Craig Henderson’s Canada to Mexico Drive on One Tank of Gas Sets World Record
A guy named Craig Henderson recently drove from Canada to Mexico in a car that got a Guinness World record-breaking 119.1 miles-per-gallon. More impressive, though, is the fact that he never once had to stop to refuel. That's right, Henderson made it all the way from Blaine, Washington to Chulla Vista, Mexico on just one tank of gas, and consumed just 12.4 gallons of diesel along the 1,384-mile trip. Oh yeah, and the car was constructed in 1984.
As Jalopnik explains, Henderson originally designed the car with his partner, Bill Green, as a prototype he hoped to sell. Their commercial aspirations never panned out, but Henderson continued to improve the Avion, fine-tuning its specs with careful attention to weight and aerodynamics. Thanks to its aluminum monocoque frame, the Avion weighs in at just 1500 pounds, and its sleek, aerodynamic body is crafted from carbon, kevlar and fiberglass. As a result, the Avion needs only 3-4 horsepower to maintain a 55 mile-per-hour speed, while a set of Goodyear-sponsored, low rolling resistance 'Fuel Max' tires helps extend its mileage even further.
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Craig Henderson's Canada to Mexico Drive on One Tank of Gas Sets World Record originally appeared on Switched on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Students Attempt Fastest Canada Crossing in Electric VW Beetle
For people of a certain age, the mention of cross-country road trips instantly evokes the memories of youthful hedonism, the fragrances of patchouli and the stench of an old, gas-guzzling Volkswagen van. A group of college students in Canada, however, recently went through the rite of VW road trip passage in a decidedly more eco-friendly way. As Techi reports, members of the Electric Car Club at the University of British Columbia have embarked on a quest to set the record for the fastest cross-country Canadian road trip in an electric car. Their ride of choice? A souped-up 1972 Volkwagen Beetle EV.
To render the car eco-friendly, the team combined a three-phase AC induction motor with a lithium ion phosphate battery, allowing the beast to run for about 185 miles at a speed of 60 mph, or over 340 miles at 30 mph (see it in action here). So far, the eco-explorers have completed about a third of their 4,000-mile long odyssey, and have been documenting ever second of the trip on their blog. The record may be far from sealed, but the UBC team is already looking forward to entering their retro-lectric creation in the Zero Race, an 80-day, round-the-world race for electric vehicles. Even if they don't win the event, they'll certainly win plenty of style points.
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Students Attempt Fastest Canada Crossing in Electric VW Beetle originally appeared on Switched on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Using Wi-Fi, Your Ford Could Soon be as Customizable as Your Phone [Ford]
By loading software onto its vehicles through Wi-Fi, Ford expects to save millions. But this technology could be used to provide drivers the option of handpicking their car's features, much like apps do for smartphones. More
Buckeye Bullet: The Student-Built Electric Vehicle That Topped 300MPH
Photo credit: Venturi
Built by student engineers at Ohio State University's Center for Automotive Research, the all-electric Venturi Buckeye Bullet "achieved an average speed of 307.7 mph during a two-run pass at the Bonneville Salt Flats on Tuesday." Video after the break. Click here for more pictures.
The team is mum on details about the battery pack in Venturi Buckeye Bullet V 2.5, but CAR says it's capable of providing instantaneous power of more than 600 kW. The pack reportedly uses 1,600 cells.
[via Wired]
Link:
Buckeye Bullet: The Student-Built Electric Vehicle That Topped 300MPH
Nissan rep confirms delivery of 25,000 Leaf EVs to US by the end of 2011
Nissan has responded to rumors that high demand for its Leaf EV in Japan could cause the company to limit delivery in the United States to just around 3,000 units by the end of March, 2011. That rumor sprang from comments made by a Mossy Nissan general manager, and luckily for electric vehicle lovers in the States, seem to be wholly untrue. Mark Perry, Nissan's director of product planning says that the statement from Mossy Nissan was "purely speculative," and that product allocation is decided based on customer orders. Furthermore, he says the company is still targeting around 25,000 units for the US by the end of 2011. So now we can all sleep better: the nightmare has seemingly ended.
