototype device which checks for two important bits of information before allowing a car to start. First, it scans your fingerprint to make sure you're on the authorized driver database; second, it takes a long, hard look (okay, so maybe 20 seconds isn't all that long) at the sweat on your digit to determine just how sober or inebriated you are. There's no telling when this will hit motorcars en masse, but we'd say the whole thing needs to get a whole lot smaller before it's a viable option.

[Via: Wired ] [Tag: alcohol, china, driving, drunk driving, DrunkDriving, research, safety, scanner, university ]

Honda's color-changing speedometer to drive out bad driving habits

So, you've a lead foot? What of it, right? Honda's hoping to make that bad little habit vanish by using the tried and true guilt trip method, or more specifically, the Ecological Drive Assist System. For starters, the technology's ECON Mode works with the CVT and engine to "support more fuel-efficient driving." The real kicker, however, is the color-based "guidance function" -- drive like a granny, your speedo lights up green, drive a little wilder, and things get a bit blue, and if you toss fuel economy to the wind and let 'er rip, expect a full-on blue screen and the voice of God to come thundering through your sound system instructing that those horses be held. The EDAS should appear in the automaker's Insight hybrid as early as Spring 2009, though there's no word if it'll be standard equipment on the rumored S3000.
[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: CVT, eco-friendly, Ecological Drive Assist System, EcologicalDriveAssistSystem, ECON, EDAS, fuel economy, FuelEconomy, gas mileage, GasMileage, green, honda, hybrid, hybridcar, in-car, Insight, InterNavi, japan, safety, transmission, transport ]

Fujitsu's in-car safety tech senses drowsiness, reacts to wake you up

Not that we haven't seen similar technology from other outfits before, but we'll take as many in-car safety advancements as we can get. It's bruited that Fujitsu is conjuring up a sophisticated sensor system that can actually detect when a driver gets drowsy or begins to sink into a deep, dark wonder-world of sleep. Put simply, the system would detect specific changes in the motorist's heart rate via the steering wheel, and once it determined that you weren't exactly "with it" any longer, the car could then roll its own windows down, blast the stereo or jolt the wheel in order to get your attention. In our minds, the biggest issue here is to not cause an accident by spooking a sleepy driver out of their slumber, and we presume that's exactly what the company is working on in its R&D labs.
[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: automotive, dozing, driver, driving, drowsy, feedback, Fujitsu, heart rate, HeartRate, safety, sensor, sensors, sleep, sleeping, sleepy ]

Ruf Automobile's electric Porsche concept gets real, pictured

Look out Tesla / Lightning -- a new competitor just rolled out, and it's sitting pretty. Ruf Automobile has gone public with its stunning electric eRUF concept car, which is obviously based on a Porsche 911. The automobile packs a three-phase electric motor that puts out around 200-horsepower and 480 lb.-ft. of torque, and it can reportedly go from nothing to sixty in under seven ticks. The juice is provided by a Li-ion phosphate battery pack that produces 317-volts / 480-amps and is constructed from 96 individual cells, and combined with the power garnered by the regenerative braking system, it can cruise up to 180 miles before needing a ten-hour recharge. Production, pretty please?
[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: concept, eco-friendly, electric car, ElectricCar, eRUF, eRUF Model A, ErufModelA, green, Porsche, Porsche 911, Porsche911, Ruf Automobile, RufAutomobile ]

Audi confirms pure electric car, will likely be based on VW Up! concept

With an electric MINI Cooper just around the bend, a Twin Drive hybrid Volkswagen landing in 2010 and Chevrolet's Volt rolling into showrooms in a matter of months, Audi's ten-year plan is looking a little awkward. Though we've yet to hear that it's actually speeding things up, Peter Schwarzenbauer, who sits on the management board at Ingolstadt, recently confirmed that the company would be offering "a pure electric car" sometime in the future. Additionally, rumors of it being based on the A1 were dashed, opening the door for speculation that it will instead be built around the VW Up! (Lupo) concept. Here's hoping we find our prior to 2018.
[Via: Autoblog ] [Tag: a1, Audi, car, concept, eco-friendly, electric car, ElectricCar, green, Up, vehicle, volkswagen, VW ]

