WalkCar: the Pocket-sized Personal Transporter

Posted on August 16, 2015 by editor

727px-White_paper_bag.svgThe world’s first car-in-a-bag could soon be on the streets of Tokyo. A Japanese engineer has developed a personal vehicle, small enough to be carried in your backpack.

Twenty-six-year-old Kuniako Saito and his team at Cocoa Motors have recently unveiled their innovative portable transporter system, dubbed WalkCar.

The device is sort of like a small four-wheeled electric skateboard. The lithium battery powered transporter is made from aluminum and weighs between 4.4 and 6.6 pounds and comes in both indoor and outdoor models. However, the lightweight transporter is stronger than it looks: it can take loads of up to 265 pounds. The slender WalkCar reaches top speeds of 6.2 miles per hour for distances up to 7.4 miles and it needs three hours to charge. Continue reading →

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Man Crashes $845K Porsche in Parking Lot

Posted on August 6, 2015 by editor

Porsche_918_Spyder_at_2014_NY_Auto_ShowA bare chested guy decided to show off the horsepower of his 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder. However, he should have made sure he was out of the parking lot first. The scene happened on the Epi Plage in the French city of St. Tropez and was captured on video by a bystander. Just a few minutes after uploaded to YouTube, the video started going viral.

With a beautiful blonde in the passenger seat and playing up to the camera, the guy decided that the parking lot full of people and cars was a good place to show off. Continue reading →

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2016 Acura NSX: More Details Confirmed

Posted on August 2, 2015 by editor

800px-Acura_NSX_concept_--_2012_NYIASThe highly anticipated next generation Acura NSX is almost ready to hit the road. A whole bunch of engineering details about the soon-to-launch 2016 NSX were revealed at a dinner at the SAE International World Congress and Exhibition in Detroit only a few months ago.

The engineers leading the 2016 Acura NSX development shared new technical details and strategies with the automotive design community. It seems that it will be the most exciting car from Honda in a very long time. Continue reading →

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The Spa Hotel that Lets You Kill the Internet

Posted on July 26, 2015 by editor

120px-Crystal_Project_switchPeople keep seeking peace and mindfulness in our connected world. A luxury spa hotel in Germany has come up with a bright idea to help its guests to relax by offering them an easy way to completely disconnect during their stays by using a switch that “kills” the internet in the rooms.

A silver switch is installed within arm’s reach next to the beds in each room in the Villa Stephanie Resort in Baden-Baden. By flipping it, the guests can activate a copper grid in the walls that blocks all wireless signals, acting as a cage for each room. Continue reading →

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Elon Musk Wants to Beam Internet from Space

Posted on July 25, 2015 by editor

748px-GPS_Satellite_NASA_art-iifSpaceX founder, Elon Musk, is planning to launch thousands of satellites to provide cheap, high speed internet to every corner of the world from space.

According to the latest news, the extraordinaire enterpreneur’s private space-travel company has asked the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for permission to start testing the project. The Commission declined to comment as the application is under review. Continue reading →

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Google Starts Testing Driverless Cars in Austin

Posted on July 10, 2015 by editor

Google_self-driving_car_in_Mountain_ViewGoogle Inc. has chosen Austin, Texas, as the latest testing location for its self-driving car project, the search engine giant announced Tuesday with a blog post. One of the company’s Lexus SUVs has already been seen driving a few square miles north and northeast of downtown Austin and, as before, the vehicle has two safety drivers on board, ready to take control of the vehicles if necessary. The drivers will provide feedback to the company engineers about how the vehicle is behaving.

The company has been crossing more and more public streets. Since the driverless car project began in 2009, Google is testing several dozen self-driving prototypes on public roads in Mountain View, Calif. where the company has its headquarters. Its fleet of self-driving vehicles has driven 1.7 million miles, both manually and autonomously, according to the company’s website. Continue reading →

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Two Rival Self-Driving Cars Nearly Collide in California

Posted on June 28, 2015 by editor

745px-Google's_Lexus_RX_450h_Self-Driving_CarIt begins! Two self-driving prototype vehicles, one operated by Google Inc. and the other by Delphi, had a close call in California. The incident happened earlier this week and it is believed to be the first involving two self-driving cars.

More on the topic here.

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Land Rover Develops Remote Control App

Posted on June 21, 2015 by editor

800px-Range_Rover_4th_generation_Paris_Motor_Show_2012Jaguar Land Rover is developing a remote control application for driving its SUVs. The technology doesn’t require someone to be at the wheel. The driver can use a smartphone or tablet to control steering, brakes and gears. The application lets you get out of your car and drive it using your smartphone, while standing beside. A driver can use the app to steer the vehicle into and out of tight parking spots, according the Whitley, England-based carmaker. More on the topic here.

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Range Rover to Detect and Report Potholes

Posted on June 14, 2015 by editor

800px-Large_pot_hole_on_2nd_Avenue_in_New_York_CityJaguar Land Rover is developing new technology which will enable the new Range Rover models to detect potholes they encounter in the road and share the data in real time with authorities and other vehicles.

The British car manufacturer has introduced sensors for its Range Rover Evoque and Discovery Sport models Continue reading →

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Oregon to test first pay-per-mile road tax

Posted on June 1, 2015 by editor

-real_time_display-_of_mileage_(-mpg-)_on_Honda_InsightOregon is launching the first-in-the-nation program that aims to tax drivers per mile and not for the fuel they use.

According to a recent research, the combined impact of increased fuel efficiency standards and the increasing popularity of fuel efficient, hybrid and electric cars will result in approximately 18 percent less revenue for roads and bridge projects per year by 2016. While considering alternative ways to enhance the revenue, some states are looking at introducing a vehicle miles traveled tax (VMT tax). Continue reading →

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