Nissan rep confirms delivery of 25,000 Leaf EVs to US by the end of 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Priest Drives ‘God Squad’ Car Around Town, Best Buy Threatens to Sue
Father Luke Strand thinks it is a great idea to drive around Fond du Lac, Wisconsin in a VW Beetle with stickers that look exactly like those on Best Buy's Geek Squad cars, except for one thing: his stickers read "God Squad." Best Buy didn't find this to be cute, but instead a violation of its ...
Filed under: Car Tech
Priest Drives 'God Squad' Car Around Town, Best Buy Threatens to Sue originally appeared on Switched on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 07:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Tata bringing two all-electric cars to a Europe near you by March
First of all, don't worry, the spontaneously combusting Nano isn't among the pair of newly Euro-bound EVs from Tata. Going slightly more upmarket, the Indian company will be launching the Indica Vista EV hatchback for eco-conscious Brits and Scandinavians early next year, alongside the somewhat less exciting Ace, a commercial mini-truck. The Indica Vista has clearly had a few trials and tribulations in coming to market in an all-electric form, having originally been promised to Norwegian tree huggers for 2009, so let's just hope that this schedule is the one that sticks. It's about time this whole EV movement got some more affordable options.
Tata bringing two all-electric cars to a Europe near you by March originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 09:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Swedish Driver, Eluding Radar, Faces Up to $962K Ticket for Driving 180 MPH
Before your author relocated to New York, he had incurred exactly one speeding ticket, for driving 80 mph in the express lane of a 65 mph highway. The California Highway Patrol officer involved -- who, your author feels it is important to point out, was no even-tempered Erik "Ponch" Estrada -- angrily, if not threateningly, berated him for the danger he posed to other drivers on the road. Without diminishing your writer's offense, we wonder what that CHiP might think of the Swedish leadfoot who was just caught driving 180 mph along a Swiss motorway.
Coasting down the road in his black, 570-horsepower Mercedes-Benz, the Swedish driver needed almost a half mile of road to slow his car to a full stop. Having possibly set the Swiss record for most flagrant speeding offense, the man faces a fine of up to a million Swiss francs, or $962,000. Swiss speeding fines are based on the severity of the offense and the offender's income level; MSNBC notes that a millionaire who plowed through a sleepy Swiss village at 60 mph in January received a $290,000 penalty.
Continue reading Swedish Driver, Eluding Radar, Faces Up to $962K Ticket for Driving 180 MPH
Filed under: Car Tech
Swedish Driver, Eluding Radar, Faces Up to $962K Ticket for Driving 180 MPH originally appeared on Switched on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Mercedes SLS AMG and Isle of Man take center stage in ‘world’s fastest 3D car film’
Frankly, you could've stopped at "Mercedes SLS AMG" and "Isle of Man," but toss in ex-Formula 1 driver David Coulthard, a litany of 3D cameras, helicopters and a closed section of the Mountain Road... and well, you've got magic in the making. The crew here set out to create the "world's fastest 3D film," and honestly, we aren't in any position to doubt 'em. We're also guessing that this 4 minute and 2 second masterpiece will be looped in Benz dealerships around the world, and for good reason. Word has it that the clip will be shown on Sky 3D across the pond, but there's no telling when it'll grace three-dee screens in North America and beyond. While we wait, feast your senses on the 2D version just beyond the break.
Continue reading Mercedes SLS AMG and Isle of Man take center stage in 'world's fastest 3D car film'
Mercedes SLS AMG and Isle of Man take center stage in 'world's fastest 3D car film' originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
First Public Quick-Charge Station Isn’t All That Public
Portland General Electric (PGE) and NEC unveiled what they've billed as "North America's first public-use, quick-charge station for electric vehicles" yesterday. Governor Ted Kulongoski helped to juice up a yet-to-be-released Nissan LEAF at the station, which will charge lithium-ion-battery-based vehicles to 80-percent of their capacity in 20 to 30 minutes. "The station was awarded public-use certification by the City of Portland," according to the press release, and is located in the parking garage of PGE's headquarters. So convenient!
Still, the charging station sets a precedent for other cities considering public vehicle-charging programs. (And we guess there's no better place to start than a corporate car-park?) No word yet on if and when NEC and PGE plan to roll out more of the 50-kilowatt-output stations to the rest of the city, but hopefully the next one will be in a really accessible place like a landfill, or the bottom of a river. Check out a video of the unveiling at the link. [From: Engadget]
Filed under: Car Tech, Green Tech
First Public Quick-Charge Station Isn't All That Public originally appeared on Switched on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.