The Air Car

Worlds smallest car

This is cute and funny :)



For more fun, watch this.



Jeremy Clarkson Test-Drives World's Smallest Car (via Treehugger)

Subaru Tests R1e Electric Car in New York City, Previews G4e

Subaru will test its R1e electric vehicle in New York City this summer. It will provide two R1e electric cars to the New York Power Authority (NYPA)...

The R1e is a small two-seater city car (50 miles range, 65 mph top speed). We're guessing Subaru's using it mostly as a learning platform; its first mainstream electric car will probably be based on the G4e concept, a hatchback very similar to Nissan's Versa that will have a longer range (124 miles/200 km) and carry 5 passengers.

Subaru Tests R1e Electric Car in New York City, Previews G4e (via Treehugger)

Volkswagen Turbo Diesel-Electric Hybrid Golf

I wonder if we'll see this car in the US.

"Fuel economy is still rated at 3.4 L/100km, or 69 miles per US gallon, or 83 miles per imperial gallons. CO2 emissions are pretty low at 89 g/km. In comparison, the Toyota Prius hybrid emits 104 g/km of CO2, though emissions of NOx and particulate matter are lower than the Tier 2 Bin 5 Golf diesel-electric hybrid."

More Details: Volkswagen Turbo Diesel-Electric Hybrid Golf : TreeHugger

Hyundai i30: 2007 Green Car (and Car) of the Year

"If you can’t wait for the commercial arrival of Trev, the renewal energy vehicle, then roadsters in places like the UK and Australia may wish to consider the Hyundai i30, which picked up both the 2007 Car of the Year and 2007 Green Car of the Year in Australia.

Although claimed to have a fuel consumption of 4.7 litres per 100km, the i30 1.6-litre turbo-diesel managed to complete the 2007 World Solar Challenge conventional vehicle class (PDF) on a smell-of-an-oily-rag 3.2litres/100km (73.5 mpg!), while producing 97g/km of emissions. For comparision a Prius petrol hybrid averaged 5.6litres/100km with emissions of 146g/km.

So for Australians this means travelling from Melbourne to Brisbane on less than a tank of petrol, (Britons could do London-Paris return!) and with the cost of fuel on the rise this fuel economy should appeal to many.

The Hyundai i30 won the 2007 Green Car of the Year not only because of its spectacular fuel efficiency but because it matched this with pretty efficient pricing too. In Australia the i30 CRDi costs $21,490, while the Prius goes for about $37,400. (In the UK it looks like £12,995 on-road for the Hyundai i30 1.6 CRDi Manual.)"

Hyundai i30: 2007 Green Car (and Car) of the Year : TreeHugger

Trev, the Two-seater, Renewable Energy Vehicle

"Staff and students at the University of South Australia have designed and built a prototype of what they reckon might be the future commuter car for Australian cities. Trev sounds rather impressive. [It] goes from 0 to 100kph in 10 secs, has a top speed of 120 km/h, with a travel range of 150+km between charges of his 7kWh 44kg lithium ion polymer battery.

When charged from mains power [it] costs you $1 AUD per 100km to run, using what is said to be 1/5th of the energy of conventional car."

Meet Trev, the Two-seater, Renewable Energy Vehicle : TreeHugger

Electric car? You already have one

Listen to this news report on Public Radio's Marketplace on how you can convert your existing vehicle into an electric vehicle using a kit from Electro Automotive.

"Instead of waiting until you buy a hybrid to reduce your eco-footprint, why not make your vehicle electric now? James Nestor has more on a company that has been converting gas cars to electric for decades."

Marketplace: Electric car? You already have one

Can Think's electric car revolutionize the auto industry?

The "Think Car "looks very promising. A fun, small electric car from Norway looks like just the ticket for everyday commuting.

"Have you driven a Fjord lately?

Think's zippy little Web-enabled, carbon-free electric driving machine could help reverse 100 years of automotive history...

Taking a cue from Dell , the company will sell cars online, built to order. It will forgo showrooms and seed the market through car-sharing services like Zipcar. Every car will be Internet-and Wi-Fi-enabled, becoming, according to Willums, a rolling computer that can communicate wirelessly with its driver, other Think owners, and the power grid.

In other words, it's Web 2.0 on wheels. 'We want to sell mobility,' Willums says. 'We don't want to sell a thing called the Think.'"

Can Think's electric car revolutionize the auto industry? [via Slashdot]

Lightning Looking to Zap Tesla

The Tesla Roadster is impressive; it's one of the first electric cars to be desirable to TreeHuggers and petrol-heads alike. However, a bit of competition never hurt anyone, and is great for us consumers. That's one reason that the Lightning electric car is good news. The other is that it has 700 bhp and does 0-60mph in 4 seconds.The company is taking orders on their three different models now, with production planned to start in 2008. There's a luxury model, a lightweight sporty model and an extended range model with a range of 250 miles.

Lightning Looking to Zap Tesla (TreeHugger)

Using Solar Roofs To Power Hybrids

"A company called Solar Electrical Vehicles is specializing in adding a convex solar roof to hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius, Highlander Hybrid and the Ford Escape Hybrid. The solar modules are rated at 200-300 watts, and this power is utilized to charge a supplemental battery. With the solar roof, the Toyota Prius can operate up to 20 miles per day in electric mode thus improving fuel economy by up to 29% (depending on driving habits and conditions). The system costs $2000-$4000 and the payback time is said to be 2-3 years."

Using Solar Roofs To Power Hybrids (TreeHugger)

The MDI Air Car - the world´s cleanest car.

Welcome to the future! The car with a compressed air engine, MDI. Costs less than a penny a mile.

The MDI Air Car - the world´s cleanest car

Bricklin is Back -- With a Plug-In

Legendary automotive maverick Malcolm Bricklin is planning a luxury plug-in that gets 100 mpg with a Chinese-built lithium ion battery...

Bricklin is Back -- With a Plug-In