Finally solar power is being applied to cars in some useful way. Sure, the car only measures 33 x 22 x 14 millimeters, but it’s a start, right?

The “World’s Smallest Solar Racing Car” as Ecotopia calls it, is an ultra-small, fully functional toy car with a tiny solar panel that generates enough electricity to run it’s little motor and make it zip all around your kitchen floor, even with just a strong interior light source. Awesome.

What some people can achieve with some spare time and a lot of creativity is sometimes worthy of some headlines. One such creative achievement built and exposed onto the web under the handle Crowkillers is the 2009 LEGO Camaro you see in the photo above. Using the famed toy, some painstaking adjustments and a good bit of engineering the LEGO Camaro comes complete with an LS2 Engine replica and a 6-speed transmission with reverse.

Like many collectors Crowkillers was not content to only have one of the new model Camaro’s in his stable. Instead, he built two: one orange and one black with orange stripes.

Check out the large gallery of pics after the leap to observe in full-detail what goes into a LEGO Camaro.

For those heavy traffic commuters who fear being runover in a Smart car the people of 5th Gear over in the Mother Land have found a Smart solution. In the Smart ForFun2 you can easily take up your share of the road and even more easily stare down that trucker crowding your lane at HIS eye level. While matting a Smart-for-two car with a Mercedes UniMog might seem to oppose the philosophy that drives the Smart car it does make for one entertaining ride.

With the release of this Summer’s Transformer Movie taking place today it seemed appropriate to spotlight all those videos out there that pay tribute in some respect to the phenomenon that is Transformers. It is truly amazing the time and detail that goes into some of these. Not so much in video quality but in the imaginitive costumes that many fans have created.

The first video is from a costume party that is completely laden with Transformers that really transform. Take a look at these fans as they put their costumes to the test.

So here is a little fun to start your day off right. Rollerman, aka Jean-Yves Blondeau, designed himself a skate lined body suit with 33-wheels strategically placed. When dressed in his roller armor Blondeau, …sorry, Rollerman takes to the streets and sidewalks and parking lots and courtyards for a wheelie good time. The super suit allows Rollerman to glide along most any paved or smooth surface in nearly any human position. On the downhill Rollerman can reach speeds of 60 mph (and that is without the addition of his jet-pack and laserbeam eyes)

Watch the videos below to get a feeling for what Rollerman can do.

What happens when you mix a CNC Machine and a craftsman with a lot of time on his hands? In the case of Ron Bement of Denver, Colorado you get working classic engine reproductions in miniature. So far Bement has built an Offy, a Flathead and is now building a 7-inch Ardun engine replica.

The beauty of these engines is not just in the meticulous craftsmanship and attention to detail, but that these aluminum beauties actually run. Take a look at the following video and enjoy the sites and sounds of these tiny, methane fueled,  28-hp V8’s. Then after the video head on over to the FordBarn for more photos and information.

Thanks for sharing, Bas!

Source[FordBarn]

A walk into a RIDEMAKERZ showroom gives you the immediate feeling of walking into a dream car garage… only in miniature. With a selection of dozens of body styles and paint jobs to “chooze” from you have the ability and the cooperative guidance of their pit crew to build the car you always wanted but in a size you can afford. In their build area you select the wheels, the graphics and exhaust, the sounds to go with it, the spoiler and then some. There are enough customization parts available to make any gearhead giggle yet enough amusement in the process to entice the non-gear-inclined as well.

Once your ride is ready to roll it comes packaged in a sweet tool box carrier and you are ready to hit the streets… er sidewalks, patio, kitchen floor, where ever. You also get to register your car at the store and receive cusomized tagging so that your Build-an-RC is logged forever in the archives of the RIDEMILEZ Club. It is like Build-a-Bear but much less fluffy.

Come November there will be four locations where you can build your dream ride. In the meantime check out the RIDEMAKERZ webpage and start thinking about your own personal dream car build. Whether you choose a controlled car or a free wheeler you are certain to have a blast.

If you are a fan of racing games, and inparticularly the Burnout series, then you look to be in for a treat with the next title in the series: Burnout Paradise. If ever you had a burning urge toward some random road rage then this next game just might be your true paradise. With no download time and a free-roam map format you can park your real car, get in your home, turn on the game and instantly unleash your fury.

Take a look at this trailor for the game for a glimpse of what kind of havoc is yours to create.

For further details on the making of Burnout Paradise check out this interview at E3 convention in Santa Monica, CA with one of the creators of Burnout Paradise from Criterion.

As a fan of the Burnout series this is certainly a game that I will be watching out for this Winter. And maybe by then I will have a console of my own upon which to play it.

A recent article on MSNBC.COMdiscussed the hazards to children of shoes with the wheels in the heel. The most recognized brand of these shoes, Heelys, Inc., have been linked to numerous injuries in young people around the world. Those injuries have ranged from the usual scrapes and bruises to broken bones and head contusions.

To Heelys defense there is a warning sticker on their shoes that proper protection is encouraged, but who heeds those things.

Here are some questions to ponder:
Are Heelys really any more dangerous than a bicycle or skateboard or trampoline? How many years did it take from the invention of the bicycle for helmets to be a standard piece of equipment when riding? What would the impact be of applying those same safety precautions to Heelys? How many pre-teens are willing to be caught heeling through the Mall with a Heeling Helmet and wrist and knee pads?

 

As a mode of transportation the use of a Heely is right up there with the Razor Scooter. They are novel ideas that will come and go just as other gimmicks and fashions. In the meantime parents need to educate themselves on what Heelys really are and the inherent hazards associated with them. Then maybe they should contemplate  whether they want their child to be one of these Heelers running down innocent shoppers at the Target or Wal-Mart in their home town.

 Source[msnbc.com]

Those enormously popular foot scooters that kids everywhere (and some young adults) are riding come from several suppliers. Razor is one of the companies - some would say the originals. Razor also makes a miniature electric ride scooter called the Pocket Mod.

As Razor is a supplier to retail giant Wal-Mart, part of their task is to tag their products with RFID (radio frequency identification technology) so that Wal-Mart can track their products in their stores, easily determine when stock is low, and make re-ordering easier.

Razor USA has plans to tag Pocket Mod scooters with RFID technology from ODIN Technologies. They are specifically using EPCglobal’s EPC Gen 2 RFID tags. Razor’s plant will also use technology from Alien Technology, Zebra Technologies, and Symbol.

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