Ford MyKey lets parents control their kids' driving habits

There's not exactly a shortage of options out there for parents that want to keep watch on their kids' driving, but Ford looks to be taking things a bit further than most with its new MyKey system, and it's making it standard issue, no less. Set to debut in the 2010 Focus Coupe and plenty of other Ford vehicles shortly thereafter, the key-based system will let parents limit their car's top driving speed to 80 miles per hour, cut off the stereo's volume at just 44% of its max output, and set a persistent chime to go off if the seatbelts aren't being used (the stereo also gets muted until everyone buckles up). As if that wasn't enough, it'll also provide a low-fuel warning at 75 miles to empty, start issuing a surely annoying reminder as the driver inches up past the 45 mph mark, and make it impossible to disable some of the Focus' usual safety measures like Park Aid and Cross Traffic Alert. Also not able to be disabled: your kid's resentment.
[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: ford, ford focus, ford focus coupe, FordFocusCoupe, mykey ]

Vehicle-to-grid will turn suburbs into power plants, won't help undertones of repression

We've been hearing about vehicle-to-grid (V2G) for quite a while, and now a team at the University of Michigan is conducting an extensive study on the technology as part of a national sustainable energy solution. While current electric plants are good at generating power, they often fall short when it comes to storage -- which can be a problem when there's a power surge or when demand increases. V2G will let hybrid-electric owners sell the power their car generates to the electrical power grid whenever the car is not in use. The research team envisions a time when millions of hybrid vehicle owners will come together to create one large battery, allowing us all to play a small part in building our nation's energy independence. And sure, this all sounds good in theory. But wouldn't that mean relying on the neighbors to provide a key piece of the nation's infrastructure? Have you met the neighbors? Doesn't that seem a little... iffy?
[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: electric car, ElectricCar, hybrid, hybrid cars, HybridCars, Jeff Stein, JeffStein, plug-in hybrid, Plug-inHybrid, pluginhybrid, university of michigan, UniversityOfMichigan, v2g, vehicle to grid, VehicleToGrid ]

Solar powered motorcycle now an impractical reality

Why is this guy smiling? Unlike your Zero, his electric motorcycle is solar powered. To build the bike, Jim Corning started with his wife's Ninja 250, adding a front wheel cover and extending the back end for aerodynamics. The motor is powered by lithium-ion phosphate batteries, which are recharged by four 800-watt solar panels mounted to the roof of his house (so it's not like you can just sit out in a field somewhere and charge up). The current design gets up to 70 mph and a range of about 50 miles: no power cord required. Want to make one yourself? Hit the read link for more details, and don't forget to be super rich and totally insane.
[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: electric motorcycle, electric vehicle, ElectricMotorcycle, ElectricVehicle, Jim Corning, JimCorning ]

Tesla CTO talks Bluestar, the affordable electric auto

Despite not making any lusty noises when tearing away from a stoplight, Tesla's eco-friendly supercar the Roadster still sets our hearts aflutter. Its price, however, makes our bank accounts sad, so we're happy to report the company is still working hard to develop an affordable option dubbed "Bluestar." Tesla CTO JB Straubel recently spoke about green transportation at MIT's Emerging Technologies Conference, elaborating on earlier plans to build a $20,000 - $30,000 family car that, he hopes, could some day result in hundreds of thousands of sales per year. Given the company thus far has shipped just 27 cars, a partnership with some major automotive player will almost certainly be required, and as SUV-dependent 'Merican manufacturers continue to suffer we think any of them would be wise to play along.
[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: Bluestar, electric car, electric vehicle, ElectricCar, ElectricVehicle, JB Straubel, JbStraubel, tesla, tesla motors, TeslaMotors ]

China takes the leap: Emdrive aka Infinite Improbability Drive now in development

While the rest of the world was in some kind of mass coma over the past year, China decided to have a hand at building the highly controversial Emdrive (electromagnetic drive) -- an engine that uses microwaves to transform electrical energy into thrust, all in a comparably light-weight, efficient package. The end result could mean 41 day journeys to Mars, not to mention terrestrial vehicle propulsion and satellite applications. Perpetual motion malarkey you say? British scientist and originator of the concept, Roger Shawyer of Satellite Propulsion Research Ltd. (SPR), assures you it's nothing of the kind, and Chinese Professor Yang Juan concurs. Research headed by Juan at Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) in Xi'an commenced in June 2007, and a thruster now being built based on Shawyer's theories is scheduled for completion by the end of this year. Meanwhile in the US: cue the sound of crickets.
[Via: Wired ] [Tag: electromagnetic drive, ElectromagneticDrive, Emdrive, Impossible Space Drive, ImpossibleSpaceDrive, Northwestern Polytechnical University, NorthwesternPolytechnicalUniversity, NPU, perpetual motion, PerpetualMotion, Roger Shawyer, RogerShawyer, Satellite Propulsion Research Ltd, SatellitePropulsionResearchLtd, SPR, Yang Juan, YangJuan ]

