Wind Helmet concept would recharge batteries while riding on 2 wheels
Click above for a gallery of the Wind Helmet We’ve seen lots of interesting ideas to generate electricity in our quest to locate story material for our blogging duties, but, as far as we can remember, this is the first helmet we’ve ever seen that’s designed to recharge batteries. The theoretical headgear would feature a small propeller that would catch the flow of wind over the motorcyclist’s helmet, acting as a turbine connected to a small generator that can recharge a set of batteries. From that point, the stored electricity could be used by any number of electronic devices, like cell phones or iPods. There’s no doubt that some thought went into this design, but we’re not so sure it’d be a good idea in practice. A small generator connected to one of the bike’s wheels would certainly be more efficient; alternatively, a small array of solar panels could gather as much energy without putting a drag on the bike’s engine. Gallery: Wind Helmet concept [Source: Core 77 via Motorcycle.com ] Auto Blog: Etc. , On Two Wheels , Green Daily Wind Helmet concept would recharge batteries while riding on 2 wheels originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 19:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green
Car Blog Greenthe original:
Wind Helmet concept would recharge batteries while riding on 2 wheels
Top Gear America’s Project Sipster adds 2003 TDI engine to 1981 Rabbit
Click above and scroll down to watch the video Project Sipster is underway. This conversion of a 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit into a fast and frugal 70 mpg diesel car is Top Gear America’s way of saying hello to the revived eco-car mindset. In the latest installment of the series, the Rabbit gets an engine transplant courtesy of CWS Tuning in Regina, Canada. One way to help boost the Rabbit’s original 50 mpg up to 70, is to mismatch a transmission from a 1998 TDI to the donor engine from a 2003 Jetta TDI in order to increase the gear ratio. CWS Tuning mechanic Cam Waugh should be able to do this, but it’ll be no easy task. But why let me describe the muddle that they’re making of things when Top Gear America has already written everything up nice and neat – oh, and provided a video as well. You can watch it after the jump and be very glad you’re not responsible for patching all this up. [Source: Top Gear America ] Continue reading Top Gear America’s Project Sipster adds 2003 TDI engine to 1981 Rabbit Auto Blog: Diesel , MPG , Volkswagen , Green Daily Top Gear America’s Project Sipster adds 2003 TDI engine to 1981 Rabbit originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 05 Mar 2009 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green
View post:
Top Gear America’s Project Sipster adds 2003 TDI engine to 1981 Rabbit
Posted in Auto Green | 
a-small-array, bike, cam waugh, camwaugh, design, motorcyclist, projectsipster, small-propeller, topgear, topgearamerica, topgearus, wind helmet, windhelmet, windpower | 
Leave a commentGeneva Preview: Lotus to unveil Omnivore concept engine
Next week at the Geneva Motor Show , Lotus Engineering will unveil its Omnivore concept engine. As the name implies, the Omnivore is designed to consume whatever is fed to it. The Omnivore is a flex fuel engine that is designed to extract the maximum amount of work regardless of what type of fuel is used. One of the main issues with flex-fuel engines is that the various fuels have different combustion characteristics (burn rates, octane ratings combustion temperatures) and it’s difficult to get a single engine to run at optimal efficiency with different fuels due to the physical limitations of the engine. Turbocharged engines have an advantage because the maximum boost pressure can be varied to take advantage of higher octane alcohol fuels. The Omnivore is specifically designed to take advantage of varying fuels and modern electronic control capabilities. Like most research engines, this is a single cylinder design that allows the Lotus engineers to more quickly make changes and study the effects. This is also a two-stroke design with an air assisted direct injection system provided by Orbital Corporation of Australia. Those interested in two-strokes may remember Orbital from the early nineties when a number of manufacturers were investigating two-stroke engines. The concept engine uses a mono-block layout with a single hunk of metal comprising the cylinder block