Here’s an interesting, eco-friendly idea! Cars could power up the checkouts of a supermarket! In fact a certain supermarket in Gloucester, UK has installed kinetic plates in the parking lot. They use the weight of the car to press against a series of hydraulic pipes which in turn will drive a generator. The system will thus generate 30kw per hour, enough to power the checkouts. Pretty ingenious isn’t it? Will this idea be used by other supermarkets?

via Green Launch

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President Obama unveiled a new plan for electric cars for the USA. The plan will give $1.5 billion to US manufacturers to produce batteries, $400 million to evaluate plug-in hybrids and to implement the needed infrastructures and $500 million for any related components.

How is this plan good for you? Well if you purchase a hybrid vehicle you will get a $7,500 tax credit. The goal of the whole plan is to have 1 million cars sold by 2015 which is an impressive number. Will you buy a hybrid?

via physorg

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The car in the picture here is a Jaguar C-XC concept which was created by Philip Dean, a graduate of the Coventry University specializing in transportation design. Besides the impressive exterior, this Jaguar has something inside that will definitely convince you to buy it. The C-XC is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell which has a single-piece upper hull made of glass that covers the entire length of the car. The car is even eco-friendlier as it would be built with materials like vegetable tan leather and recycled plastic bottles. Will the C-XC be created any time soon?

via DVICE

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I guess that if you can afford to bulid your own supercar out of wood, why not make it special? It will certainly look good although I don’t know if a wooden supercar is that easy to build in the first place. Some ingenious and environmentally-aware guys over at the North Carolina State University have decided to make this beauty right here.

Besides the awesome craftsmanship that car hides a twin-supercharged, 32-valve Cadillac V8 engine and a six-speed rear-mounted transaxle taken from a Chevrolet Corvette. All those parts will get you 600 hp ready to take you faster to where you’re going.

So how much will one cost? And will it catch fire?

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The vehicle in the picture here will certainly get you around town but it won’t make you look good. sTrike has been designed by Stefano Marchetto and it’s just a more complicated bicycle. That’s right, there’s no engine, no fancy stuff behind it. It has a cocoon shaped cabin which will keep you safe while you pedal your way around town. You can probably park it anywhere too as it’s really small and could be parked virtually anywhere. The sTrike won’t impress the ladies and it’s easy to steal, but it’s an alternative to your regular means of transportation.

via tuvie

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The concept car in the picture here looks really daring. Quite superheroesque one might say. The car was designed by Matus Prochaczka dor the Toon Studio of Beverly Hills and it will be used as a vehicle for superheroes. The car is made for a driver, the superhero of course, and his/her sidekick. It features an environmentally friendly engine which will pack a bio-diesel fuel engine and an electric one just to make ends meet. I don’t know about superheroes but I’d give this one a tour-drive. Maybe I have superhero material in me!

via tuvie

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There’s practically nothing the human mind can’t conceive. Living proof to that is the Mutant-X concept car in the pictures here. Imagined for the 2020 market the vehicle has independent engines for each of its wheels and they are powered by batteries.

Inside there’s room for 3 people which will enjoy an advanced cruise control, sharp rear view cameras and a center-mounted steering wheel. There are touch sensitive multifunction displays, posture and emotion senors meant to make it safer than safe.

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The concept car of today is this Insecta car in the picture above. It was designed by a 22-year-old Taiwanese student at Chen Kung University. It’s a single seat car which means you’ll have a hard time picking up any girls in it. It has leg-like suspension arms which can be lowered or risen depending on traffic and road conditions.

The concept is powered by a motor at each wheel with the battery pack sitting near the center of gravity. Whenever it will be picked up, we’re going to be close by, looking for more specs.

via Carscoop

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Volvo has a whole new eco friendly line, the DRIVe, which will be on full display at this year’s Paris Motor Show. Those of you lucky enough to attend the show will see the C30, S40 and the V50. They will all be under 120 g/km diesel variants of the regular versions.

The new series will feature have a few features meant to reduce CO2 emissions. Drag is reduced with the aerodynamic Libra rims, there are new underbody panels, ducktail spoilers and a covered radiator grille. The gearbox has been readjusted with longer gear ratios for higher gears which will offer you higher mileage given that you will use the new transmission oil.

The motor is a 1.6 liter diesel engine which will get you 53.3 mpg for the C30 and 51.6 mpg for the S40 and V50 which isn’t bad at all.

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