CarBuyersNoteBook » Chris

Watercar Python Amphibious Car

Chris — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 01:54:58 +0000

Are you ready to buy your first amphibious car? In case you do, make sure you watch the video above. The car riding on water here is the WaterCar Python Amphibious Car is said to be the world’s fastest machine capable of running both on water and on regular roads. The car has a V8 engine based on the LS Corvette power train which will get you no less than 640hp when on land. When on water, the Dominator Jet will get you 500hp which means you’ll get a more than decent speed while you’re floating peacefully to your next destination. The car costs around $200,000, but that’s the price to pay if you want a machine capable of going from 0-60mph in 4.5s on land and up to 60mph while on water. What do you think? Is it worth getting it?

via watercar

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BMW C1E Scooter Goes Electric

Chris — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 23:52:19 +0000

It’s not every day that we look at motorbikes or scooters here but today we have an electric scooter from BMW. It would appear that BMW is ready to embrace electricity. At least when scooters are concerned of course! But can we assume BMW is planning to roll out more electric cars in the future?

The C1E in the picture here is the electric version of the previous gas C1. It will go from 0 to 50 in 7 seconds while the top speed of it is 62mph. Not bad for an electric scooter. The C1E maintains the same safety features its predecessor had to offer: roll cage with windscreen and seat belt. That means that whenever you’re going to fall, you’re likely to stay strapped to the scooter, crush a knee and dislocate a shoulder in the process. Or am I the only one getting this the wrong way?

We might not even get a chance to test it out since this scooter is only a test prototype which will never go into mass production. What are your thoughts on the C1?

via SUSA

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2010 Hyundai Accent Prices Revealed

Chris — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 01:59:00 +0000

Looking to buy the next version of Hyundai Accent? Well then you’re in luck as we have some details and prices for the 2010 model. But let’s check out some of the specs of this fuel efficient Car.

The new Blue model will offer you a revised transmission gearing, lowered ride height, a 1.6-liter four cylinder engine capable of 110hp and 106 lb-ft of torque, a choice of transmission between a standard five-speed or a four-speed automatic and EcoShift light / green ECO light features that indicate when optimal fuel efficiency is achieved. Speaking about fuel efficiency, this Accent will offer you 31 mpg thanks to the low-friction engine internals, aero improvement, low-resistance tires and the smart alternator system.

The entry-level Blue model will cost you less than $10,000 while the top of the class SE three-door 2010 Accent will go for at least $16,995. What 2010 Hyundai Accent are you going to get?

via Press

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VW Golf R20 Coming to America?

Chris — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 01:46:12 +0000

The Motor Show held in Frankfurt this September brought a new R version of the MK VI Golf from Volkswagen. I am talking about the R20, a car that’s now rumored to be sent to U.S. customers too. No decision has been made in that matter but we might see VW officials announce both the two- and four-door R20 versions be announced for the U.S. market soon. It remains to be seen whether the R20 will be available with a choice of manual or DSG transmission, but the R20 seems certain to arrive with all-wheel drive. If it makes it the the States! What do you say? Anxious? Excited? Bored?

via autoblog

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eCorolla Comming to the Electric Motor Show in Helsinki

Chris — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:55:40 +0000

How would you feel about a brand new, all electric Toyota eCorolla? The eCorolla is made by the Finnish open source project eCars-Now! and it will be available for you to admire at the Electric Motor Show taking place in Helsinki starting with November 6.

Inside the eCorolla you’ll find an Azure Dynamics AC motor and controller, lithium batteries made by Thunder Sky and a battery management system made by Lithium Balance. The whole setup will offer you about 90 miles of autonomy which is not bad at all. And since eCars-Now! is an open source project, they’ll give you all the details you need in order to transform your own Toyota Corolla into an eCorolla.

via eCars-Now!

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BMW to Stop Making 5 Series Cars in Favor for the New Models

Chris — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 01:07:06 +0000

If you love BMW and you’re a 5 Series fan then you should try to get one as fast as possible as it looks like the company is thinking about stopping production of the current 5 Series. BMW is already thinking of future models so it might become really difficult for you to actually get your hands on any of the 5 Series Bimmers. Dealers have precise instructions to take “special orders” only as BMW has already stopped taking orders for the E-60 5 Series sedan and wagon. On the other hand, you could always ignore these models of the 5 Series and get ready to get the new models. Apparently the GT version is going to hit the street sometime by the end of the year.

via BimmerFile

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Mercedes Concept Car Brakes Automatically at Red Lights

Chris — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:33:42 +0000

Mercedes is going to bring safety to a whole new level with its new concept car. The prototype is supposed to brake automatically whenever it spots the red light. That happens even if you’re still pressing firmly against the gas pedal. I bet such a car would play a terrible part in a movie involving car chasing and running a few red lights on the way.

How does it work? Well the car communicates with the light and thus it’s able to brake if you don’t intend to. Sure the car will warn you that the light is red before pressing the brake for you. In order for the whole communication to take place the stoplights should be upgraded so every intersection becomes a smart one. And that’s how this Mercedes would be able to star in its own car chase movie (of course the team supporting the driver should rig the stoplights to show only green lights…)

The technology will be available in the following years to come so in the mean time make sure you don’t run any red lights!

via Boing Boing Gadgets

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Battery 500 Project Aims to Offer 500 Mile Range for Your Car on a Single Charge

Chris — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 00:18:19 +0000

Before we start driving magnetic air cars we will probably switch to electric cars and one of the most important features we’ll take into account when buying one will be the battery. The longer the mile range, the more interested we are. That’s probably the reason why IBM joined forces with UC Berkeley and five US National Labs in order to make an electric battery capable of offering you 500 miles per charge.

