Showing posts with label cars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cars. Show all posts

Thursday, January 15, 2009

A supercar that runs on wind energy ~~~>> buy one for yourself !!


Get ready for a supercar that could reach a top speed of 155mph without harming the environment, for it runs on wind energy.
Designed in California, the environmentally friendly Formula AE car will initially use a solar-powered battery to move, but later depend upon the airflow around it to power a turbine.
The high performance car will take less than four seconds to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph.
The car is expected to cost around 100,000 pounds when it hits the market.
The two-seater's bodywork boasts paper-thin solar panelling that could fully charge the battery in just 1.5 hours.
However, this time will be reduced to just six minutes with a new prototype battery.
A full battery would enable the drivers to cover more than 200 miles or to race around a track for at least an hour.
An advanced alternating current induction motor with a power output of 212 kilowatts will propel the Formula AE.
In fact, the chassis will be constructed from lightweight aluminium and super strong steel in a Formula 1-style monocoque shell. Rory Handel and Maxx Bricklinas from Beverly Hills, California designed the sleek motor of the car, and they expect the prototype to be completed in August.
"The Formula AE car embraces a rarely thought of alternative source of energy," the Telegraph quoted a RORMaxx spokesman as saying.
He said: "The target market would be the sports car, track day, eco-concerned auto-enthusiast. In addition, those enthusiasts who support and would want to promote the future development of revolutionary green technologies."

Friday, January 9, 2009

Now, cars made of coconut husks ~~~>> buy one for urself !!!






Baylor University researchers now have a technology to use coconut fibre as a replacement for synthetic polyester fibres in compression moulded composites. Their goal is to use the fibres to make car parts. 

Researchers at Baylor University have developed a new way to transform coconut husks into automotive interiors.




They say that it is possible to make trunk liners, floorboards and car-door interior covers using fibres from the outer husks of coconuts, replacing the synthetic polyester fibres typically used in composite materials.

“Why coconuts? That’s the first thing people ask,” the Washington Times quoted engineering professor Walter Bradley, who is leading the research, as saying.

“We knew coconuts were abundant — about 50 billion grown a year. But 96% of those coconuts are grown by poor farmers, not big plantations. We wanted to figure out a way to make things better for them, to create a viable new market for them,” Bradley added.

Bradley said that the farmers, an estimated 11 million around the world, make about $500 a year. If the coconut car interiors gain traction, their incomes would triple, he added.

The “mechanical properties” of coconut fibres are as good as or better than synthetic or polyester fibres. They also are less expensive and the stuff of the greenest dreams. “They’re better for the environment because the coconut husks would have otherwise been thrown away. Coconuts also do not burn well or emit toxic fumes, which are crucial in passing 10 safety-performance tests required for commercial applications,” Bradley was quoted as saying.

Various organisations in the United States are giving perks to hybrid and green cars that include parking benefits.

An increasing number of offices, hotels and others are giving drivers of hybrids free or reduced-cost parking or reserved spots closer to entrances, similar to those for the disabled or for pregnant women. They are following at least a dozen cities, which introduced such perks in 2004.