Good news, everyone! The target date for Toyota’s Prius plug-in hybrid (PHEV) is slightly less out of reach than the 2012 window we heard prior: according to Autoblog, it’s now set for late 2011 and the price is deemed “affordable.” Back to the present, as a tease to the world at large, the company’s planning [...]

This is quite an unusual device! Corbin Dunn, a computer programmer and mountain unicyclist, built this two-person unicycle. Alas, he lost a blog post about the construction of it, but his site filled with interesting pictures of his many unusual hobbies….

Airbags have evolved from being in cars to on cars, so it’s only natural that airbags in aircraft should be making the trip outside. NASA’s Subsonic Rotary Wing Project is attempting to make autorotation landings a little bit softer by slapping a pair of expandable kevlar cushions between the skids, and the first test was [...]

SpaceShipTwo being carried up to a high altitude by WhiteKinightTwo
A spacecraft designed to rocket wealthy tourists into space as early as 2011 was unveiled Monday in what backers of the venture hope will signal a new era in aviation history. The long-awaited glimpse of SpaceShipTwo marks the first public appearance of a commercial passenger spacecraft. [...]

General Motors Co, battling for survival for much of the past year, has cut loose designers to sketch out a vision of the ultimate youth car of the future — a virtual one-wheeled wonder that would match wits with its driver. (Pics)
 

Amatoya
Amatoya is a concept reconnaissance and suppression vehicle that gives us a new approach to fire-fighting. This highly advanced and specialized light tanker functions primarily as a reconnaissance vehicle and offers unmatched vehicle and crew safety/survivability. It promises to be the best front line defense during the scene of an emergency. Read on to know [...]

In cities across the world, traffic is getting out of control; some people now routinely spend upwards of two hours of every day, just in transit. What’s to be done? (Pics)

SkyPark
The Italian SkySpark plane is totally electric, eerily quiet and has just broken the world record for emission free flight speed, humming through the air at 250 km/h using some Lithium Polymer batteries and a 75–kW engine. The team’s goal is to build a plane which will fly for over 500 kms at an average speed of 300 [...]

And you thought bike commuting was dangerous? Hah! Mere child’s play. (Pics and videos)
 

Bloodhound SSC
British engineers have started building what they hope will be the world’s fastest car – capable of reaching 1,000mph.  The Bloodhound SSC (Supersonic car) will be powered by a jet engine from Eurofighter Typhoon being positioned above a hybrid rocket. This combination should produce 135,000 horsepower — equivalent to the power of 180 Formula [...]

All Over The Planet In Seven Years! 

55-year-old Indian citizen Kashi Samaddar has completed an almost-seven year trip around the world. He has visited all 194 countries in the world, thereby setting a world record.
He spent £350,000 to visit every country on earth in the shortest time possible and thereby earnt himself a mention in the Guinness [...]

Audi Autonomous TTS
Audi is working hard on a car that doesn’t require the driver to anything except sit there and watch the scenery go by. It’s called the “Autonomous Audi TTS,” not the catchiest of names, and it’s “intended to explore the best capabilities of current and future driver assistance technologies.” (Pics and video)
 

Captured on film

Obsessed with cameras much?  While you can probably deny it, the owner of this vehicle – the Camera Van – can’t.  Literally decked in thousands of cameras, it’s what the Google Street View cars would have looked like if their designers had some panache.  Or were clinically insane.  Either will do.
First created by [...]

Don’t go bumping these cars!

Here’s an interesting up-cycling story about some boy toys that have found legal ground and even more fun from a bumped up perspective.
“Bumper cars were crazy fun when I was a kid. Even as an adult today, they still look immensely entertaining and I’d probably be on one every weekend if only [...]

Go Go Gadget High Voltage Robot!

Fiddling with high-voltage power lines is certainly a dangerous job, especially for humans. With that in mind, a Tokyo-based company, HiBot, is working with western Japan’s Kansai Electric Power Co. to test a new robot next year that can inspect several power cables at once, and we’re fairly sure that [...]

Counter Culture Icon Fritz the Cat now available on Vans

Vans slip-ons have been a popular and fashionable shoe option for many years now. In recent years, Vans has made shoes featuring designs from pioneering underground artists we really dig like Robt. Williams and Rick Griffin. We were thrilled to find out that they recently added a series of [...]

Make a goat happy. Let ‘em eat your lawn!

Forget gas-guzzlin’, smoke-belchin’ lawnmowers. The eco-friendly way to mow grass and get rid of unwanted vegetation is to … rent some goats!
The city of Andover, Massachusetts has some unwanted guests: invasive species like the European buckthorn tree and the strangling bittersweet vine from Asia are shouldering out [...]

Honda Hybrid hits pedestrians
Hybrid vehicles, which creep along almost silently at low speeds on electric power, are more likely to hit pedestrians or bicycles than regular cars, a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finds.
 

The first Solar Sail spacecraft met an untimely end, crashing into the ocean instead of making it into orbit. But now, in 2010, a new, improved version of that craft–an entire spaceship that’s propelled only by the sun’s rays–is set to launch. And scientists will be see if this unique spaceship will become the prototype [...]

You WILL be the life of the party!

Want to have a really awesome outdoor entertainment vehicle? Well, the Midnight Rider Tundra Tailgater by Brooks & Dunn, designed in partnership with Toyota, certain hits the mark. This vehicle packs a BBQ grill, beer tap, ice chest, 42-inch HDTV and Kicker sound system, perfect for you to [...]

It is the jruiter + studio’s latest bike design, a minimal City Bike, it was aimed at people who live and work in an inner city environment with minimal space.

We re-thought everything two-wheeled, with simplicity in mind,” says Joey Ruiter of jruiter + studio, a Michigan-based design firm. “This is as stripped as you can get.”
Ruiter’s referring to [...]

Scientists from Purdue University have prepared a new solid propellant with explosive results. The fuel, a combination of nanoaluminum and ice, is a new kind of environmentally friendly solid rocket fuel that could someday be used in missions to outer space. With the motive to minimize fuel consumption onboard, the fuel has been successfully field-tested [...]

Power that literally ROCKS!

Rochus Jacob designed and built the Murakami Chair. As the user rocks back and forth during the day, the chair charges a battery that powers the lamp. Jacob writes: I was looking for opportunities to generate energy through activities we naturally do. The final result is a rocking chair that enables the [...]

Want to have a method that your car can generate power as it drives along the road? Well, check out the Carbon Zero road block system. This concept uses blocks on the road, and as you drive over these blocks, the pressure from your car pushes the blocks down, creating kinetic energy. N-type silicon and [...]

WOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!!!!
 
For $14,000, you can have a personal hovercraft toy, the Air Board. It can transport you at 15 mph over concrete, asphalt, grass or shallow wet areas, but you cannot drive it over water like a real Hovercraft! Speed and braking are controlled through two levers located on the steering bar, by using varying degrees of [...]