Cars and Motors

The Pocket Radar brings the function of one of the most despised devices on earth to your pocket.

As expected, the Tokyo Motor Show will likely be yet another stage for the unveiling of the latest and greatest in alternative fuels. Not to be outdone, Suzuki has already unveiled their plans to bring out two new clean energy vehicles, with the possibility of expanding the platforms to other vehicles.

The seemingly endless hunt for ways to improve our day-to-day commute has led to many interesting and unique ideas.  While many are less than feasible, every now and again one comes along that just might be able to make a difference.  The GPS based “Sartre” system may be able to join this elite league of automotive innovations.

While many fans of the new Camaro are just happy knowing the muscle car has made a successful return, others are still asking for more. The Z28 version of the new and improved pony car is still in limbo, and for some people the 422 horsepower V8 isn't enough to satisfy their right foot. A revival of the Yenko nameplate might just do the trick though.

One of the problems plaguing the all electric vehicle market is the issue of charging. Not only are there going to be problems when everyone comes home for the day and plugs in, but the issue of traffic and wrong turns could also spell disaster for more than a few motorists. For some California commuters however, a new solution is in the works.

The Department of Energy has been tossing around funding for pretty much every kind of alternative energy vehicle. However, the funding was originally limited to 4-wheeled vehicles, ruling out some of the manufactures completely. Now, congress has finally made a decision as to the future of DOE funding for 3-wheeled vehicles.

Solar energy has slowly but steadily become the go to resource for electric vehicles that need some extra range. The only real problem with this is the slow speed and low amount of power an easily transportable panel suffers from. A new kind of portable charging station may solve both of these problems in no time flat.

While many people who have looked into battery electric vehicles are turned away due to range limitations, others are more worried about the long recharge time.  In some cases, these vehicles can take up to a full 8 hours to recharge, which is too long for some people to live with.  However, a newly developed kind of battery may provide the answer to this problem.

Automotive styling has undergone some very extreme changes over the past 20 years, and mostly for the better. Sometimes however, a new concept comes along that breaks that mold and really makes us step back and stare.  The BMW Lovos is a perfect example of this kind of concept.

The "watercourse cyclone air cleaner" from Seiwa circulates your car's smelly interior air through water to wash out unwanted impurities. It may not get you high but it WILL leave your ride as fresh as mountain air after a thunderstorm.

Honda has been working hard on the upcoming VFR1200 touring bike, with the introduction of a dual clutch gearbox into the motorcycle being among the many pieces of technology they plan on including. On top the more efficient transmission, it now appears that Honda is planning on cylinder deactivation to help keep fuel consumption down as well.

The Mini Pig Keychain Light v2.0 is a welcome update on the cute Pig LED Keychain Light featured here a couple years back. Oink if you want one!

The Yike Bike is an outside-the-box electric bicycle designed for urban commuting. It's not for everybody (or much of anybody), but it certainly is interesting to look at.

Speed is one of the few obsessions we as a society will almost certainly never get away from. Every time someone sets a new speed record, regardless of how and using what, we feel the need to break it. This past month has proved not to be the exception.

The Tokyo Motor Show is looking more and more like the focus will be put on the zero emissions scene, rather than the hybrid realm. Not to be outdone, Nissan is also planning on bringing out their latest all electric city scrambler, aptly named the Land Glider.

Crash avoidance systems have been at the top of nearly every automaker's list when it comes to research and development, and for good reason. In an interesting press released, Nissan has revealed what could be the next generation of these systems, and the unique idea that led the engineers to it.

It is no secret that Mazda refuses to separate driving excitement with environmentally friendliness. The engineers and designers are adamant that a car can be fun to drive, and still be clean and efficient. It is from this thinking that Mazda has been able to create the SKY clean engine concepts.

It has been known that Suzuki is planning on bringing the hybrid powered Swift to the Tokyo Motor Show for quite some time. What they didn't tell us, was they have been working on 3 other fuel cell powered vehicles they are going to unveil alongside the Swift Hybrid.

Thinking about trading your sedan in for a bicycle? Consider getting up to speed on traffic safety before that first commute.

Back in 2002, BMW revealed a tricycle-based concept that called the CLEVER. It stood for Compact Low Emissions Vehicle for Urban Transport and was light enough to be powered by a small compressed natural gas engine. Now, BMW has released another of their tricycle-based concepts that has been dubbed the SIMPLE.