With the trend in auto technology moving towards creating more powerful albeit more fuel efficient engines, Charles Greenwood and his company have chosen to take a different path. His company, HumanCar, Inc., produces human-powered vehicles. If that concept brings images of Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble in their prehistoric car, with feet sticking out underneath to make it go, well hold that thought because this is something else.
The Human Car prototype is the FM-4 Troublemaker, so-called because it goes against some basic automobile principles – there is no motor and, therefore, no oil-based fuel required. The FM-4 is a street-legal, low mass vehicle or LMV. It is designed to accommodate a maximum of 4 people who provide the car’s power via a “biometric human-power interface”. Pushing and pulling on a series of interconnected levers creates the necessary power to drive the car’s rear wheels via a 6-speed “human trans-axle”.
For its monocoque chassis, tubular steel and carbon fiber is used so as to make the vehicle lightweight and durable.
The FM-4 Troublemaker in action is quite an awesome sight because of the way it translates human power into motion.
HumanCar, Inc. is already working on the next generation production model called the “Imagine” which will sell at around $15,000 – $20,000. The company claims that this new human-powered vehicle will have a top speed of 60 mph.
Infiniti has an odd problem. It pitched the EX crossover at single women and they ended up attracting families. The problem is that since the car was designed for the single life, families were disappointed at elements such as the lack of rear-seat legroom.
"Dealers asked us to make some changes," Larry Dominique, Nissan North America’s vice president said. "Sales are not quite as high as we wanted them to be." Now Infiniti is going for a two sided approach for the redesigned EX. It is going to be more aggressive toward the singles market, but it will offer more rear room for when dad and mom accidentally show up to the showroom.
Porsches are usually known for their exceptional braking, but in the case of this Carrera GT it seems this Porsche never got the chance to prove it. We don’t have any information on what turned this into a $440,000 paper weight, but we’re still going to shed a tear for the knowing that the world has one less of the rare supercar (under 1300 were produced.)
The Volkswagen Golf has many offspring. So when the Golf gets redesigned, it will trickle down the rest of the line. Here’s the first TopSpeed rendering of the Golf-based MPV (multi-purpose vehicle) called the Touran.
The future minivan-like Touran is expected borrow the same design that was first used in the Scirocco and then in the new generation Golf. There will be a new front-grille, headlamps and front bumper. The entire design should be cleaner and more aggressive. There is no information about the engine choices, but it will be likely to mirror the Golf’s lineup. There are no current plans to bring the Touran to the U.S.
PSA Peugeot Citroen is to follow its fellow frenchman Renault into the ultra-low cost car market. PSA is preparing a new entry-level car that will be produced and sold in emerging markets starting in 2011. The new low-cost model could be built in Turkey and Poland and likely to be powered by a 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine.
It will initially be sold in eastern and central Europe, Russia, Turkey and north Africa under the Citroen and Peugeot brand names. PSA CEO Christian Streiff said the five-passenger sedan could eventually be sold in other emerging markets where PSA is present, including China and South America.
Seat is known for providing economical cars for the markets its sold to (not the U.S.) So if you bought one of these Volkswagens-on-a-budget, the German tuner JE Design is betting that you have a little money left over to customize the car. They have now introduced a customization kit for the Ibiza Sports Coupe 3-door and 5-door.
The new package features a front spoiler, sport radiator grill, center-mounted trapezoidal tailpipe, headlight eyebrows, side skirts, roof spoiler and a rear bumper apron attachment with carbon look. The biggest visual element is the LSD wing doors, which open in a Lamborghini-like manner.
BMW will unveil the next generation Z4 at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. Latest spy shot reveals the car with almost no camouflage. The shot confirms the rumors that car will be evolutionary rather than revolutionary. The roadster will feature a retractable hard top, trunk integrated brake light and the shoulder line has been smoothed out considerably.
Hopefully there is no unseen camouflage on the door line, and the next Z4 has lost the large and unnecessary side scoops. If so, it seems that Chris Bangle is trying to repent for his earlier sins of the Z4. The new, cleaner lines of the car in this pic almost makes the new Z4 look like a baby Mercedes SL.
Sometime life is unfair. Europe will get the the Chevrolet Cruze in 2009. While we’ll be stuck with the Cobalt-only land until 2010, Europeans will take spare Cruzes out on the track. Chevrolet revealed today the Cruze World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) that will compete in the 2009 championship. The car is already being tested and will continue throughout the remainder of the current season and the coming winter.
The Chevrolet Cruze’s first competitive outing will be in Brazil at the opening round of the 2009 WTCC in Curitiba. The Cruze will be the replacement for the Lacetti as GM’s WTCC car.
The AirPod is the latest green car that will be launched on the market. The new vehicle is powered using compressed air system which uses the electricity in order to force the air to power the pistons of the engine.
The AirPod will have a top speed of 40 mph and a range of approximately 130 miles. The car can be refilled using a regular air compressor. AirPod will be available in U.S. by 2010 while the Europeans and India will get it sooner (and yet we’re not jealous.) No word about the price yet.
German tuner Vorsteiner specializes in BMW, Mercedes and now is turning its attention to the Porsche 911 (997). The 997 V-GT Coupe by Vorsteiner features a full carbon-fiber front spoiler, a front lip spoiler, a new rear vented bumper with integrated carbon-fiber air diffuser and a new rear wing spoiler for better stability.
Also, the tuner added new carbon-fiber door sills with Vorsteiner logo. In order to improve the looks, a new set of 5-spoke V-301 Series wheels were added.
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