RideLust

The rise in fuel costs is finally forcing people to get creative with their alternative fuel ideas. Scientists have been warning that some day the cheap petroleum that fuels most nations would run out and alternatives would be necessary. However, most of us are wait-and-see personalities who do not react to such warnings until we have to. As gas prices threaten to hit $4 per gallon in the US, and are well past that in other nations, some of the most viable solutions are coming form The Little Men of industry. Check out the videos to follow and see what some of the alternatives to Big Oil that are right under your noses. Read More…

If you are looking to pick yourself up a used large SUV to tote your family around now is definitely the time. The glut of SUV’s in the used market is a result of many owners swapping their $90 fuel fill-up for a sedan that fills for half the price. All those used SUV’s traded-in already are filling up used car lots as buyers walking in off the street are also looking for something more fuel efficient. So if you are sitting on a large SUV now and thinking of swapping it in for something more fuel efficient trading it in may not be the answer.

Most owners who go to a car dealership looking to trade their current ride in for something new usually come out shell-shocked when they learn what the dealership is willing to give them for their trade. Those choosing to turn in their SUV right now will certainly be finding their trade-in value far from what they had invisioned.

According to CNW Marketing Research and the AP SUV sales were down 14% in the month of March when compared to March of 2007. The darling SUV of the American Auto Industry no longer sparkles under the looming clouds of $4/gallon fuel prices. In the face of such a decline in value the only solution for many SUV owners looking to downsize may be to sell their vehicle themselves; a task many owners dread. Even diesel trucks are not immune to the declines in value. Read More…

…But a rather quiet “God of Thunder” ThoRR has become (comic book reference… could not resist).

Evisol is yet another Scandinavian company that is looking to provide EV solutions to the growing problem of global high fuel costs. Unlike like the Norwegian company TH!NK that is bringing cost effective budget rides to North America this Fall, the Netherlands based Evisol is dishing out a bit more wind-in-the-face fun with their all electric ThoRR roadster.

Inspired in design by the Lotus 7 roadster chassis the ThoRR roadster is what a primitive roadster is all about, except it derives its motive power from electric motors fueled by lithium batteries and not V8 engines fed on gasoline. The electric powered motors give the ThoRR a rather ominous, erie quiet as it propels down the road (as evidenced in the video that follows).

We use the term primitive because the ThoRR roadster does not have any of the refined attributes of cars today. The concept behind the ThoRR roadster is simplicity, but it is best described on the website itself:   “This concept stands for high performance through simplicity and light weight. Because of the absence of ABS, power assisted braking, power assisted steering, any form of sound absorption, even a roof and a windshield, only the basics of a car remain.” [ThoRR.eu]

That simplicity holds true when you look at the weight of the car and its maximum power output. Read More…

…That is the question that many people are asking. While design taste and preferences are truly a matter of preference, and to some design falls second or third to utility or performance, an appealing design will make or break a vehicle.

One modern day, non-hybrid design that exemplifies bad design and a sales flop is the Pontiac Aztec.

While picking on the Aztek at this time is a little off topic in that it is not a Hybrid it is still a prime example of what happens when design fails function. Although the car has been out of production for years Pontiac is still able to sell new Azteks from their stockpile of “New” cars that never sold. In 2007 they sold 25 Azteks.

The concern today turns toward the hybrid and ultra fuel sippers that are growing in demand as gas prices continue to climb. Europeans have been enduring high gas prices for decades and on a whole adjusted their shopping to what they could afford, smaller cars and diesels, a long time ago. After a solid 15 years of SUV mania in the states it is difficult to break those shopping habits along with the feelings of need for utility and safety associated to SUV’s. And believe me, the American auto industry was more than happy to sell those marked-up SUV’s to a thirsting populace. So much so that during that 15 year span of SUV mania cars nearly slipped off the radar in the design and board rooms. Now that another fuel crisis is upon us and new technologies are advancing the auto industry is having to rethink just what the Car will become. …And that in turn is leading to some interesting, odd and sometimes quirky autos.