and head and no poppet valves. Instead the ports are exposed by the piston’s motion. Variations in timing between intake and exhaust are achieved by valve in the exhaust port that traps the exhaust. The lack of poppet valves allows for the installation of a movable puck in the top of the cylinder that allows for a variable compression ratio. Sensors that detect the fuel composition are tied into the engine management and the compression ratio is varied to get the most out of the fuel under various driving conditions. The goal of the project is to allow engines to go as far as possible on every gallon fuel regardless of the fuel type. Ultimately this design should even be able to accommodate diesel-like HCCI combustion . [Source: Lotus] Continue reading Geneva Preview: Lotus to unveil Omnivore concept engine Auto Blog: Flex-Fuel , MPG , Lotus , Geneva Motor Show Geneva Preview: Lotus to unveil Omnivore concept engine originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green
Car Blog Greenthe original here:
Geneva Preview: Lotus to unveil Omnivore concept engine
Carl’s Corner biodiesel truck stop finally reopens; Willie Nelson is on hand
It’s been a long time coming, but the Carl’s Corner Biodiesel Truck Stop is finally up and running. We heard about the plans to add serious biodiesel infrastructure, a hotel and a golf course (all for a cool $5 million) to the iconic Texas refueling station back in 2006 . The station already sold some biodiesel (even made their own ) and the plan was to open the expanded experience time for New Year’s 2007. Well, that didn’t happen. But, following a soft launch back in December, Willie’s Place at Carl’s Corner Truck Stop is now ready for business. The hotel and golf course are not mentioned in the press release announcing the grand opening this week, but 12 diesel/biodiesel fueling lanes for tractor-trailers (including a wide load island) and other cool additions like a saloon and a theater are now open. Performing at the 500-seat venue tonight will be Willie Nelson, a strong biodiesel advocate and friend of Carl. The truck stop is 50 percent owned by Earth Biofuels . [Source: Earth Biofuels via Domestic Fuel ] Image by Bob Jagendorf . Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0. Auto Blog: Biodiesel Carl’s Corner biodiesel truck stop finally reopens; Willie Nelson is on hand originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green
See the original post here:
Carl’s Corner biodiesel truck stop finally reopens; Willie Nelson is on hand
Posted in Auto Green, Biodiesel | a-golf-course, a-soft-launch, carlscorner, design, electric car, entry, texas, truck stop, truckstop, willienelson | Leave a commentSolar-powered pontoon boat gets official thumbs up w/video
The Sunrider 6,2 , a solar-powered pontoon boat by Navgathi Marine Design & Constructions Pvt. Ltd., has received a hearty endorsement from Malcom Moss, president of the Electric Boat Association UK . The 10-passenger craft, currently undergoing trials in India, gave Moss a taste of its charms during a trip on the river. Powered by two Torqeedo electric motors, the environmentally friendly vessel beat expectations by powering its way a shade over six knots while going against the current. After the ride Mr. Moss said of the Sunrider, “This boat is competent in performance, efficiency, style and finish.” To supply its batteries with electricity, the boat sports five solar panels capable of generating 900 watts. The hulls were designed with the aid of the latest software and are shaped to provide a compromise between carrying capacity and speed. The solar boat is meant as the first in a series of such craft. The company is also working on a fast four-person design as well as 20- and 40-passenger vessels. With its launch scheduled a little later this month, you can track their progress on their blog . Hit the jump for a couple videos of solar-powered pontoons in action. [Source: Navgathi Marine Design & Constructions Pvt. Ltd ] Continue reading Solar-powered pontoon boat gets official thumbs up w/video Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Solar , Transportation Alternatives , India Solar-powered pontoon boat gets official thumbs up w/video originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 18 Feb 2009 11:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green
Car Blog Greenmore from the original source:
Solar-powered pontoon boat gets official thumbs up w/video
Fiat 500 Convertible revealed!
