Tuesday, May 24, 2011

New posts from Gas 2.0!

New posts from Gas 2.0!

Artist Inks Visions of Future From Twitter to Smart Car

Posted: 24 May 2011 01:21 PM PDT

What does the future hold? One artist turned to Twitter to find out, and then went about illustrating the collective Twittersphere's vision of the future on to a Smart ForTwo automobile. The future…in motion!

A collaboration between illustrator Johanna Basford and Smart saw the car company ask Twitter to envision, in 140 characters or less, what the future will be like. Then Basford went on to illustrate 150 tweets on to this Smart car, which included quite a few references to the future of alcohol consumption, including an automatic gin and tonic maker. Dog-walking robots were also pretty popular (which amazes me, as I enjoy going for a quick walk with my pint-sized pooch.)

Among the transportation-related suggestions were a hover bed that delivers you to work (hopefully clothed) and a roller-coaster like commuter. I could totally get down with the roller coaster idea, though such an idea as a solution for mass transit has been explored before. All the illustrations were done with Sharpies, which isn't nearly as cool as my chalkboard-covered Mustang, but it is a neat project all in all.

What vision of the future would you like to see come to life on an art car?

Source: Wired via Inhabitat

Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs. You can read about his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout or follow his non-nonsensical ramblings on Twitter @harshcougar.

Swiss ECCO is the Solar-electric RV of the Future

Posted: 24 May 2011 10:00 AM PDT

That shimmering, silvery, tadpole of a car you see up there is the Swiss ECCO, and it’s more than just a funny-looking car.  Indeed, the ECCO is a solar-powered transformer that morphs from electric car to nautilus-inspired, carbon-neutral camper that was conceived by NAU – a team of visionary designers, architects, and (I couldn’t make this up if I tried) Hollywood special-effects artists in order to … I have no idea.

Still, does anyone really need an excuse to develop a bizarrely sensual chrome living pod to cruise the Bonneville salt flats in?  Of course not!  Because it’s there, that’s why!

The ECCO, then, is vaporware, and the “green scene” always gets packed with vaporware when gas prices start climbing.  Usually, these are projects that are so wildly ambitious in concept that they have no chance of becoming real.  While they may seem, initially, to be easily dismiss-able, these pie-in-the-sky ideas are often the first step towards getting the engineers excited and the politicians involved and investors motivated enough to make things real.

So, if you want to cruise the deserts of the future in a vehicle like the ECCO, share this post, email the photos, click the links, talk to your friends, and generally get the word out.  In the meantime, soak up the visuals and try to enjoy the show!

nau1 nau2 nau3 nau4

Source:  NAU, via Motorpasion.

Mercedes to Offer Diesel-electric Hybrid E Class in 2012

Posted: 24 May 2011 06:51 AM PDT

It’s a comment that appears on green-car articles again and again, “Why doesn’t anyone build a diesel hybrid?” and – for the most part – the question has been ignored … until now.  Mercedes-Benz has heard your cries, true-believers, and will begin selling the E300 BlueTEC Hybrid-electric sedan you see here in 2012 … a full year ahead of VW’s TDI hybrid!

I’m excited, obviously, but – considering my opinion of Mercedes’ diesel engines, my time testing the company’s S400 hybrid, and my general Mercedes-V12 fanboyism – I think that’s to be expected.  You, dear readers, should also be excited about a stop-start equipped, clean-burning, full-size luxury sedan with sporting pretensions that punishes its tires with over 450 lb-ft of torque and still manages to give back better than 45 miles-per-gallon.

In other words:  YEE-HA!

Yee-ha?  I’ll admit, that’s a bit simplistic, but this new BlueTEC Hybrid could well be the car that makes diesel the fuel of choice for America’s euro-posers premium sedan buyers, and that accomplishment (followed by the inevitable “trickle-down” of the technology into more mainstream vehicles) would be a big win for everyone.

Source:  Autoblog.
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