Lightweight materials, alternative fuels, extremely low fuel consumption are all key words for the car of today, but not so 30 years ago. These were the very properties that formed the basis for the LCP 2000, Light Component Project. This was a concept car study aimed at the future and the environment, presented by Volvo
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Nissan released a video in which the company makes a link between the early years of the automobile when there was little fuel station infrastructure and today’s early steps in building an EV charging infrastructure. To do so, Nissan reached out to Charlie Yaeger, a 97 years old gentleman who has been driving for more
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Ford announced yesterday that its Transit commercial van will come to market with a new clean-diesel engine, on top of the already announced EcoBoost V6. These engines will allow the new Transit to achieve at least 25 percent better fuel economy than current E-Series vans it replaces. In addition to the new Transit, certain E-Series
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Last week in Honolulu, the four major branches of the U.S. military unveiled the “world’s first military fleet of fuel cell vehicles,” comprised of 16 General Motors vehicles. Hawaii’s ideal climate was chosen as a first step for vehicle evaluation and utilization of associated infrastructure prior to introduction of similar technology in other states, and
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1665 – 1825 Between 1665 and 1680, Flemish Jesuit priest and astronomer Ferdinand Verbiest created plans for a miniature four-wheel unmanned steam “car” for Chinese Emperor Khang Hsi. In 1769, Frenchman Nicholas Cugnot built a steam-powered motor carriage capable of six miles per hour. In 1825, British inventor Goldsworthy Gurney built a steam car that
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Does the Aptera futuristic three-wheeled vehicle have a chance to succeed in the real-world market? Or is it destined to become another visionary, but entirely impractical vehicle, much like Buckminster Fuller’s 1933 three-wheeled Dymaxion Car? Top: Aptera 2e, 2009. Bottom: Dymaxion, circa 1934. Aptera fans will not like the comparison between the two visionary vehicles.
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Paice LLC, a small Florida-based hybrid car technology company that won a patent infringement case against Toyota in 2005, has now brought a related case to the International Trade Commission, which has the power to ban all Toyota hybrids from the United States. What’s at stake for Toyota if its hybrids were banned from the
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Happy Birthday, Hybrids! You may not have known it, but March 2 is the 100th anniversary of the granting of the first US patent for what was called the “Mixed Drive for Autovehicles.” Henri Pieper, a German-born inventor and gunmaker in Belgium, submitted his application on November 23, 1905—and was granted a US patent on
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If you were to visualize the most enthusiastic supporter of the much-touted Chevrolet Volt—someone who rallies thousands on its behalf, who blogs daily, whose influence and prestige garners invites to tour GM facilities and speak with top GM brass—what would that person look like? Take a moment and think about it. Did you envision a
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Reuters is running a series of commentaries from auto industry observers about what cars and the industry will look like in 10 years. The following article by Bradley Berman, editor of HybridCars.com, was published on July 31, 2008. The size, shape, and primary attributes of a 2018 model American car will bear little resemblance to
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