Concept cars will always come in all shapes and sizes. But then again, don’t expect them to carry the usual appealing car designs we have been used to from the past years. Futuristic concepts often carry a dome shaped if not oval concept which are associated on what the future looks like. For some designers, the whole concept is perhaps to complement the car make and seating accommodations which is very important.

However, you may find this new concept car donning a familiar shape. It does look like the traditional vacuum cleaner on three wheels. The Circulus Car runs on hydrogen fuel cell power. Just like most modern vehicles, it is designed for one driver and a passenger. It carries the large front glass which we see in futuristic movies and is actually an entry into the 2009 Michelin Challenge design contest.

Again, this is only a concept for now. But this early, weird or not, you can bet that this car already has an identity as the “vacuum cleaner car”!

(Source) Dvice

Tags: car designs, car source, circulus, concept car, Concept Cars, design contest, designers, fuel cell power, futuristic concepts, futuristic movies, hydrogen fuel cell, michelin, seating accommodations, shape, shapes and sizes, three wheels, vacuum

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Energy Secretary Steven Chu has proposed that research and development on cars that run on hydrogen fuel cells should be terminated. This goes against a spending bill approved by the House and scheduled for a Senate vote this week, which brings the budget up to $204 million.

Chu says that it’s more realistic to spend more time and money on technologies such as electric cars and improved internal-combustion engines.

Personally, I believe Chu has the right idea; we should really be looking towards the future, and not the immediate past. Maybe we should be giving all of this research money to Tesla Coil, if anything.

via Wall Street Journal

Tags: electric cars, hydrogen fuel cell

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It has been a while but Honda is now 50 years in existence in America. The company which started out in 1959 via the manufacturing and distribution of fuel-efficient Honda motorcycles, Honda pays tribute to the array of technologies it has brought into the business. The latest technology offering is of course the much hyped Honda Insight, the gas-electric hybrid that has been pretty much talked about these past months.

“On behalf of the tens of thousands of Honda associates in America, past and present, we offer our deepest thanks to our customers for placing their trust in Honda over the past 50 years,” said American Honda President & CEO Tetsuo Iwamura. “Today, in the face of new challenges, including the preservation of our environment, we renew our commitment to exceed the expectations of our customers and society.”

Highlights of Honda’s run:

• First automaker to meet U.S. Clean Air Act without a catalytic converter – Civic CVCC (1974)
• First vehicle to top U.S. EPA list of most fuel efficient cars – Civic (1977)
• First Japanese automaker to build motorcycles (1979) and automobiles (1982) in America – Marysville, Ohio
• First Japanese automaker to establish a luxury automobile brand – Acura (1986)
• First mass produced gas-electric hybrid car introduced in America – Insight (1999)
• First government-certified hydrogen fuel cell vehicle – FCX (2002)

Honda operates 10 U.S. manufacturing plants with two new plants under construction, along with 14 R&D facilities and more than 12 regional sales, parts and service, and finance offices around the country. The company’s network of U.S. parts suppliers comprises 545 companies in 34 states with annual purchases exceeding $17.5 billion in 2008.

(Source) Press

Tags: american honda, catalytic converter, clean air act, electric hybrid car, fuel cell vehicle, fuel efficient cars, honda insight, honda motorcycles, hydrogen fuel cell, hyped, japanese automaker, luxury automobile, manufacturing plants, most fuel efficient cars, motorcycles honda, president ceo, regional sales

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For people who need more information and actual demonstrations on the proper understanding of hydrogen and renewable fuel, perhaps a visit to Downtown Seattle can do the trick. Propel Fuels has arranged for a Hydrogen Vehicle Showdown in Seattle, providing a preview on the latest in hydrogen fuel cell vehicle designs.

Also, the show aims to properly educate people on the perks and benefits that renewable fuel brings to society, a familiar term we have been hearing for the past months in connection for the call towards new vehicles running on alternative sources of fuel. Fuel cell vehicles from Daimler, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen are on display, and experts from these companies are on hand to answer questions from Propel customers and alternative fuel enthusiasts.

“Propel’s fueling platform delivers advanced low carbon fuels including biodiesel from waste stream feedstocks like recycled fats and oils, and locally grown, marginal land crops like camelina,” said Rob Elam, President and Co-Founder of Propel. “Our fueling platform has the forward-flexibility to accommodate advanced fuels such as bio-methane, hydrogen and electric charging as these vehicle technologies gain momentum in the marketplace. Today’s event shows how close these vehicles are to commercialization.”

(Source) Press

Tags: alternative fuel, biodiesel, carbon fuels, Daimler, fats and oils, feedstocks, fuel cell vehicle, fuel cell vehicles, gain momentum, hydrogen fuel cell, methane, new vehicles, renewable fuel

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