For all of the talk of flying cars over the last century, very few ever made it off the ground, Molt Taylor built one exception back in the 1950s, but the Terrafugia Transition, in the works for the last few years, took its first flight on March 5th, 2009. Designed as a roadable aircraft, not exactly a flying car, the flight controls fold away when not in use. The wings are … [Read more...]
Formula Zero Hydrogen Fuel Cell Racing
Racing improves the breed and creates excitement, that's the idea behind Formula Zero, an organization based in the Netherlands with the ambitious goal of establishing a hydrogen fuel cell racing series. Beginning with fuel cell powered racing karts, they have just begun racing at the student edition level where teams from top universities compete. The initial race in Rotterdam … [Read more...]
Auto Exhaust Can Generate Thermoelectric Power
About 40 percent of the energy from gasoline or diesel fuel is wasted as exhaust heat. If you can convert some of that heat to electricity, it can provide electric power for automotive accessories, relieving some of the burden from the engine resulting in better fuel economy. The device that performs this conversion is a thermoelectric generator and GM has been working on … [Read more...]
Electronic Wedge Brakes Outperform Hydraulics
Electronic wedge brakes being developed by Siemens VDO were tested against similar cars equipped with hydraulic brakes and the electronic brakes consistently stopped in a shorter distance. We covered electronic wedge brakes in November of last year and discussed their development as part of the Siemens eCorner concept which combines the drivetrain, steering, shock absorbers and … [Read more...]
Chrysler Planning Hemi Hybrids
Chrysler is about to make its first foray into hybrid vehicles with the introduction next year of the 2008 Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen SUVs. Unlike some hybrid vehicles, however, these will not have a little 4 cylinder engine or even a V6, instead, these will be equipped with the 5.7-liter Hemi V-8. Overall fuel efficiency is expected to improve by 25 percent while in … [Read more...]