Follow the Leap for analysis on 10 designs that represent the Hybrid-Electric-Fuel Efficient market.

Read More…

In celebration of 30 years BMW bestowed upon the M1 and the many fans who adore it a gift in orange and alloy. What you are looking at above is not a mere rendition of what a redesign of the M1 would look like, as animated as it appears to be. It is a physical reality that may be more study than reality, but truly does capture the spirit that drove the two preceding designs.

The new M1 concept car was received by those attending the Concorso d’Eleganza at Vista d’Este this weekend, where you will see in the photos of the gallery that it was joined by its 2 brothers. While what we see here may be just a concept it does reinforce the knowledge there are still people around today who can produce superlative designs such as this. To anyone’s knowledge thus far the 30 year anniversary M1 concept is merely a shell as no hint of a motive source or interior contents were exposed as its single outing.

Rekindling the knife’s-edge sharpness of the two prior designs tip of the hood the new M1 begins just as all others, with the two kidney shaped grill bookended by sinister headlamps. The contours of the body reflect well on the Giugiaro-designed M1 that followed up on the original M1 designed by Paul Bracq. The tribute follows suit from front to rear concluding with the louvered rear window and the dual BMW badging over-top of the rear break lamps.

Take a look at the gallery after the leap and join BMW in celebrating 30 years of M1 design. Read More…

Ford has announced a milestone as they have now built their 9 millionth Ford Mustang. It is a tremendous achievement for the once smaller pony car that was built to target a market that was eager for an some affordable sporty coupe. The record setting car was a GT Convertible that is on its way to a dealership in Iowa.

The Ford Mustang was introduced at the World’s Fair on April 17th, 1964. Just a week ago Ford quietly celebrated the Mustangs 44th Anniversary. In its first day of sales Ford sold 22,000 Mustangs nationwide; 419,000 in the first 12 months. By its second year of production there had been 2 million of the famous Pony car sold. After those record setting years things slowed down just a bit as it took another 42 years to make it to 9 million cars built.

The retro-influenced redesign that was released to showrooms in 2005 has also helped to revitalizes the Mustangs sales figures, as it has been the most popular selling model since those glory days in the 60′s. This years 2008 models will come with a couple firsts as far as features go for the Ford Mustang. An optional Glass Roof will be available for the first time ever in a Mustang, and the Warriors in Pink Package will be used to raise money for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organizations search for a cure to breast cancer.

The Mustang is Ford’s longest running nameplate and in part due to strategic designs and market savvy pricing the only Pony car not to cease production is sure to continue for many years to come.

Source[Ford]

(TH!NK CEO Jan-Olaf Willums and Design Manager Kathinka Von der Lippe)

TH!NK, a Norwegian electric car producer, is ready to give America their first taste of an affordable, mass-produced, all-electric vehicle in 2009 thanks to a partnership with Green-leaning investors Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers (http://www.kpcb.com) and RockPort Capital Partners. While TH!NK has been producing EV’s for the Scandanavian roads for a number of years now and has enjoyed other partnerships, including a stint with Ford, this will be their first forray in North America.

The first car of their three current designs that will be sold by TH!NK North America will be the TH!NK City. To start out the company will focus its sales in California, but if the car sales go as expected there will be more states to come we can imagine. The TH!NK City is built from materials that make it 95% recyclable and has a range of 110 miles and reaches a top speed of 65 mph. There are two battery options available to the TH!NK City buyer: lithium or sodium.

