Wearable motorcycle

The transportation program at the Art Center College of Design has produced legendary car designers, including BMW chief of design Chris Bangle and Henrik Fisker, the creator of the Fisker Karma electric supercar. But this year, after professor Bumsuk Lim’s inaugural motorcycle-design class, the buzz is all about bikes, especially Jake Loniak’s exoskeleton motorcycle concept Deus Ex Machina.

At Ease: Once the bike is parked, the rider can strap it on like a suit. Nick Kaloterakis; design © Jake Loniak at Art Center College of Design; no reproduction or redistribution without prior written consent

Actually, to call Deus a “motorcycle” is a bit of a stretch. It would stand vertically when parked, so that the rider can step in and strap the bike on like a full-body suit. A computer would interpret the rider’s body movements, translate those into directional commands for the motorcycle, and steer the bike using 36 pneumatic muscles (artificial muscles made by the German company Festo that inflate or deflate to change the direction). “It’s like riding two skateboards at once, but stable, because the machine supports the rider’s body,” Loniak explains. These two skateboards, however, would be powered by lithium-ion batteries and ultracapacitors and capable of hitting 75 mph. “I never envisioned this as a commuter,” he says. “This is a sport bike.”

WHAT’S NEXT

Deus exists only in a few deceptively realistic computer illustrations, but Loniak is confident that it can be built. “I believe a working prototype could be made, but it would take a great deal of time and engineering,” he says. The basic technology already exists; the Watertown, Massachusetts, start-up A123 is already selling the lithium-ion batteries Loniak wants to use, and a number of companies are developing ultracapacitors for electric cars and hybrids. “This isn’t fantasy,” he says. “It’s a green vehicle, and all of the numbers are based in the real world.”

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its Dodge electric

Not to be outdone by GM's Chevy Volt hoopla last week, Chrysler today revealed three prototypes from its own electric-car program earlier today on CNBC. Who knew Chrysler had an electric-car program? Practically no one. But the company calls it ENVI, pronounced "envy," and the first consumer product from the program could appear as early as 2010.

Each of the cars revealed are electric-drive vehicles, one of which is an all-electric sports car with more than just a visual connection to the Tesla Roadster. It's called the Dodge EV, and by the looks of it, Dodge has appropriated the body and chassis of the Lotus Europa, a mid-engine GT car not sold in the U.S. Chrysler isn't discussing where it got the rolling stock, but it is talking about the drive system. The two-passenger, rear-wheel-drive speedster is powered by a 200 kW (268 horsepower) electric motor, an advanced lithium-ion battery, and an integrated power controller. The electric-drive motor produces 480 pound-feet of torque, which can take the Dodge EV from zero to 60 mph in less than five seconds, on to a top speed of more than 120 mph.

The other two vehicles -- the Chrysler EV minivan and the Jeep EV Wrangler four-door -- share a similar powertrain setup as the Chevrolet Volt. That is, an electric motor drives the wheels and a small gas engine is assigned to charging the batteries as needed, and providing enough power to extend the cars' electric range. Like Chevrolet, Chrysler isn't calling these cars hybrids (though most engineers refer to such systems as "series hybrid") -- rather they're "range-extended electric vehicles."

Chrysler says it intends to bring at least one of the electric-drive vehicles to market by 2010 to consumers in North America, and later in Europe.

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Lamborghini - nokia cellphone

Nokia and Lamborghini have teamed up to create the limited edition Lamborghini Nokia 8800 Sirocco cellphone. Expect features like the 262k color TFT scratch-resistant display, a 2 megapixel camera, 128MB of internal memory, and Bluetooth connectivity to remain along with cosmetic changes like specially made Lamborghini ball bearings which are used in the slider mechanism. Additional bonuses include a range of Lamborghini themes and ring tones as well as a video documentary. This limited run will see just 500 handsets available worldwide, adding to its already sky high desirability.

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Lamborghini asus Laptop

“ASUS-Lamborghini VX1 is an extreme and spectacular expression of the ASUS and Lamborghini spirit that, with the look alone, exudes power, speed, strength and beauty. Enjoy revolutionary entertainment on the go - ASUS-Lamborghini VX1- with Intel® Centrino® Duo Mobile Technology”

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Bugatti veyron the Sequal four door sedan

Bugatti's next model will be a million-dollar sedan. Having relaunched the brand with the Veyron, a car that'll never make money, Bugatti's plan is to defray the immense cost of developing the W-16 engine, seven-speed DSG transmission, and all-wheel-drive system by reusing them in a front-engine platform.

Bugatti chairman Thomas Bscher says the new car will use a structure of mixed materials--aluminum and carbon composites. The Veyron has steel end frames, a carbon tub, and part-aluminum skin. Once Bugatti designs a new platform, it can spawn sedan, coupe, and convertible bodies.

The aerodynamics will be much easier to arrange because top speed will be limited. The turbos will be smaller for better engine response, reducing horsepower to about 950. To meet LEV2 requirements, the engine will switch to direct gasoline injection. Although some of the engineering can be scaled back because the top speed will be lower, it's unlikely the new car can be any lighter than the Veyron because of additional wheelbase and luxury equipment.

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Toyota IQ concept 2009

has developed an all-new, innovative compact-vehicle architecture. First seen on the new iQ, the tiny front-engine four-seat car that's barely a foot longer than a smart fortwo and goes on sale in Europe and Japan this winter, this architecture will form the basis for the next-generation Yaris, a seven-seat microvan, and a hybrid to challenge the CY 2009 Honda Insight.

The iQ's chief engineer, Hiroki Nakajima, says there are six major packaging innovations in the new range of cars:

• The differential has been moved to the front side of the engine, which is itself canted forward. This has the effect of moving the wheels forward and with them the driver's feet by nearly 5 in.


• A new steering rack is mounted high on the firewall. To accommodate this, an all-new wiper motor and mechanism had to be built.
• The fuel tank is a flat, book-thin reservoir under the rear passengers' feet.
• The climate-control unit has been made more compact (though not de-powered) and its blower moved from ahead of the passenger to above the unit. This allowed an asymmetric dash to be created, which lets the front passenger slide forward and donate more space to the one behind.
• The seatbacks have a strong perimeter frame but ultrathin centers, creating more rear-seat knee room.
• Repositioning the engine ancillaries around the suspension allows a turning radius of just 154 in.

All this was expensive, requiring numerous new components in place of the usual generics: differential, fuel pump and sender, wiper system, HVAC, seats, and door and window systems. It perhaps explains why it hasn't been done before and why Toyota will need to defray the commodity costs across several high-volume lines of cars.

That need for volume production is why the iQ is all-steel. It's heavy for its size at 1900 lb, because the crash structures are sized for a seven-seater and a weightier hybrid. There are 12 airbags in the iQ, including rear windshield bags because the rear passengers are so close to the back of the car.

In the 2011 Yaris, the packaging improvements will make for a spacious subcompact to take the fight to the Honda Fit. Toyota will have the iQ-derived small hybrid on sale about a year after the next-generation Prius makes its debut. The company intends to build a million hybrids a year from 2010.

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