Cars

657 articles on Cars

• Feds To Begin Testing Connected Vehicles
  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is beginning real-world trials of cars equipped with prototype vehicle-to-vehicle technology, deploying a communication network where cars can talk with one another to increase overall road safety. Starting in August, 2012, the agency will begin gathering data from 3,000 cars equipped with wireless communication technology. Known as The Safety Pilot, ...
  08.23.11

• Chevrolet's Mouse That Roared
  General Motors hails a faux-milestone for the venerable Chevrolet small block V8, one of the best engines ever built.
  08.22.11

• Ford, Toyota Team Up on Hybrid Pickups
  A leader in trucks and a leader in hybrids team up to combine the two in vehicles that can meet tough new fuel-economy regulations.
  08.22.11

• Where Will We Plug In?
  Uncle Sam wants 1 million plug-in vehicles by 2015. Where will we plug them in? Here's a look at the fueling infrastructure of the future.
  08.22.11

• Why the Hell Do You People Still Drive?
  I¿m a journalist. On any given weekday, I¿m scooting around Southern California having meetings, running errands, doing photoshoots and visiting friends. Hollywood, Venice, downtown, Malibu, Pasadena, Long Beach, Orange County, it doesn¿t matter. I¿ve hit them all on the same day. Hell, some days, I¿ll hit them all on the same afternoon. I can do ...
  08.19.11

• Insurance Company Telematics Trade Perks for Privacy
  When State Farm Insurance announced its telematics-based roadside assistance program, everyone said OnStar had gained a new competitor. What didn't get as much attention, however, is that the insurance company also opened an electronic window into your driving habits. The system, called In-Drive, is two small boxes -- one that clips onto your visor, another that ...
  08.19.11

• Electric Ferry Is A Solar Boat To China
  A battery-powered boat covered in solar panels may be plying China's coastal waters and estuaries in less than a year. Faced with crippling traffic on land, China is turning to the water to ease congestion in major cities. BMT Nigel Gee, based in Southampton, UK announced earlier this week they won the contract to design and ...
  08.18.11

• 'Boozer' EV Goes 1,013 Miles on a Charge
  Range is the name of the game for electric vehicles, and researchers in Germany are the new champs. Electro-gearheads at the University of Applied Sciences in Offenburg, in collaboration with other academic groups, sent the Schlucksprecht E (¿heavy drinker¿ or "boozer") around a track for a total of 1013.77 miles on a single charge. The run ...
  08.18.11

• It's Official: Plug-In Cadillac Is Coming
  General Motors has confirmed what we already told you: It will build a Cadillac plug-in hybrid using the Chevrolet Volt's drivetrain, a move that further underscores its commitment to cars with cords. The General announced today that the Cadillac Converj concept has been approved for production, although in keeping with Caddy's alphabet-soup naming it will be ...
  08.17.11

• Boeing 787 Completes Certification Testing
  Boeing announced today it has completed flight testing the Rolls-Royce powered 787 Dreamliner for type certification with the Federal Aviation Administration. The final flight took place Saturday and was a relatively simple simulation of a flight dispatch with a failed generator and failed fuel flow indicator. The 90 minute flight from Billings, Montana back to the ...
  08.17.11

• Portland Rocks Down To Electric Avenue
  In partnership with utility companies and, we imagine, with a little inspiration from Eddy Grant, the city of Portland has unveiled an "electric avenue" where EVs can plug in while parked. Located on the campus of Portland State University, on Southwest Montgomery Street between Southwest Broadway and Southwest Sixth Avenue, the stretch of road features five ...
  08.17.11

• Electric Motorcycle Shoots for Speed Record
  As the final act in what¿s sure to go down as one of the most significant careers in electric motorcycling, Chip Yates wants to set a land speed record. In less than a year, the defense contractor and former racer has achieved performance parity with conventional motorcycles in WERA racing, outpaced liter bikes at the Mojave ...
  08.15.11

• Driving Into the Eye of the Storm at 400 MPH
  The world is an oddly serene place when you're streaking across the salt at 400 mph. You've wrestled your car, if that term applies to a 2,000-horsepower missile, into something approaching submission. The skull-rattling, vision-blurring vibration smoothed out somewhere around 300 mph, so you can see clearly again. It's still a rough ride -- you are ...
  08.15.11

• Cadillac Converj Plug-In Hybrid Is Back. Maybe
  The on-again, off-again story of the super-sexy Cadillac Converj is on again. So says John Voelcker of Green Car Reports, who cites an "inside source, a person close to the project" saying the plug-in hybrid — essentially a tarted-up Chevrolet Volt — is a go. We've heard this a couple of times since General Motors unveiled ...
  08.11.11