As with the all electric car system Project Better Place that is taking place in Isreal, the owner of a TH!NK car will pay a maintenance fee for the batteries used in their cars. In exchange TH!NK will assume all responsibility associated with their battery packs, including swapping them for new batteries if necessary. The fee also covers the body panels of the car; which they describe as dent resistent and rust proof. The proper support and gentle aging that takes place over the cars lifetime is one of the reasons TH!NK believes their cars will retain a high resale value over time. 
…Photo Galleries to follow… Read More…

Mega Mover dump trucks have been used in open pit mining as a means to save money; larger trucks require fewer trips with larger loads and reduced fuel costs. As fuel prices continue to climb GE (General Electric), with additional funding from the US Department of Energy, has been working to include hybrid technology in these mega movers. As many of the huge mining trucks already have diesel generators and electric motors as their motive power adding regeneration technology and rugged battery packs would seem the only hurdle.

Testing of the hybrid system has already been conducted and the project to date has had favorable results. Tim Richter, from GE’s Hybrid Systems division, indicated in his blog about the Off-Highway Vehicle, mega dump truck test that the next step is to determine how to best utilize the batteries of stored energy and to determine the length of service that can be expected from the batteries.

As the regenerative breaking electricity is stored in the batteries of the vehicle determining the best application for the energy during operation will be the next objective. Whether the power is reserved for increased boost for powering the truck up steep grades or for increased torque from a standing start, or both, will require more testing.

They will also need to test the types of batteries available under the harsh conditions found in open pit mining. Effects from the jostling along rough terrain, the impact of loads dumped into the working truck, and the dust and mud that can be found under mining conditions will all require further research.

The costs related to a hybrid system are always a concern, but with fuel prices ever increasing the fuel savings found in hybrid vehicles is gaining favor. What the exact savings will be with the hybrid system in these mega trucks is not specified. The Chevy Tahoe 3-Mode Hybrid System resulted in a 50% increase in fuel mileage and earned it the 2007 Green Car of the Year award at the LA Auto Show. GE’s target output and fuel savings for the hybrid project is not mentioned, but if they can achieve a similar result it would seem a safe bet that the technology will be implemented with haste to help battle the costs of rising fuel.

Source[GE Global Research Blog via EcoGeek]

A lot of car fans and Camaro lovers are chomping at the bit to get a taste of the new Camaro slated to be released as a 2010 model. The above video is a mere teaser of the look and sound that will be the new Camaro. For many, all the sneak-peeks and video have been magnificent teasers for a crowd already percolating with interest.

Well if you thought the above video was of any interest you will want to take the leap over to the Camaro5forum for a longer version of the same test run, but without the dialogue. During the linked video you will get a clearer impression of the V8 rumble that Chevy has in store for their Camaro faithful. It is truly a note that would catch the ear of any muscle car aficionado.

One less fortunate note during the video was watching the Camaro get buzzed by a very swift Porsche. You will also catch a glimpse of a Pontiac G8 GT testing on the same track of the Camaro.

Source[Camaro5via Jalopnik]

It has been a long standing opinion and practice around the globe, but particularly in China, that duplication, adaptation, and down-right replication of designs and other intellectual properties should be expected and considered the sincerest form of flattery. In the 1980′s there was a common saying or belief that the Japanese took the ideas of others and made them better; improved upon them; applied thought and further advanced the technologies of that time. The biggest problem with the Chinese replication of the automobiles of others is that they do not seem to put any thought into it.

The only information provided for what the Beijing Automotive group is calling the B40 (thus the Jeep clone above) is that it has a gasoline fueled engine. Whether it carries the same off-road capabilities as its Trail Rated genetic source is another question.

Beijing Automotive, formerly known as Beijing Jeep, does have a partnership agreement with Chrysler, but the question of how far that partnership goes still lingers. Does their partnership license the replication of the Jeep brand or Wrangler design? With practically zero copyright protection for intellectual property in China there is little that Chrysler is going to do to stop it. Chrysler would more than likely opt to preserve their partnership link to the expanding automotive market that is China than to lose it over some silly copy-cat complaints.

Check out the photo gallery after the leap and see just how adept China has become at breaking out the clone-stamp and serving of a piece of someone else’s pie. Read More…