It’s that time again. Rust or Lust is back, and while we approved of the refined SC300 last week, this week we’re looking at a totally different animal – the last of the F-body Camaros. Better crank up the AC/DC and bust out your muscle shirt, because we’re taking a quick trip down the Highway to Hell.
I have a special place my heart for scrap yards, having worked at one for a few years. So I’m a fan of anything salvage-related. The carnage of ripping things apart can only be topped by putting those bits back together in a strange way, and making them work.
The artists of Transmutant are definitely salvage-related. They’re like a bizarre Euro version of a Burning Man version of Junkyard Wars. That’s a triple combination I can get into. Read More…
Fanboys rejoice (and for once, that includes us), the 2010 Chevy Camaro droptop has been revived. Last week, GM announced production of the 2010 Camaro droptop would indefinitely postponed as it appeared GM’s convertible-top supplier was in imminent danger of going under. Although tentatively citing 2011 as a future launch date, sources cautioned that finding a replacement supplier was easier said than done, and the Camaro convertible might very well find itself sharing garage space with the Dodge Challenger convertible. Thanks to the $5 billion-dollar Supplier Support Program hastily introduced by Congress last week, however, GM’s Germany-based supplier has been miraculously pulled from the brink of bankruptcy. With their supplier back on board, GM has once again moved the Camaro convertible to the front of the assembly line, but it’ll still have to wait its turn. Despite initial rumors of a summer 2010 drop date, GM doesn’t expect the new open-top Camaro to hit dealer lots until early 2011.
Unfortunately, although the Camaro convertible was saved from certain extinction, the super-performance 2010 Camaro Z28 was not. Shelved alongside the convertible, the complications with the Z28′s production schedule run much deeper than a simple supplier issue. Expected to receive a revised version of the Corvette ZR1′s supercharged V8, the Camaro Z28 has been heralded as critical to GM’s success in competing against the likes of the Shelby Mustang. With a production costs estimated at a staggering $50 million, however, GM can’t afford to breathe life back into the project and has confirmed that the Camaro Z28 will remain cancelled. Read More…
Today, the auto supplier industry received their piece of the government aid pie with the passage of a $5 billion aid package dubbed the Supplier Support Program. As pert the terms of the program, the initial funds will come from Uncle Sam’s wallet but it is the auto manufacturers themselves who will ultimately be responsible for their disbursement, essentially placing the fate of struggling suppliers directly in the hands of their contractors. Although the $5 billion granted in the package today falls noticeably short of the $10 billion originally requested, a spokesperson for the Obama camp assured that this was merely “the first piece” of the entire funding puzzle. Read More…
2009 Volvo V50 Interior
Working to provide relief for nickel-allergy sufferers, Volvo has created a new set of rigorous tests aimed at reducing the amount of nickel-leakage in Volvo cars’ interiors. Acknowledging that nickel allergies affect an astounding 120 million people in the industrial world, Volvo has combined the use of stringent testing procedures with advanced nickel-plating technology to produce an interior air quality that will allow consumers affected by nickel-irritants to drive with ease. Referred to as the “Volvo Standard,” Volvo’s nickel policy involves minimizing nickel-leakage in all interior metallic surfaces by outfitting nickel-containing surfaces with nickel-free plating. Read More…
According to a study published this week, a genetically modified strain of the common bacteria E.coli has been created that could lead to a new, more powerful type of biofuel. Researchers from the University of California’s Los Angeles report they’ve created bacteria that produces long-chain alcohol perfect for use as a fuel.
Some strains of E. coli are the bad business that causes food poisoning, so it’s well known. Because of that, its genome is one of the most well documented of any bacteria, so it’s easy to work with and manipulate. Scientists have been able to create E. coli that produces ethanol in the past, but this is the first time anyone has coaxed the bacteria to produce larger molecules, and more molecules means more power. For instance, ethanol has only two carbon molecules, while the alcohols created by the new E.coli strain has a chain of 5 to 8 carbons.
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Ultra high-performance aftermarket tuning company Brabus took some time off from tweaking the innards of Mercedes and Maybach cars. They got together with Tesla and produced a decked out Tesla Roadster for the 2008 Essen Motor Show.
Apparently, Brabus doesn’t know how to tweak an electric motor so they just pimped out everything else. There’s a high-quality matte white paintjob and a futuristic lighting package installed under all the new carbon fiber bits and a series of daytime running lights installed in the grille. The sides of the Roadster have entrance lights that can be activated with the key fob or by pulling on a door handle. There’s carbon-fiber everywhere, carbon-fiber air inlets, carbon-fiber rear wing and carbon-fiber rear diffuser. All good stuff.
But the wildest part by far is the ‘space sound generator‘. Check it out along with some more pictures and the press release:
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NCR, the maker of exclusive high-end motorcycles has just come out with a limited edition Mike Hailwood TT replica built in honor of the 30th anniversary of Hailwood’s Isle of Man win on the Ducati 900 NCR. They actually based this bike on the Ducati Sport 1000S, which will make it the second bike NCR has based on the 1000S, the first being the highly tuned, race ready New Blue.
If you’re a Ridelust reader, you’re probably aware of my love for all things Ducati, especially the Ducati Sport 1000S. So I’m really starting to appreciate NCR. This bike is ridiculously light. It features titanium all over the place, which is NCR’s calling card: it has an 11-pound titanium frame, a titanium exhaust system, the engine has billet titanium connecting rods and titanium valves, and all the fasteners are titanium. Plus carbon-fiber wheels and bodywork.
Check out specs and pictures of the NCR Mike Hailwood TT Replica:
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Small is the new big. The Mini, the Fit, the ForTwo, the Peapod… it seems like cutting edge cars keeps getting smaller.
So it’s a perfect time for 22-year old designer Shao Yung Yeh’s single passenger, insect-inspired vehicle. The suspension is based on insect legs that can raise and lower depending upon traffic and road conditions. And instead of a central drivetrain, the car is powered by an electric motor at each wheel, while the battery pack sits in the car’s abdomen and is able to move fore and aft to adjust the car’s center of gravity.
Yeh told Wired.com, “(Insects) not only inspire the styling but also the entire structure and the package of the car.”
Check out pictures and a video of the Insecta:
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Honda Motor Co. thinks it can apply it’s 4-wheel hybrid and battery technology to it’s motorcycles by 2011. The main hurdle they need to overcome is the size issue. Hybrid cars are generally made of lightweight materials, since the engine and more specifically, the batteries, are usually so heavy. On a motorcycle, there isn’t much more they can lighten in terms of body parts, so they’ll need to do some drastic engineering to the batteries or the hybrid technology itself to make it fit. Still, Honda believes they can do it.
They say the gasoline/electric hybrid motorbike technology will be 50 percent more fuel-efficient, and be available in sizes between 200 and 1,000 cc. There will also be a line of 100% electric scooters with below 200cc engines. Unfortunately, the smaller electric bikes will only be able to run about 20 miles on one charge, although they still means they could be useful within city limits.
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