The future of Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles is beginning to brighten
thanks to the unveiling of Honda's at home refueling station. However,
this won't solve the problem of taking a road trip with a hydrogen
powered vehicle. To pick up where the at home solution leaves off, a
company called SunHydro has drafted a plan to build stations along
major highways in the US.
While many automakers are still looking into gasoline electric vehicles
or diesel electric vehicles for the future of our vehicles, Honda has
remained faithful to the Hydrogen Fuel Cell. This decision was made
while being well aware of the problems they will face when trying to
develop a useable fueling infrastructure. Now, they have developed a
new fueling station that may make this transition even easier.
Sometimes in order to stand out from the crowd, the business just needs to break out of the mould and shake things up a little. Unfortunately, sometimes an image revamp can come with substantial costs, unless you use the power of networking.
With so much attention being put on the upcoming Toyota FT-86, it
should come as no surprise that the parent automaker is also working on
an aftermarket performance division to boost sales even more. What
makes this news even more exciting is that the automaker may also be
using the new department to build full models.
Early in the 2nd quarter of 2009, Jaguar/Land Rover received a massive
chunk of funding from the European Investment Bank to help offset the
costs of developing more fuel efficient vehicles. Since then the
Engineers have been working tirelessly to get the new concepts from
paper to production, a goal that will be realized with the introduction
of the hybrid electric XJ Sedan.
It should come as no surprise that the upcoming Chicago Auto Show will
once again be dominated by the hybrid variety. While many will be
updated versions of previously introduced models, Kia is planning on
using Chicago to introduce their recently teased Ray Concept.
Rumors of a hybrid driven Lancer Evolution have been flying around
since October of last year. This is mostly thanks to the MX-MiEV
concept that was built on the same platform as the all wheel drive
legend. Now, a few more details have been released that could mean
production for the hybrid variant.
Infotainment systems are slowly but surely becoming just as common as
air conditioning in today's vehicles, and for a good reason. As we
become more dependent on new technologies, it only makes sense that we
want to use them all the time. Advancements like these are likely why
Kia has introduced their UVO system.
It seems like all of the world's automakers these days are beginning to
realize the potential of smaller turbocharged engines. Thankfully, this
rarely comes at the expense of performance, making them extremely
versatile when it comes to sportier models. Volvo has given us yet
another example of this with their latest GTDi Engine.
Having your driver's license suspended or revoked is a serious matter.
Even more serious is the number of people who have had this happen and
then successfully applied for another in a different state or even
county in some instances. The Australian Police have developed a new
computer system to help cut down on these occurrences which could
eventually make its way into the US.
As expected, Audi has given us another upgrade to their constantly
improving Multi Media Interface for the New Year. This iteration
features not only a more impressive visual experience, but will also
include a 3 Dimensional representation of buildings and landmarks.
One of the most often posed complaints surrounding electric vehicles is
the look. While they may be much friendlier to the environment, some
people just can't get over the styling. The new Trexa modular vehicle
platform solves this problem by letting a buyer custom design their own
all electric vehicle.
BMW's ActiveHybrid lineup has been slowly but surely expanding to
encompass nearly every size of vehicle offered by the Bavarian Auto
Maker. While the 3-Series ActiveHybrid will likely be enough for much
of the market, BMW has also decided to redesign a 5-Series to offer a
slightly more upscale variant.
Audi is no stranger to the premium segment of cars. Much of their
line-up has redefined the benchmark for other automakers to meet at one
time or another, and their recently redesigned S4 is no different.
However, they have also been working to develop the first compact
vehicle to be slated in the premium segment, which they now plan on
unveiling at the Geneva Motor Show.
We all know that the key to selling a high value product is to be able
to predict what the masses will want next. A few years back, Ford did
just that by introducing the SYNC Infotainment System. Since then, they
have been steadily improving it both by upgrading the system itself and
adding new things to it. The latest of these additions, the MyFord
Touch Driver Connect System, promises to offer even more
personalization and information to the driver than ever before.
The Internet as the ecosystem of our lives is expanding beyond the
confines of desktops and mobile devices to connect with actual things
that take up space in our world. Back in February, 2009, I predicted
that by 2020 appliances, vehicles, buildings and smart homes will be
able to start talking with one another. Well that Internet of Things' timetable might have just been moved up a decade as a result of what one company is doing with this new technology.
After failing in their first attempt to introduce a model smaller than
the 3-Series, BMW successfully introduced the both the 128i and 135i to
American soil in 2008. Since then, the 1-Series has been able to
collect a substantial fan-base, thanks in large part to the sporty
135i. Now, BMW is planning on expanding even more on the 1-Series
lineup, both by improving performance and fuel economy.
Yes. You read right. You've heard that
cell phones distract drivers. Now, for the first time, a study has
proven that driving distracts a driver from those cell phone conversations!
At last year’s Frankfurt Auto Show, Audi introduced the high performance all electric E-Tron Concept to the world. Since then, they have been working on a similar vehicle that could serve as a starting point for Audi’s upcoming Plug-In Hybrid Lineup.
After the obligatory waiting period since first being mentioned, Toyota
has finally taken the cover off of their upcoming MR2 based Hybrid
Sports Car. While the design seems to make perfect sense with what
consumers are asking for, the name currently being used leave something
to be desired.