• Pagani's Latest Lustworthy Car Comes to America
  PASADENA, California -- If you've ever played Gran Turismo or watched Top Gear, you're familiar with Pagani. The tiny boutique builder builds one of most desirable -- and unattainable -- cars on the planet, the 740-horsepower, carbon-fiber-bodied Pagani Zonda. To real driving enthusiasts, the purity of the Zonda, not the excess of the Bugatti Veyron, ...
  08.10.11

• Who Needs a Smart Grid When You've Got Smart EVs?
  By John Timmer, Ars Technica Although electric vehicles can cost a lot up front, over time the low price of electricity compared to gasoline partly offsets the initial expense. Many utilities, however, are experimenting with demand-response pricing, where the cost of power rises with demand, providing an incentive to shift consumption to times when it's easier ...
  08.10.11

• Flake Is the Furry, Flat-Wheeled Supercar of the Future
  Designer Da Feng got us pumped up with his Gym Car concept. Now, he's penned a design study that uses fake fur for aerodynamic efficiency. The Flake, Feng's latest design, is covered in hinged carbon-fiber pieces. Each one is connected by carbon nanotubes to tiny solenoids that can make them stand up or lay flat, like ...
  08.10.11

• Using Radar To Make Runways Safer
  German researchers have developed a system that uses infrared, optical 2D and 3D cameras and networked radar sensors to continuously scan runways for debris that can damage or even bring down aircraft. The researchers say their method is better than other radar-based systems because it can detect metallic and non-metallic objects. It also works in all ...
  08.10.11

• Q&A;: How an Electric Motorcycle Made Record Time
  By Wes Siler, Hell for Leather San Francisco startup Mission Motors made a little history when factory rider Steve Rapp lapped Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 1 minute, 31.3 seconds. That number is amazing for several reasons. First, it's a track record for an electric vehicle of any kind. Second, the run during qualifying for the TTXGP ...
  08.09.11

• Aussie Hypermilers Shoot For A Record
  John and Helen Taylor are on one hell of a road trip. The couple from Melbourne, Australia hope to set a record for the lowest overall fuel consumption during a drive through all 48 contiguous U.S. states. They're in the midst of the Shell Smarter Driving Tour, a 23-day, 9,600-mile jaunt that must include at least 15 ...
  08.09.11

• 300 MPH Feels Even Better When It's For Charity
  Hitting 300 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats and breaking the AA/Fuel speed record is a worthy goal. Doing so for charity is an even more worthy goal. That's exactly what Team 608 has been doing since 1998, racing lakesters and hot rods while fundraising for cancer, juvenile diabetes and autism research. "Team 608 is self-funded and ...
  08.05.11

• Video: Jay Leno Does First Test of SLS Roadster
  We make no bones about loving the Mercedes-Benz AMG SLS. We've driven it, and few cars so beautifully blend luxury and performance in a package so engaging and rewarding. It's a fantastic car, but the folks at Mercedes-Benz thought it needed something a little more. Or less, actually. So they decided to lop the top, even ...
  08.05.11

• Boeing Completes Certification Flights For New 747-8
  Boeing's biggest cargo airplane ever has finished its planned certification flight testing and is ready for delivery to launch customer Cargolux. After a 17 hour flight outlining it's own name across the United States, the new 747-8 cargo freighter should be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration within a few weeks according to chief program ...
  08.04.11

• RedShift Motorcycles Promise Big, Green Fun
  The latest startup to step into the electric arena says its bike delivers the power of a 250 with no tailpipe emissions.
  08.04.11

• From Sims to Salt, Student-Built EV Targets 400 MPH
  After reaching 307.7 mph on the Bonnevile Salt Flats last year with the student-built Buckeye Bullet 2.5, the student engineers at Ohio State University are starting from scratch to build a battery-powered electric vehicle that can break 400 mph. Their work begins in a virtual wind tunnel. "The third generation electric land speed record vehicle to ...
  08.04.11

• Video: Conquer The 'Ring With Jay Leno
  For a car collector like Jay Leno, who has pretty much everything he wants, finding new toys to play with, or places to to enjoy them, is not easy. But it turns out Leno had never lapped the Nurburgring, one of the most storied tracks in all of racing. Enter Jaguar, which put Leno behind the ...
  08.04.11

• Boeing Flies Giant '747' Pattern Across United States
  It's nice to see flight test engineers having some fun once in a while. The Boeing 747-8 is making its longest flight to date as part of its extended operations testing. The airplane left Paine Field north of Seattle early this morning and isn't expected back until near midnight. The airplane will follow a flight path over ...
  08.02.11