Thursday, January 27, 2011

Gas 2.0

Gas 2.0

Tesla Model X SUV in the Works

Posted: 27 Jan 2011 02:36 PM PST

Every car fanatic should already be familiar with the Tesla Roadster, pretty much the coolest electric car ever. Sometime this year Tesla will be unveiling the Tesla Model X SUV, which could be the “coolest” SUV to hit the market.

Tesla had a big 2010, and 2011 is shaping up alright too. We've finally seen video of the Model S sedan in action, and Tesla has teamed up with Toyota on several projects. Now Tesla is saying it will unveil a Model "X" SUV sometime in 2011, and that four years down the line they will have developed a mainstream electric car costing a mere $30,000.

That would make it half the cost of the Model S, which Tesla CEO Elon Musk had once claimed could cost as little as $20,000. It actually costs closer to $60,000. But if Tesla can actually build an electric car that gets 200 miles of range or more, and make a profit selling it for $30,000, that might be a real turnaround for the company.

Which begs the question, what will the Model X cost? Will it be an aggressively tuned vehicle that puts the "sport" back in SUV, or too loaded with luxury to get out of its own way?

Source: Gigom

Roads as Emissions Eaters?

Posted: 27 Jan 2011 02:27 PM PST

America has over 5.7 million miles of paved roads, and while some of those roads are being left to rot, many millions of miles are in dire need of repair. Could an emissions-eating asphalt help clean the air around us?

Even if you don't own a car, it's nearly impossible to get around without our fast network of roads. Unfortunately, roads require oil and tar and constantly require maintenance and construction. Basically, roads are a one-dimensional, bottomless money pit. But what if we got more bang for our buck?

U.S.-based Pureti, Inc. is working on chemical compounds and surface treatment that reacts with light to absorb nitrogen oxide. The compound is mostly made from naturally-occurring titanium dioxide used to add white pigment in paint. The surface treatment can absorb up to 70% of nitrogen oxide emissions and might also reduce sulfur emissions as well.

This treatment would probably get the most use in areas with heavy traffic, like around Los Angeles and New York. Just another angle from which we can chip away at our global emissions problem. Between this and solar highways, we might some day be driving on some high-tech roads.

Source: CleanTechnica

Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to Hemis. You can follow his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout.

American Team Aims to Reclaim Steam Land Speed Record

Posted: 27 Jan 2011 10:23 AM PST

There are plenty of world records to tackle, but until recently the steam-powered land speed record stood unbroken for decades. Then a British team beat it, and now an American named Chuk Williams is taking his shot at the record.

Chuk Williams, of the U.S. Land Steam Record Team, has outfitted a dragster with a Cyclone steam engine that uses a patent pending design to produce quite a bit of power using water and any kind of fuel you want to feed it, including biofuels. The tiny steam engine in this dragster produces 860 ft-lbs of torque at 1 RPM. Wow.

Interestingly enough, the Cyclone engine can eventually spin up to 3,600 rpm, where it makes 100 horsepower and 140 ft-lbs of torque. Which kind of confuses me, as your normal ICE engine makes more power at high RPM’s before tapering off. I guess I don’t know as much as I’d like to about steam engines, but Williams expects his steam dragster to go 200 mph using the Cyclone engine. That’s awfully fast, even for a lightened dragster, and in part its because the engine only tips the scales at 336 pounds, and it is small enough to fit under the hood of just about any car (hmm…)

The steam-powered British "kettle"

Chuk aims to bring the steam powered land speed record back to America after Britain's "Team Inspiration" took the "worlds fastest kettle" and set a new land speed record of 148 mph. It was piloted by Don Wales, the same fellow who is gunning for the U.K. electric land speed record. Before that, the record was held by Fred Marriott who set a speed record of 127 mph…in 1906!

The big difference between the British "kettle" and William's Cyclone dragster is that the kettle features complicated and intricate plumbing. The Cyclone is simple enough to retrofit to a modern car. Testing is under way, and its not clear when they plan to make a shot at the record. I don't expect everybody to rush out and by steam engines to put under their hoods any time soon, but it does give us another option to help wean ourselves off of oil. And as I’ve said before, racing is a great way to show off different ideas to get around, and I wouldn’t mind a steam-powered car myself. That would stand out at the car show!

Would anybody here like to see a steam-powered project car, and what would you put a steam engine into if you had the choice?

Source: Cyclone

Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to Hemis. You can follow his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout.
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