Category: Vehicles
Smart Car monster truck – lots of fun to drive, not quite so easy to park
I haven’t wanted to own a monster truck since I was seven – not, that is, until I saw this footage of one made out of a Smart car.
Curb your teenage tearaway with Ford's MyKey
New MyKey technology, developed by Ford, will be rolling out next year. The development will allow parents to put limits on their kids’ driving. They can put speed restrictions in place, give fuel warnings, or prevent kids from using the radio until their seatbelt is fastened.
The full listing of features is over the jump, but as someone who has never driven, teenage or otherwise, the only message this sends is mistrust of your poor kids. Unless you have a particularly troublesome kid, this seems remarkably unnecessary. Speeds artificially limited? Reduced radio volume? If you don’t trust them not to exceed 80mph, then why let them drive at all?
Jaguar motorbike takes branding to the next level
Pictured above is a new very high-concept motorbike (or “bike”, to use the street slang) by Jaguar, turning it’s corporate logo into something that can do something more useful than merely “synergise the brand”.
Make your own mini-Segway with an Arduino
This one fits firmly into the hobbyist category, but a bloke on a set of message boards has managed to create a little mini-Segway using parts worth about thirty quid or so. All it consists of is some Lego and an Arduino…
Japan set to cross another invention off Arthur C. Clarke's list – sets aside £5bn for "space elevator"
A mere 30 years after Arthur C. Clarke first mooted the idea of running super-thin, lightweight cables into space and tethering them to a satellite in his book The Fountains of Paradise, Japanese scientists reckon they’re ready to bring all the parts together and make it happen.
For a relatively low in space travel terms bill of £5bn, the boffins think they’re close to solving the carbon nanotube technology issue that could make the existence of 22,000 mile-long cables possible. That amount of rope or even Ethernet cable…
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a dick on some skates.
There’s been a number of attempts to invent new ways to commute over the years. There was the famously laughable Sinclair C5, the famously laughable Segway, and now designers have come up with some wheels that you put your feet in – dubbed the “CenterSkates”.
They seem to be basically a hybrid of skateboards and roller skates, in that they combine the convenience of having two separate components that you can relatively easily store in a bag and the frustration of having to ride them like a skateboard…
Get to work in 1 minute and 12 seconds on China's new bullet train
My bus to work currently takes me about 50 minutes – a distance of about 5 miles. Using my good old physics A-level, that means it travels at about 6.5mph. That’s rubbish. Walking is about 3mph. This train, however, would shorten my commute somewhat…
DJ Mobile is a set of speakers with a built-in car
You’ve got to admire the Dutch. Besides having some of the most lenient marijuana laws in the world, they also make some amazing cars. This particular model boasts 14 speakers, from woofers to tweeters, and you can bet it makes quite a racket. It’s actually a piece of artwork, designed so that it can be driven somewhere, and then decks hooked up on top as a portable soundsystem. Oh, and it’s available to rent.
BBC to put Top Gear on YouTube. Let's hope Richard Hammond doesn't crash your browser.
Some say that his 19th century views on environmentalism and global warming are pushing millions of viewers down the path of climate change scepticism, and some say that his incendiary views are designed to cause a stir and causes people like me to write about them… all we know is that he’s called Jeremy Clarkson.
If you’re a fan of party-political broadcasts for the Conservative party presented by ill-informed controversialists who probably do actually use the phrase “political correctness gone mad” without irony, then you’ll be delighted to hear that the BBC has launched a Top Gear YouTube channel.
Quantum of Solace product placement update – Ford signs on to promote its new Ka
The imminent 90-minute product advertisement that is Quantum of Solace has just got a little more rammed with unique marketing opportunities, thanks to car-maker Ford signing on to feature its products in the movie-cum-advert.
So as well as whoring himself dry by using a Sony Ericsson C902 to phone HQ every few minutes, Bond will also be looking on approvingly as love interest Camille rolls up in a gold Ford Ka…
