It’s no surprise that you may think that toilets sell themselves. However dig a little deeper and you’ll realize that creating a great porcelain throne takes time, money and a great marketing budget. Japanese toilet maker Toto understands this and has recently come up with a pretty unconventional plan to get the word out about their newest products. You see there’s thinking outside the box, and then there’s thinking OUTSIDE the box, and in Toto’s case their box has three wheels and is powered by bio-fuel. Toto figures that by making this trike run on poop-powered bio-gas that they’ll not only raise awareness for renewable energy, but in the process, sell some fancy new toilet bowls. Company spokesman Kenji Fujita stated, “Although the seat of the bike is indeed a toilet, it is not for actual use.”

The fuel is produced by breaking down and fermenting a combination of household and livestock waste into a gas form, which is then stored in twin tanks on the back of the bike. Fujita also stated that, “At first when I saw the bike, I was taken aback. But after riding it, I found it quite interesting,” she said. “It doesn’t hurt at all and is actually quite comfortable to sit on.”

Hmm… interesting.

Source: NBCNewYork.com

After pondering it for awhile, Meredith had finally come to grips with the realization that her new “extended range vehicle” may not be such a good idea after all.

Source: ThatWillBuffOut.com

External combustion engines are nothing new, and there was a time when steam powered cars were as popular as gasoline powered cars. The convenience, low maintenance and superior performance of the internal combustion engines eventually killed steam powered vehicles. If Cyclone Power Technologies has their way, however, steam powered vehicles may be making a comeback.

There are a lot of reasons to embrace Cyclone’s Mark V engine, but here are the two best ones: it’ll burn any liquid fuel, and it produces 850 foot pounds of torque at startup. Its compact size (about twice as large as a lawnmower engine) means it will fit just about anywhere, and it’s closed loop water system means you don’t need to carry additional water, unlike earlier steam engines. You don’t even need to use oil, since water vapor is sufficient to drive and lubricate the pistons.

Cyclone goes into as much engineering detail as you’d care to read on their website, but here’s a brief recap of how the Mark V works. The combustion chamber (which resembles an old-fashioned air cleaner) sits atop the motor. Fuel is ignited and used to produce superheated steam in coils inside the combustion chamber; unlike steam engines of old, this process happens in as little as five seconds, with full power reached in 15 seconds at an ambient temperature of 70° F.

Superheated steam, at about 1,200° F and 3,200 psi, drives six pistons arranged in a radial configuration. Pistons are connected to a patented spider bearing, which rotates the crankshaft. Like an electric motor, the Mark V develops maximum torque at low RPM, and since that torque measures 850 foot pounds, you don’t even need a transmission.

Once the steam is used to drive the pistons, it enters a condensing unit where it’s cooled and returned back to liquid form. The cooled water is returned to the combustion chamber coils, and the process begins again. Only four gallons of water (weighing about 32 pounds) are required to run the Mark V engine.

There are some downsides to the Mark V, not the least of which is working with high pressure, superheated steam. That’s nasty stuff, and if it escapes containment, bad things happen if you’re in its path. There are ways of solving that particular problem, so I don’t see that as a deal breaker. The real issue becomes fuel economy and cost to manufacture, and I don’t think Cyclone has progressed to the point where either can be speculated on. I’ll keep an eye on their development, because you never know where the next big leap in automotive technology will come from.

The initial track testing phase of the Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize vehicles has begun at Michigan International Speedway. This video, courtesy of Consumer Reports, gives a good overview of what the competition is all about. Unfortunately, there isn’t all that much footage of cars testing, but some things are clear: the Aptera may be fuel efficient, but it doesn’t handle worth a damn and the Tango (the extremely narrow orange car in the video) really can back its claim of a four second zero to sixty time.

Speaking of the Tango, we’ll do a writeup on it in the near future. In the mean time, ponder this: the Tango is 39 inches wide, or 5 inches narrower than a Honda Gold Wing motorcycle. It’s 101 inches long, which makes it five inches shorter than a Smart car. It’s not light, due primarily to the weight of the batteries and the steel safety cage, tipping the scales at 3,150 pounds. The twin motors are good for 1,000 pound feet of torque (and no, that’s not a typo), which gets the clown-car-sized Tango from 0 to 60 in under 4 seconds. It’ll turn the quarter mile in 12 seconds, at 120 miles per hour. It’s single speed transmission is good for 135 miles per hour at 8,000 RPM, and it claims a range of over 150 miles on lithium ion batteries.

Commuter Cars Tango T600

Like anything with wheels that goes fast, it comes at a price. The base Tango T600 kit (which requires 8 hours of assembly) is $108,000 and we’re not done spending yet. Next, the drivetrain adds $5,000 to the bill, followed by Li-Ion batteries at $53,000 (you can cheap out and go with lead acid batteries for $8,000, but that only gives you a range of about 40 miles). If I’m doing the math right and have everything that I need, the total comes to $166,000. That’s a lot of coin to pony up for an electric commuter car, even if it is the world’s fastest. Commuter Cars (Tango’s manufacturer) is working on a lower cost, mass production version dubbed the T200, but don’t expect it to have the same level of performance.

The Zap Alias, one of 32 vehicles in contention.

Sooner or later, any comparison between vehicles comes down to this: it doesn’t matter how good it looks on paper, you’ve got to back that up with performance on the race track. So it goes for competitors vying for Progressive Insurance’s Automotive X Prize, a massive promotional effort to highlight alternative fuel and green car technology. The payout for the winners is a shared purse of $10 million, plus the international notoriety that will come with grabbing the title. We’ve previously told you about teams such as RaceAbout Association and OptaMotive, but there are a total of 32 teams in the competition. Some, like Tata Motors, have the full backing of a parent with deep pockets. Others, like RaceAbout and OptaMotive are working on shoestring budgets.