Honda bringing 360-degree multi-view camera system to Odyssey

Honda's been trying for months now to convince you that "the van is back in style," and while we're still not entirely sure that line isn't just marketing hoopla (okay, it is), at least the company is working to make the thing more technologically advanced. Starting next month in Japan, the automaker will debut a multi-view camera system for its Odyssey minivan, which will utilize the same 360-degree overhead cam tech that Nissan picked up last year. The system will give drivers the ability to see more as they prepare to back out, and the biggest boon is the ability to view ninjas adhered to parking garage ceilings prior to opening the sunroof and facing The Reaper. Unfortunately, there's no word on when it'll be available in other corners of the globe, but we'd guess 2009 if we had a Katana put to our throat.
[Thanks, JagsLive]
[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: automobile, camera, honda, japan, Matsushita, minivan, multi-view camera, Multi-viewCamera, Odyssey, overhead, panasonic, safety, van ]

MIT developing autonomous wheelchair that listens when you speak

Oh MIT, do the wonders that come from your halls ever cease? Yet another remarkable development is emerging from the fabled institution, and this time it's an autonomous wheelchair that can remember important places in a given building (read: the hospital ward, your house, the local arcade, etc.) and then take you there on command. In other words, the voice recognizing chair could understand phrases of direction, such as "head to the kitchen," and it would take on the burden of navigating the halls while letting the rider chill. The researchers are implementing a system that can learn and adapt to the individual user, and in the future, they'd like to add in a collision-avoidance system and mechanical arms to help patients lift and move objects. Say, can regular joes / janes buy these? We're totally feeling this over the Segway.
[Via: medGadget ] [Tag: autonomous, autonomous wheelchair, AutonomousWheelchair, disabled, handicap, handicapped, medical, mit, research, transport, transporter, university, voice command, VoiceCommand, wheelchair ]

Chevy Volt hits the road, video style

The Chevy Volt had its big debut last week, and although the official pictures were far cooler than those leaked dudes-in-suits shots we saw a while ago, there's something about this slow-motion video of the all-electric-drive car in motion accompanied by some soaring Coldplay that pulls at our jaded heartstrings -- now if Chevy would just add in one of those fake engine sounds audio systems, we'd be in heaven.

[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: chevy, chevy volt, ChevyVolt, electric car, electric vehicle, ElectricCar, ElectricVehicle, ev, volt ]

Custom Toyota MR2 carputer presents the ultimate distraction for drivers

This insanely kitted out Toyota MR2 is being put up for sale by its owner somewhere in Germany -- he's a highly motivated seller, provided you have the prerequisite electronics and programming (especially Visual Basic) skills. The standard gauges and indicators in the car have been removed, replaced with touch screens and a console mounted iDrive knob, offering the pilot of this machine control over almost every aspect of its operation: climate control, GPS, fuel consumption, mirrors, radar/laser, wireless transfer of music from a home computer, lights, fog lights... and the all-important VCD playback. Also listed on the original posting is something called the "police button" which "virtually controls the police." This might have been something that Google mistranslated, but we prefer to think otherwise.
[Via: Autoblog ] [Tag: automobiles, carputer, cars, hack, idrive, mod, smart car, SmartCar, toyota, Toyota M2, ToyotaM2, vcd ]

Plug-in Prius demoed tomorrow in London

If you've been hoping to get your hands around the wheel of one of those eco-friendly plug-in Priuses (Priuii?), maybe it's time to bite the bullet and finally move to the UK... just like you've been telling all your friends you're going to do one of these days. According to a report, Toyota is gearing up for the first trials of the ultra-high-MPG car starting tomorrow at an event in London's Hyde Park. An invite mailed to select members of the media (British media, we assume) states: "the purpose of our UK trial is to evaluate not only vehicle performance, but also the electrical infrastructure required, as well as driver behaviour and expectations. The results will play a key role in preparing for the future commercialisation of Plug-in Hybrid technology." So if you've ever wanted to watch one of these planet-huggers race silently around a British landmark, here's your chance.
[Via: Engadget ] [Tag: demo,hybrid,hyde park,HydePark,london,plug in,plug-in,PlugIn,prius,toyota ]