Oct

Ford F-150 SVT Raptor Named 2009 Truck of Texas

Posted by Brian Published in 2009 Vehicles, Ford

The newest Ford F-150 was adjudged as the 2009 Truck of Texas, the latest off-road vehicle that is capable of taking on the toughest terrains there is. The Ford F-150 SVT Raptor is a purpose-built high speed off-road truck that aims to be flexible as well for daily transportation needs. Among the features of the newest F-150 include a 5.4 liter SOHC V-8 engine that can go up to 320 HP and 390 ft.-lb. of torque. To date there have already been 3,000 orders received which should account for the strong demand for high-speed off-road trucks.

The Ford F-150 SVT Raptor will have a starting price of $38.995 and is already available at local Ford dealers.

(Source) Press

Tags: f 150 svt, Ford, ford dealers, ford f 150, ft lb, High-Speed, hp, liter sohc, raptor, road trucks, terrains, torque

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Jun

Howard Hughes’ Aero-Mobile Up for Auction

Posted by Brian Published in Cars, Concept Cars, Industry

The Aero-Mobile, the car driven by the great Howard Hughes will be up for auction after a thorough restoration which even found Hughes’ 1936 credit card hidden under the fabric and wood lining of the glove box door.

The “Aero-Mobile” has left the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville Oregon, and is now being prepared for its departure to the Leake Collector Car Auction in Tulsa Oklahoma. It will be put up for auction on June 13th 2009. The automobile was acquired in 2005 from a museum owner’s estate. It has since been completely restored to the time Hughes had personally customized it.

After reducing the original weight by thousands of pounds and modifying the engine and exhaust, this car would have easily cruised in excess of 100 MPH. Originally Hughes might have started out to compete in some sort of speed contest; however, some say Hughes was developing retractable aircraft landing gear and had to create a car that could keep up with airplanes while filming high speed take offs and landings.

(Source) Press

Tags: aero, aircraft landing, airplanes, automobile, aviation space, collector car auction, credit card, evergreen aviation, fabric, glove box, High-Speed, Howard Hughes, landings, mcminnville oregon, space museum, speed contest, tulsa oklahoma

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Jun

Adura Announces Freescale FlexRay Automotive Microcontroller Integration

Posted by Brian Published in Accessories, Alternative Energy, Cars

Adura Systems Inc. continues to improve on its electric range of medium and large vehicles by adding the Freescale Semiconductor’s FlexRay automotive microcontroller for high-speed in-vehicle networking. This development is seen as a great move towards the direction of bringing down the growing problems of carbon emissions while providing more power.

FlexRay technology is unique among vehicle communication systems in its determinism and high speed. This technology, combined with DEFT-net, allows Adura to shift traditional mechanical and electronic complexity into software which increases efficiency and lowers overall systems costs.

“Adura’s selection of Freescale’s S12XF MCU is another milestone for FlexRay technology as the communications standard is now being deployed in both conventional and ‘green’ vehicles,” said Ray Cornyn, director of automotive microcontrollers at Freescale. “By leveraging the exceptional performance of FlexRay technology, Adura is setting compelling new standards for electric and hybrid vehicles that are designed to significantly reduce global emissions.”

(Source) Press

Tags: adura, carbon emissions, communication systems, efficiency, freescale semiconductor, global emissions, High-Speed, hybrid vehicles, microcontrollers, milestone, vehicle communication

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Nov

High-Speed Train to Link the North and South of California

Posted by Chris Published in Alternative Energy, Supercar

Do you commute a lot? Hate flying? Angry at the gas prices lately? Well if you happen to live in California we have some good news for you. A high-speed train is going to link San Diego with Sacramento. The train will travel at speeds of 220 mph or higher which means you’ll be able to go through the whole 800 miles from the north to the south in just about 4 hours or so.

The project will create about 320.000 permanent job and it will save the state about 12.7 million of oil barrels per year. Way to save some car gas right there! Hopefully it will be available by 2030 although there’s no official news regarding the timeframe needed to complete this huge $45 million deal.

via Engadget

Tags: High-Speed, Train

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