This week begins the shakedown testing at Michigan International Speedway, where teams have until May 7 to work the bugs out of their vehicles in a real-world environment. Knockout Qualifying is scheduled for June 20 to 28, and will determine the vehicles that best meet criteria for both performance and production ability. Winners of the second stage will compete in the Finals, scheduled for July 19 to 30. Once this phase has concluded, teams must undergo validation testing (the dreaded “teardown”) before winners are announced in August.

Source: Automotive X Prize Track Testing Begins This Week

A rendering of the Smyth G3F: A shrunken Factory Five GTM

Last year Volkswagen got everybody jazzed up with its Bluesport mid-engine diesel concept. But who knows when we’ll see the little “green” convertible chugging along twisty mountain roads. In the meantime, you can always build your own. Mark Smith, founder of replica car manufacturer Factory Five Racing, is building a prototype mid-engine  coupe powered by a VW diesel mill. It’s called the Smyth Performance G3F TDI and Smith wants to release it as a kit in the near future. That means you’ll be able to build one in your garage using virtually any compact VW engine (VR6, anyone?). Smith obviously intends a TDI unit, which should get ridiculous gas milage in the lightweight frame. For more info, check out the Smith Performance G3F TDI page.

Jerry’s home built commuter car took eco-friendly to the next level. It discouraged tailgating, too.

Source: That Will Buff Out

Now tell me this thing doesn’t look like a futuristic Mini-van. Seriously, I could have totally seen Harrison Ford rocking this thing in the movie Blade Runner with a few child seats in the back. What we have here is a very interesting vehicle that has been designed for one purpose and one purpose only: to train Mr. Ed.

Based out of Istanbul, Turkey, Kurtsystems has developed this training car to remove the human element out of training horses… or camels for that matter. According to the Kurtsystems website the Kurtsystems Car can be used for: “on-track or off-track use suitable for racehorses, trotters, endurance and camel training fully adjustable and controlled speeds from walking pace to galloping at up to 16m/sec (60 km/h). Safe controlled training programs and performance evaluation. Confirm training intensity, with built-in hearth rate monitors. Allows trainers carry out regular fitness tests and comparisons.”

Ok, the wording may be a bit off but hey, they’re from Istanbul so cut them a break.

Now, I have no idea if this sucker is available to the U.S. market but if it is I can tell you that the Amish would be buying these bad boys by the boat load. Just picture little Ezekiel and Jebediah cruising along with Mom & Dad in the families’ standard open-air buggy. Then out of nowhere older brother Amos and his main squeeze Mildred come trotting down to the farm in their new Kurtsystems Car.

They’d obviously be sporting the Amish approved one-horsepower drive train complete with automated reigns and barn busting bumper guards. They’d be new trendsetters in the neighborhood and the talk of the Church.

At least that’s how I envision it anyway. Either way though this thing is pretty cool – hmm… I wonder if I could do a Mr. Angry Edition.

Looks almost stock!

Your neighbor’s candy apple red Tri-Five Chevy with a Corvette-derived smallblock might be a pretty sick way to update a tired, neglected jalopy, but not everyone wants to roll in such conspicuousness. And to be honest, as long as it’s a big-ass engine stuffed into an unlikely place, one really shouldn’t be picky. So if your tastes run more towards sleepers (or Q-ships, for you Bond aficionados), and especially if you have a thing for oil-burners, this Mercedes 190D might have your number. What it doesn’t have is it’s original mill, discarded by some mad-scientist types at Mercedes in favor of a modern OM651 diesel out of the current C-Class, good for 204 HP and 368 ft-lbs of torque. That’s torquier than a phalanx of tractors, so it’s no wonder it is swift. How swift? Make the jump to find out.

Cue mad scientist laughter!

Well, the raw number is 6.2 seconds from a standstill to 62 mph, which ain’t shabby, but we’d be fools not to note that this is a full 11.9 seconds quicker than stock for this ’92 190D. It also gets around 42 MPG, and as a diesel, there’s no doubt that with minimal tweaks you could saddle up to any Winchell’s Donuts in your area and load up on premium grade saturated grease, turning the means for the intense obesity of our nation into fuel for your ride! Alas, we don’t want to imply that you could head down to your local Mercedes mad scientist lab and pick one up, as we think this was purely an exercise in the particularly fruitful boredom of some amazingly precise Germans. In any event, we hope others take inspiration and consider cramming modern diesels under just about anything. A Cummins-powered Chrysler Imperial? Why, that’s a brilliant idea …

[Source: Autopia]

Using a supercharged BMW V12, the Lazareth quad makes a ferocious 500bhp on E-85 Ethanol. But even though it’s defined as a quad (having four wheels and all) it is shaped more like a trike, which is good news. It’s diminutive rear end keeps the preposterous amount of torque from flipping the vehicle, while the wide front track keeps all four wheels planted as you counter-steer around every corner.

Aesthetically the Lazareth is unquestionably menacing, with the twelve exposed headers purging environmentally friendly exhaust fumes from the pulsating engine. But before you assume the use of Ethanol was an environmentalist statement, think again. It’s more likely that Ethanol was used for its superior octane performance, since E-85 has an octane level between 100-105, compared to typical gasoline octane ratings of 85-93.

However, make no mistake, all this coolness will cost you a cool $283,000–meaning it’s more likely you’ll see it in the next Batman movie than in your garage.

For a gallery of the Lazareth, along with a video of the beast in action, follow the jump.

SOURCE: HellForLeatherMagazine