After a brief tease , the convertible version of the retro-cute Fiat 500 has been revealed before its official upcoming Geneva Motor Show debut. Taking a cue from the Cinquecento of yore , the canvas top slides back to open up a view of the sky yet leaves the outer portion of the roof intact, helping maintain body rigidity. Although the design does appear to limit rearward visibility somewhat, the boot gets to maintain its top-up storage capacity. When it reaches showroom floors in Europe this Spring, buyers will have the same engine choice as the hardtop; a turbo diesel or two tiny gas sippers. It will also keep the ” start&stop ” system that helps it get 40-some mpg in the city. It is not known for sure if the 500C will make it to America but if it does (and the roof doesn’t leak), it is likely to garner a huge following. Full press release after the break. [Source: Fiat ] Continue reading Fiat 500 Convertible revealed! Auto Blog: MPG , Fiat , Europe/EU Fiat 500 Convertible revealed! originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 13:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green
Posted in Auto Green | a-brief-tease, a-friend-via, america, chevyvolt, city, design, entry, europe, fiat 500c, fiat500c, retro, spring, volt | Leave a commentTh!nk City nominated for Brit Insurance Designs of the Year
Click above for a gallery of the Th!nk City A nomination does not a win make, but the team over at Th!nk must be happy about anything positive these days . The town crier came in with news that the Th!nk City has been nominated for a Brit Insurance Designs of the Year award, hosted by the Design Museum in London. Like the iQ before it , the nomination means that the all-electric City vehicle will be on display in the museum until the middle of June. British designer Sebastian Conran nominated the city EV and said the City was, “Cute-but-purposeful, it exudes ‘form, follows function’ and fashion too.” Oh, and let’s not forget that it moves well . Other nominations of note for AutoblogGreen readers include the Greenbird vehicle , Better Place’s charging stations and Daimler’s Car2Go smart fortwo sharing service. See the full list of Transport nominees after the jump. Gallery: Think City in action [Source: Th!nk , Brit Insurance Designs of the Year ] Continue reading Th!nk City nominated for Brit Insurance Designs of the Year Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Th!nk (Think) Th!nk City nominated for Brit Insurance Designs of the Year originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Sat, 14 Feb 2009 17:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green | Car Blog Green
Car Blog Greenthe original here:
Th!nk City nominated for Brit Insurance Designs of the Year
Posted in Auto Green | a-friend-via, a-win-make, chinese, design, entry, insurance, london-like, marketing, moshe-kaplinsky, nomination, year | Leave a commentBrace of Aptera spotted in the wild, dimensions measured!
Auto Blog: EV/Plug-in , Aptera , USA While waiting to make its public debut tomorrow at the Technology, Entertainment, Design ( TED ) conference tomorrow, the pre-production Aptera 2e was chillin’ with its Typ-1 prototype brother in a nearby parking garage. Coincidentally, an Aptera fan named Josh just happened to be hanging out in the same garage with a camera and a tape measure. The birds in question were being watched by a security guard with strict orders not to let anyone touch them. Luckily, no one mentioned photography or measuring tapes and so the fancier went to work, careful not to come into physical contact with the vehicles. As you can see from the many photos in the gallery below, the newer 2e is quite a bit, though subtly, different than the original. The nose is closer to the ground while its back seems to have a sexier curve that’s amplified by the window that extends further down its spine. As far as the measurements go, the interloper recorded a width of 91 inches (7 feet 7 inches). The other measurements couldn’t be taken as precisely but the height of the 2e seemed to be about 52 inches with a length of approximately 14 feet, 10 inches. We suspect video of the craft may appear soon, since we’ve heard rumors that Aptera fans will be hiding behind grassy knolls along the demonstration ride route. Gallery: Aptera Typ-1 and 2e together [Source: Josh at Aptera Forum ] Brace of Aptera spotted in the wild, dimensions measured! originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green|Car Blog Green
Car Blog Greenthe original:
Brace of Aptera spotted in the wild, dimensions measured!
Posted in Auto Green | a-friend-via, a-reality-later, a-tape-measure-, aptera, aptera-forum, design, entertainment, layoffs-at-tata, measurements, technology, ted | Leave a commentGet Approved!
Recent Comments