Design students at MIT are taking the idea of a City Car a little farther and making their two-seat electric vehicle foldable. With lithium-ion batteries supplying the power, the City Car, weighing in between 1,000 and 1,200 pounds, wouldn’t just fold up, it would stack — just like shoping carts fitting together — as many [...]
Lots of concepts coming out of the Tokyo Motor Show this year, including an intriguing offering from Toyota dubbed the 1/X. Apparently this is the future of the Prius line, promising twice the fuel efficiency up to a lovely 92 mpg.
Alot of that high performance is due to weight loss. The 1/X is trimmer than [...]
In testament to my true overall geekiness, I would absolutely love to drive a SmartCar. The closest thing folks of a like mind here in the States are going to be able to buy, at least for awhile, is the FlyBo-EV. The compact, electric car will go on sale in Saginaw, Michigan in coming weeks, [...]
Mitsubishi has busted out a really interesting all-electric, the i MIEV Sport. Anything zero-emissions is going to catch my eye, but this baby has a solar roof and two wind turbines tucked up in the front grill in addition to the now fairly “standard” regenerative braking.
Apparently a solar roof will add about 20 miles to [...]
Initial reports suggest that the Volvo C30 diesel hatchback, set to be unveiled next month at the Frankfurt Motor Show, will achieve an impressive 52.26 mpg by doing nothing more than taking common sense design choices. The improvements include:
Refinements to the software that manages the engine.
The use of low-friction transmission oil.
Selection of tires with low [...]
Robert Boniface, Director of General Motors Advanced Design Studio, gives us a rundown of Chevy’s electric concept car, the Volt, scheduled to go on sale in 2010. Video courtesy of Car Buyer’s Notebook.
Car Buyer’s Notebook is run by Frank Giovinazzi, and offers car reviews, auto news, and profiles of auto-industry professionals, all written in [...]