For cars to become eco-friendly in the years ahead and for the threat of global warning to diminish, the technology and development of green vehicles will have to be far superior to anything we might see in existence at present.

I was set on this thinking pattern when at the Frankfurt Auto Show and one of the companies was demonstrating how the brain of a 'state of the art' electric car should work.

The brain has got to be good, brilliant or even genius. Controlling data communications between vehicles, battery switching stations, and electric utilities will have to effectively be designed to save the world from greenhouse gases. And similarly the power consumed by the brain and its electronic nervous system, as well as actually driving, will have to be an absolute minimum.

Wow - what a challenge us humans have. We want to drive about at speed while consuming virtually no power and not causing atmospheric pollution or anything that causes polar ice cap melting. In fact, we need to reverse global warming.

A company called Better Place - a global provider of electric vehicle services - is apparently becoming the world leader in making brains for electric cars. Owner Shai Agassi is confident of his invention saying, "This will be remembered as the equivalent to the introduction of the Ford Model T."

That Ford introduction ensured petrol-driven cars became mass market. Shai expects his car brains to start being installed into cars in time for a test of the complete transportation system in Israel planned for 2010. By 2011, consumers should have access to the technology. You read about the future first at Hoot, the car insurance website for young drivers.

Electric brains - Life without oil

# posted by Fuse @ 8:09 AM  0 Comments

Hoping to smash the land speed record, RAF fighter pilot Andy Green is designing a rocket powered car with a jet engine powerful enough to reach 1,000mph (1,610km/h).

Named the 'Bloodhound car', Green is currently trying to develop the optimum shape to reach the target 0 to 1,000 mph in less than 50 seconds while staying on the ground throughout.

Currently Green and his team are working on producing an engineering mock up so that they can test the control software and systems. The car is expected to contain state of the art technology with three on board computers to monitor and control the jet, rocket and hydraulics.

Cross between a race car and a spaceship, the car is hoped to be a faster and more modern version of the Thrust SSC which became the first car to officially break the sound barrier with its land speed record of 763mph back in 1997. If the Bloodhound succeeds in meeting its speed potential, it will have no trouble beating the Thrust SSC's record to become the fastest car in the world.

# posted by Fuse @ 7:37 AM  0 Comments

In need of a taxi but not in the mood for the banter? A new driverless taxi has been unveiled which could just solve your problems.

The futuristic looking pod which looks like something out of a Sci-Fi movie is set to be launched at Heathrow airport next year to transport passengers from terminal to terminal.

If successful, the driverless pod is hoped to reduce traffic jams, petrol fumes and the crowds on buses as people can just jump on the battery-powered four-seater cab, select their destination from a screen and press the start button to set the pod in motion.

The taxis will have their own narrow roads to follow around cities, much like tram lines today. With top speeds of 25mph, they have little chance of ever gaining the reputation that today's taxis have for speeding and generally breaking the rules of the road.

Unsurprisingly, the inventor behind the battery-powered bubbles, Professor Martin Lowson, has a background in space travel and worked on the Saturn V Rocket.

However after a night out on the tiles, the one thing I always look forward to other than a plate of greasy chips, is setting the world to rights with the taxi man.

[Image © jtbarrett via Flickr, under Creative Commons Licence]

# posted by Fuse @ 7:52 AM  0 Comments

Shock and gore is probably the only way to describe a graphic police film produced to persuade young drivers not to text on mobile phones while at the wheel. Worryingly, about half of all drivers aged 18 to 24 currently do text while driving.

A group of teenage girls are seen driving along in a Ford Ka, smiling and chatting, as the driver starts to text a boyfriend.

Within a few seconds of the information film starting, the Ford Ka steers into traffic travelling in the opposite direction and screams are heard as the vehicle crashes.

Viewers see in graphic detail an horrific multiple smash - the girls hit the windscreen and dashboard. The head of one passenger snaps back and hits a side window, smashing it to smithereens.

Blood is everywhere. The film, made by Gwent police, then shows help arriving and the emergency services taking over at the accident scene to cut battered bodies out of mangled wreckage and airlift the injured to hospital.

Research shows that reading and writing texts impairs driving more than drugs or drink, slowing reaction times by as much as 35%. Texters drift out of traffic lanes, driving performance was poor and steering control became worse.

If you were ever thinking about texting while driving, you'll not want to consider it after watching this film. You won't want to risk putting lives in danger. And the film will have done its job.

# posted by Fuse @ 8:20 AM  0 Comments