The daring project is based on a lithium-air battery which would use the actual oxygen in the air as the cathode of the battery. And there’s plenty of oxygen in the air to go around which means that the battery would have an unlimited amount of reactant. The battery will be available for tests in about two years if not more so it will take a while until we’ll see it powering an electric car.

via Smarter Technology

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Magnetic Air Concept Car

Chris — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 21:58:28 +0000

The oil reserves of this planet haven’t drenched yet but more and more people are thinking about viable solutions to power our future cars. We already have plenty of more than dependable hybrid or electric cars but what else is out there?

The concept car in the picture here is a magnetic air car. Developed by a team at the Club Auto Sport in Silicon Valley, the car should work on compressed air. The car would use air-bearing turbochargers to create mechanical energy and even offer up to one million RPM. The project sounds quite endearing especially since the car is based on a compressed air powerplant vehicle concept that goes all the way back to 1932. We’ll definitely want to see the concept in action, don’t we?

via inhabitat

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Batmobile Is Absolutely Real in Sweden

Chris — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:44:15 +0000

We can’t talk about cars and ignore the beast in the picture here. It’s a Batmobile replica and it’s as real as it gets. The car in the picture roams around the streets in Sweden, but I bet it doesn’t help apprehend any bad guys. The car has been built on top of a 1973 Lincoln Continental and it took its owner about 3.5 years to complete. That’s 20,000 working hours and $1 million. Which means you can’t exactly build one yourself soon. And inside they say there are a lot of cool features like a DVD player, voice recognition, height adjustment, reversing cameras… you know, all the things Batman needs when he’s not catching bad guys! Enjoy the video above which shows the Batmobile in action (well it’s not exactly moving but you get the point!)

via likecool

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e-Wolf e2 Electric Car Concept

Chris — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:34:38 +0000

The car you see in the picture here is the e-Wolf e2 and you will be able to snatch one if you have enough cash sometime in 2011 when the e2 is supposed to enter production or even later. The car looks like it came out one of those racing video cars you’ve recently played but it’s very much real. And it’s all electric which is a great quality these days. The e2 will come with 84 lithium-ion battery packs from CERIO and has four 134-horsepower engines under the hood which will be able to offer you 736 foot-pounds of torque and a very good time. The e2 is fully charged in just half an hour and all those battery packs will offer a 187-cruising range. Are all these numbers real? It remains to be seen in about two years time!

via Press

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Toyota Develops Self-Regenerating Clear-Coat Paint

Chris — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:28:31 +0000

How many times have you scratched your car? Or better said, how many people have keyed your cars? What about bumps, parking accidents and so on? I bet you hated going to the shop to have your car paint again and again, didn’t you? And because small accidents will always happen Toyota has conceived a brand new clear-coat paint which will be able to regenerate itself. No matter how many times you’d have your Toyota car scratched, the paint will recover. The way it works is fairly easy if you know a thing or two about physics and chemistry. The paint will have a secret ingredient inside which will help molecules stay closer together and thus offer the paint a new level of flexibility and elasticity. The new coat should be available on the new Lexus LS but you’d better check back with your local Toyota dealer for more info on the matter!

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Honda EV-N Electric Car Concept Houses U3-X Device Inside Door

Chris — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 01:31:49 +0000

A few days ago we showed you Honda’s U3-X personal mobility device, a gadget that has been probably inspired by the Segway. Today we have found the perfect box to store the U3-X. And we like to call it the Honda EV-N electric car concept. That’s right, you heard me correctly! The tiny car in the picture will house that U3-X of yours right inside the door. It’s a two-for-one deal but we have no prices at this point. In fact we don’t even know if these projects are going to make it past the prototype stage but we’ll be back with more details after the Tokyo Motor Show. That’s where you’ll see this dynamic duo emerge.

via autoblog

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Unusual Alliance: Ford to Promote Microsoft’s Windows 7

Chris — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:35:27 +0000

It’s not every day that you see Microsoft and Ford working closely together but it seems that Windows 7 deserves some special attention. Microsoft’s newest operating system will be promoted by Ford too which is a weird decision… or isn’t it? Not that it’s wrong to support Microsoft but since Ford is, well, a car maker, it sounds pretty strange to lobby for a computer company.

Ford will upgrade its computers from previous Windows versions to Windows 7 but will that help Microsoft increase sales? We certainly are waiting to see Microsoft return the favor. Or should we assume that Ford is doing it considering that Microsoft developed that SYNC infotainment system for Ford a couple of years ago?

via Bloomberg

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Electric Vans to be Built on Tesla Model S Platform?

Chris — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:24:18 +0000

I bet you were not expecting this but Tesla’s Model S seems to have hit the jackpot for the company. I am not referring to Model S sales, which are also impressive, but rather on the Model S platform itself which could be used in various other electric cars. According to Diarmuid O’Connell, Tesla’s VP of Business Development, the platform will be used for a minivan, a cross-over utility vehicle and an utility van. That should be the logical next step! At some point in time all our cars will run on electricity rather than petrol fumes so why not start making the first steps now? Unfortunately for us no actual roadmap has been leaked so far so we’re still in the dark when it comes to features and even names of the future Tesla cars.

via Autoblog Green

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CarBuyersNoteBook » Chris

Watercar Python Amphibious Car

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