Looking oh so Aston Martin the Lightning GT electric car puts the Tesla to shame. Ok, ’shame’ maybe a little extreme, but if it really can travel 200 miles on a 10 minute charge than slap me silly and start sending me your pennies so I can buy one in 10,000 years - it’s got the equivalent of 700 horses under the hood. The batteries used, which come from a company call Altairnano, say the nano-titanate batteries have a 12+ year life expectancy and will retain 85% of their ability within 15,000 charge cycles.
Sometimes when I drive my VW GTI, I wish I had some of the finer features found on higher end cars. One of them: an auto dimming rear view mirror. Well, looks like now I can, thanks to Alpha Mirror. The device attaches to most rear view mirrors - in just 30 seconds - and comes to us by way of military technology. That’s right, this tech was apparently developed for fighter pilots. Just pop in the batteries and clip it to your rear view and you’re good to go.
Comes in a variety of colors and available here for $139.
One too many times I’ve seen dogs furiously panting away in the car on a hot summer day while their owner carelessly shops in air conditioned bliss. So if you’re of the forgetful, or just not aware of the temperature, do your dog a favor and get one of these. The Hotdog Temperature Monitor wires into your vehicle and when the mercury crosses a threshold the device will roll down the windows accordingly and alert it’s owner by flashing the car’s lights and horn. There’s even an optional pager that can receive notifications up to a mile away, which doubles as an intrusion alarm when paired with an optional sensor.
Jeep’s newest Grand Cherokee is geek teched out, relatively speaking for Chrysler that is. Included in the package is MyGig infotainment system and features MP3 playback, Bluetooth, and a 20GB hard drive and DVD player. Another nice touch is something called Hill Descent which prevents the vehicle from rolling back on hills.
This first thing that popped into my mind was “how’s the cornering on this thing”. What you see is a stretched 2000 Ferrari 360, which seats about 8 people. What’s really cool is its two giant electric gull wing doors that allow easy access for you and all your drunk friends - or perhaps the easy road side puke when you’re renting this bad boy for $1400/hour. Currently it’s on sale for $300,00.
I can’t think of a practical application for this radio controlled Spy Car, but it sure does look cool. Mounted on the vehicle is a video camera and microphone that’s wirelessly transmits back to the remote control where the action can be reviewed on its 1.5″color screen with speaker. Spying at night? No problem. The camera even includes night shot and remote angle adjustment for those tough to get up the skirt shots. Unfortunately, no recording capability, but nothing a little modification can’t take care of. Range: about 180 feet and will work through walls.
What looked to be a Honda Sol (ya, remember those hideous things) is now an X-Wing fighter - or A-wing - minus the wings. The R2 unit and cockpit details are beyond geekdom.
So it’s not like the whole car transforms, but at least it’s more than meets the eye, right? As you can see, the Skoda Twindoor, based on the VW Passat incorporates two different trunk styles into one car: hatchback and the good old regular trunk style found in sedans. The multi-hinged trunk won’t increase cubic space, but should make it easier to shove thing in and out.
With a purported 700hp, the Lightning GT might be the most powerful all electric vehicle to hit the consumer market. Its body is crafted from carbon fiber and Kevlar, and can hit 0 - 60 in 4 seconds. No word on range, but the package includes a home and optional mobile charging device, anti-lock brakes, traction control, central locking, alarm, electric windows, optional nav and air conditioning. No mention of air bags, though. Hmm, is this another Tesla like rumor gone wrong? A $30,00 deposit will get you in line for the Lightning GT’s second half of ‘08 release.
Bang and Olufsen unveiled its newest Soundstage car stereo setup for the Audi Avant A4 today. Through True Image Digital Signal Processing they’ve managed to turn 2 channels into a virtual 7.1 surround sound experience. Utilizing a microphone placed between the driver and shotgun seats, the system adjusts volume and equalization according to road and engine noise. Sound can be optimized for each passenger in the car through fine tuning of the systems 14 loudspeakers, 10 amplifier channels which are powered by 505 total watts.
accordingly and alert it’s owner by flashing the car’s lights and horn. There’s even an optional pager that can receive notifications up to a mile away, which doubles as an intrusion alarm when paired with an optional sensor.
