Screw cars, screw hover crafts, I want the Wing in Ground flying hovercraft. Invented by Rudy Heeman of Nelson, New Zealand it took him 10+ years to build the water/flight vehicle in his garage. He used a variety of parts from all sorts of junked vehicles including a 1.8l Subaru engine to power the machine.
To take flight the WIG must achieve a minimum speed of 40 mph, where upon it will lift off 10 feet into the air carrying a max payload of about 350lbs, or 3 people. Top air speed is 50mph and range is over 100 miles. Because the craft is mostly boat it doesn’t require a pilot’s license, though you must obey boating laws – hello drinking and boating.
The RoboCar G could easily be mistaken for a golf cart, but it’s much more than that. Using a combination of sensors, including stereo cameras, laser rangefinders, radar and sonar, as well as an inertial measurement unit, the diminutive sized vehicle can drive itself and can be controlled wirelessly using a computer.
February 26th, 2010 4:47 AM | by Christen da Costa
Antro’s solar vehicle is far more than meets the eye. Sure it can drive up to 20km per day on solar power alone, but what you can’t see is that the car is modular and according to renders and specs – no actual image were shown – it can be split into two separate smaller vehicles, or conversely combined with another for a six passenger auto. …Continue reading: Antro Solar Vehicle Runs On The Sun’s Rays And Can Be Split In Half
February 25th, 2010 2:40 PM | by Christen da Costa
Honda’s 3 wheeled concept vehicle won’t reach the kind of top speeds we’d obtain from the T-Rex, but it will get you there with a far smaller carbon footprint. The Honda 3R-C will be on show at this year’s Geneva Motor Show and claims to be a zero emission vehicle using an electric, battery powered motor of some sort. The deets are few and far between, but you know as well as we do that this thing will never get built.
February 22nd, 2010 8:59 PM | by Christen da Costa
The T-Rex is a motorcycle in sheep’s clothing. Sure it appears to be a car, but handles like a bike and damn if it doesn’t fly like a bike. Under the hood of the ultra lightweight two seater is a 1400 cc inline 4 cylinder Kawasaki engine that puts out 197hp and 113ft lbs of torque. Unlike the previous model, which included a motorcycle steering and shifting mechanism, the 2010 T-Rex, the 14R, appears to have actual pedals and a steering wheel. 0-60mph: 3.92 seconds.
Pricing for the 14R starts at $52,000, while the 14RR jumps to $56.5k.
TigerDirect.Com has the Garmin Nuvi 285WT Auto GPS for $249.99 – $120 Instant Savings + Free Shipping = $129.99! Sweet features include: 4.3″ Touch Screen Display, SD Card Slot, Text-To-Speech, MSN Direct Compatible, Traffic Ready, North America Maps. Holla.
Available next month, GM’s AutoNet will let you literally install a WiFi hotspot in your car. The unit plus installation will cost $500 and there will be a monthly charge of $30 for a 1GB cap. There is also a 5GB cap offered but no price is known as of now.
The range will last up to a radius of 150 feet away from you car and would be great for camping, tailgating, and beyond. You could even have traveling video game competitions in your SUV while you drive from Inglewood to Compton. Anybody like this product?
For those of you who live and die with your iPhone, now there’s a way for you to actually start your car with your smart phone of choice. Viper has just announced their new iPhone app and vehicle module appropriately titled the Viper Smart Start. From your iPhone you can start your car, turn on the heat, unlock doors and the trunk, and manage the alarm. The app itself is not limited by any certain distance parameters as long as it receives a signal. Sounds crazy right?
So while the App itself is free, the device that needs to be installed into your car is not. Costing somewhere between $300-$500 depending on the make and model of your car, there’s also a annual fee of $30. Available now at BestBuy.
Looking positively swanky, this radar sniffing aftermarket mirror attachment by Cheetah will actually minimize your blind spots as well as alert you to the long arm of the law. Priced at $300 you won’t even be able to tell it’s an add on if you can hide the power cord. It is so concealed that you may find it difficult to locate let alone operate the functions while driving. The mirror digitally displays your speed, the time of day, the closing distance to an enforcement camera with known speed, red light camera intersection locations and it will give you visual and audio alerts upon approach. You can also mark other locations for personal use and keep the mirror up to date by downloading new locations via the Cheetah website. Too bad there aren’t any recording options that track and log your speed so you can use the data later if you have to. Still, looks sweet.
TigerDirect.Com has the Garmin Nuvi 285WT Auto GPS for 
