New Zealand teaching dogs to drive

I'd be more impressed if Carl the Cattle Dog didn't sit in the front seat of the Cruiser with a look on his face saying, "I could drive this car, but I don't feel like it."

Citroen U55 Cityrama Currus

Dark Roasted Blend looks at the career of the greatest bus ever.

Automated system detects and fills cracks in asphalt roads

They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, but when it comes to road maintenance, an ounce of prevention is worth several tons of tarmac. A tiny crack in the asphalt may not seem like much, but once it lets in rain and frost, it’s a ticket to potholes and a very expensive resurfacing. The problem is that crack repair is time consuming and labor intensive, so the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) has come up with an automatic pavement crack detection and repair system that operates at comparable speeds to conventional methods, but with fewer people and less exposure to hazardous fumes... Continue Reading Automated system detects and fills cracks in asphalt roads

X2

Presenting the X2, a car that you can drive in either direction by getting out and moving to the "back" seat.

Or you could just turn the car around.

Designer Raymond Loewy's personal Avanti II heads to auction

If you’re in Monte Carlo on May 12, you’ll have a chance to purchase a bit of of history when design legend Raymond Loewy’s 1972 Avanti II Coupé goes on sale as part of Bonhams auction house’s Les Grandes Marques à Monaco. Not only is this one of only a handful of Avanti IIs in France and one that was owned by a celebrated designer, but it’s also distinguished by the fact that its original owner was the man who created it... Continue Reading Designer Raymond Loewy's personal Avanti II heads to auction

950 bhp Shelby 1000 to be unveiled in New York

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to drive an American muscle car with enough horsepower to move a small continent, then Shelby American may have the answer. At the New York International Auto Show on April 5th, Carroll Shelby and his team will present their most powerful car to date - the 952 bhp Shelby 1000. And if that's not enough grunt, there’s a track version with over 1,100 bhp. Not a bad way to celebrate 50 years since the unveiling of the first Shelby Cobra... Continue Reading 950 bhp Shelby 1000 to be unveiled in New York

Batman pulled over by the rozzers

"Batman" was pulled over in Montgomery, Maryland because his Lamborghini didn't have a number plate.

Oddly enough, ever since I was a teenager I've been convinced that if Batman ever did get arrested it would be because he didn't have proper documents for the batmobile.  Be fair, how's he going to get an MOT disk?


Update: Top Gear nearly duplicates my headline.  Is there a secret EI reader on their staff?

Carrozzeria's modern reinterpretation of the 1952 Alfa Romeo Disco Volante

Hollywood isn’t the only industry fascinated with remakes, reimagining and sequels these days. The motor world has its share of revivals and updates too. Case in point, Italian car maker Alfa Romeo and the Milan-based coachbuilding firm Carrozzeria Touring have teamed to unveil their latest collaboration: the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante 2012. Created as part of Alfa Romeo's centenary celebration, the Disco Volante 2012 dips back into the past to draw inspiration from one of the true classics of 20th century motoring, the 1952 Alfa Romeo C52 Disco Volante. However, where the original was a concept series with a run of only four, the 2012 version will be offered for sale later this year as a very limited series two-seater coupé that, in the words of Alfa Romeo, blend the ingredients of “innovation, emotion and aerodynamic properties into a timeless and essential shape”... Continue Reading Carrozzeria's modern reinterpretation of the 1952 Alfa Romeo Disco Volante

BMW Vision

The car of choice of rich, stingy bastards.

Zagato AC 378 GT relaunches classic car brand

If you're going to design a sports car, you could do worse than going back to the classics and AC Cars has done just that with the unveiling of its Zagato AC 378 GT at the Geneva Motor Show. It's a rolling tribute to not only 111 years of the AC Cars marque, but also its Anglo-Italian heritage and its long relationship with the Zagato design group going back to the AC Ace Zagato of 1957. The supercar, which will be sold in the UK for GBP89,990 (approx US$140,870) and Germany for EUR109,990 (US$144,970), is also part of AC Cars' relaunch on the European market as a specialized car maker after a decade of false starts. .. Continue Reading Zagato AC 378 GT relaunches classic car brand

Intersections... of the FUTURE!

