Concepts

Raser Technologies will unveil a plug-in hybrid Hummer H3 that gets more than 100 mpg at the SAE World Congress in Detroit on April 20. The project was developed in cooperation with GM and is the "have your SUV and drive it too" answer to automotive industry critics and increasingly environmentally-conscience drivers.

By swapping the Hummer's conventional power plant--typically a V-8 engine--for an electric motor powered by a lithium ion battery, the SUV is transformed from a gas-guzzler to a green machine. The plug-in vehicle can travel up to 40 miles in all-electric mode. After the energy is depleted from the battery, the four-cylinder engine kicks in. However, the four-cylinder engine isn't connected to drivetrain and never turns the wheels of the car--its sole purpose is to recharge the lithium ion battery. … Read more

You got a better idea on how taxis should work? New York City is all ears.

On Tuesday, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) put out a request for information on how it can improve its taxi technology.

The TLC, in conjunction with the Design Trust for Public Space, staged an elaborate display at the New York International Auto Show in 2007 of taxis with innovative ideas on sustainability and design. Now it seems that the TLC wants to ensure that the public is aware of its interest in tech beyond hybrids.

The city's contracts with service providers for its tech tools program--referred to as the Taxicab Passenger Enhancement Program, or T-PEP--expire in about two years. The TLC seems to be shopping for options on how "to enhance the technology systems in each taxicab for the benefit of passengers, drivers, and owners alike," according to the announcement.… Read more

More goodies out of Sony's party bag of patents, this one involving a remote-controlled car that can be navigated using a PlayStation Portable.

While this seems to be merely exchanging the remote for a PSP and goes where cell phones have gone before, it does add an interesting dimension--a camera mounted on top. According to the patent, visual data from the camera is beamed back to the PSP so the user can navigate obstacles or record and save a movie. Which opens up possibilities such as spying on friends carrying out surveillance work. Or even turning this idea into … Read more

On the look out for the weird and the wonderful at the 2009 New York auto show, we saw what we first took for an amphibious car--a high-observation area for the rear-seat passengers looking like the flying bridge of a motor yacht. But the Counter Balance turned out to be a pickup truck concept from an independent designer, a garage-built labor of love. We suspect similar projects can be found all around the country in backyards and work sheds, but the Counter Balance, from Barkan Designs, found its way to the floor of the New York auto show.

The concept … Read more

Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia take the limelight at the 2009 New York auto show, launching a futuristic concept and a sporty coupe. Hyundai's new concept takes a look at what a future crossover model might look like, while Kia takes its recently launched Forte sedan and gives it a performance treatment, taking on front-wheel-drive favorites such as the Honda Civic Si.

Honda and Mitsubishi showed off dog-friendly concept cars at the 2009 New York auto show. The Honda version, built on its Element model, is slated to be offered as a trim option this fall. Honda of North America got the idea for the concept after the pet-friendly Honda WOW was shown at the Tokyo auto show. This concept generated so much interest in the U.S. that Honda developed the idea of making an Element specifically for pet-owners. Mitsubishi had a less-developed concept on display built in its Outlander SUV.

Buzzing around the floor of the 2009 New York auto show, is the PUMA--the result of a collaboration between Segway and GM. We had a chance to ride in the vehicle, an electric-powered two seater. PUMA stands for Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility, and works on similar principles as the Segway Personal Transporter. Where on the Personal Transporter, you lean forward to make it go, the PUMA's steering column has to be pushed, which causes the entire cab to slide to the front and move weight forward, making the PUMA go.

The driver of the PUMA cautioned us to … Read more

Scion concepts are few and far between, so we looked forward to the new one set to drop at the 2009 New York auto show. And drop it did, lowered from the ceiling during the press conference--a hot-looking little car with big wheels. But in this case, the concept was merely a Toyota iQ--a microcar launched a year and a half ago--customized by tuner company Five Axis. If it does come to the U.S., it will probably still be a Scion, but don't expect 18-inch wheels.

If you've ever had a tired cyclist--or worse, a tired driver--careen into your car door as you open it, you'll appreciate a new prototype being developed in Germany. It's a new technology that lets doors resist being opened when they sense an oncoming hazard.

BMW's Michael Graf and a team at the Technical University of Munich are pioneering the project, which uses ultrasonic sensors to detect hazards approaching a vehicle. When they see an oncoming cyclist, or van, or bears, a bar running through the car door prevents it from being opened.

So far, the results … Read more