What will the intersection of the future look like when all cars are self-driving and interconnected?  Probably something like this video.

I'm not that impressed.  It looks like any average road in Rome, though with fewer horns blaring and obscene gestures.

BMW Concept M135i brings the entry level 1 Series into the M performance class

BMW puts a lot of stock into its 1 Series motor cars. As its entry level line, the 1 Series was meant to both eradicate the memory of the failed BMW Compact and to lead first-time BMW owners toward more prestigious performance models, such as the M class. The BMW Concept M135i, which is slated to be put before the public at the 2012 Geneva International Motor Show on March 7, 2012, is BMW’s latest attempt to create a hot hatchback that combines and expands on both the 1 Series and the M lines... Continue Reading BMW Concept M135i brings the entry level 1 Series into the M performance class

She's got a ticket to park

Yanko Design (The DREADCO of the design world) does it again with their car park meter machine that prints out a map with your assigned parking spot right on your ticket.  Imagine the convenience.  Imagine the reassurance.  Imagine the blistering fury when you discover that some plonker is parked half in your space.

The most entertaining thing will be watching the entire scheme go south as one unusable space leads to the usurping of a second, which turns into a cascade effect that brings it all crashing to a halt.

Lyonheart K - a modern take on the Jaguar E-Type

Last year, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Jaguar E-type, the Swiss firm Classic Factory unveiled its Growler concept car. Intended as a modern version of the classic sports car, the concept was so well received that a new car-making company, Lyonheart Cars Ltd. has been opened in Coventry, U.K., for the purpose of turning out a limited run of the production version of the Growler - the Lyonheart K... Continue Reading Lyonheart K - a modern take on the Jaguar E-Type

The Dynasphere revisited

Recently, we looked at the Dynasphere.  Now, British Pathe presents a more detailed account of this remarkable opossum squasher.

Rinspeed Dock+Go provides bolt-on solutions for small electric cars

If you live in a traffic-nightmare city like New York or London or Bangkok, an ultra-compact urban electric car is great. They're so tiny that they fit in the smallest parking space, they're quiet, they're often exempt from congestion charges and they're tailpipe emission free, which is important if you live where the air is so dirty that it's visible. Unfortunately, they also have all the boot space of a glove box and the travel radius of a tortoise in a hurry. Unless you have the ideal lifestyle that allows you to work within the vehicle's limitations, there will come the time when you'll need to carry more than a messenger bag or drive farther than a single battery charge. When that happens, you'll probably wish you had some way to magically add an extra boot or a bigger battery. Rinspeed's Dock+Go concept car looks forward to a day when that may be possible... Continue ReadingRinspeed Dock+Go provides bolt-on solutions for small electric cars

Change!

From the Seatte Times (the walking dead of the newspaper world):

Electric cars, no longer an oddity, make few inroads on market

It's a long feature article that tries to put a brave, green face on the situation, but when it's boiled down it's prety simple:  Due to US subsidies, mandates, regulations, nationalisation and outright blackmail, car makers are cranking out electric cars, but consumers people aren't daft, so they won't buy the wretched things.

Liberty's a pain, isn't it, Mr Soetoro?

Automodule

"The car of the year 2000"

I had a car that could tilt like this, though that had more to do with knackered suspension than futuristic design.

Dynasphere

I've always loved the dynasphere.  It's one of those absolutely mad inventions that shows that the human spirit will never be defeated.

Though it may be made to look bloody silly.

Mercedes-Benz restores oldest SL to mark 60th anniversary

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Mercedes-Benz SL and to celebrate the occasion, Mercedes has completely restored the oldest surviving example to its original condition. Introduced to the press on 12 March 1952 on the autobahn between Stuttgart and Heilbronn, the prototype 300 SL (Super Lightweight) was powered by a 3-liter, six-cylinder in-line engine canted at 50 degrees with an overhead camshaft, three Solex twin carburetors and dry sump lubrication, which put out 170 bhp for a maximum speed of 143 mph (230 kph). Not bad for 1952... Continue Reading Mercedes-Benz restores oldest SL to mark 60th anniversary