Mercedes-Benz is jumping into the autonomous driverless vehicle bandwagon. They debuted their futuristic concept car, the Mercedes-Benz F015, at CES this year. This is Daimler’s vision for the future of commuting; a fully electric, plug in vehicle with a driving range of 684 miles. The vehicle has a wheel base of 142 inches and the inside is set up like a lounge or meeting room, allowing the riders to conduct meetings, work, or just socialize while on their way to their destination. It is also equipped with plenty of onboard electronics so the commuters can monitor exactly what is going on with the vehicle and the environment they are driving through. Although there are still many legal restrictions to work out before we see autonomous vehicles on the roads, Mercedes-Benz hopes to have these on the road in the next decade.
We've written about (more like drooled over) the fleet of police vehicles owned by the UAE police force before. Today they've added another toy (I mean vehicle) to their already impressive list of supercar police cars. The newest member of the team is a $450,000 Rolls Royce Phantom. The newest cruiser will take its place next to the rest of the line up, which includes; a Lamborghini Aventador, Aston Martin One-77, Mercedes SLS, Bentley Continental GT, Ferrari FF and a McLaren MP4-12C. The new Rolls however will not be used to chase down criminals, but to help promote tourism. Seems to beg the question though, with such a line up of supercars is one more really needed to attract people that are into that sort of thing? Personally, it's not so much making me want to visit as it is making me want to join their police force.
The old stigma of hybrid and electric cars being slower than their gas-guzzling brethren is quickly being tossed to the curb. Not to long ago the videos of the Tesla P85D acceleration were making their way around the Internet. This was a car that would quite literally keep you from leaning forward in your seat during acceleration. Now, at the Geneva Auto Show, automaker Koenigsegg revealed its new hybrid, the Regera. This new hybrid monster combines three electric motors totaling a whopping 700HP! As if that's not enough, they then coupled these plug in electric motors with a twin turbocharged V8 to boost the final horsepower count to around 1,500HP! That means this hybrid car can go 0-60mph in 2.8 seconds, and 0-250mph in under twenty seconds!! If you'd like one however get in line and reach deep into your pockets. Koenigsegg is only making eighty of them, the first of which is looking at a 2016 delivery date. The cost is only around $1.89 million.
We are all sick of the cold by now. Heck, it was ten below zero when I woke up yesterday. Alberta Canada is looking to harness these miserable temperatures for good, rather than letting them chill and depress their citizens. They are looking into building a seven-mile long "freezeway" during the winter months. If you're like me, you have no idea what that is, well let me explain. They are taking a seven-mile long trail that leads to and from downtown Edmonton flooding and freezing it, turning the trail into a long ice skating rink. This will allow residents to ice skate to and from work, recreation, etc. not only does this promote alternate (very alternate) forms of transportation, but it also turns a seemingly negative thing (the harsh cold of winter) into a fun positive way to get around.
What do vacuums and trains have in common? In the future, more than you think. Evacuated Tube Transport Technologies, or ET3 for short, is a potential game changer for commuting as a whole. The concept is to have a series of tubes to act as a railway. In the tubes are round passenger cars much like a train car. These vessels are encased in electromagnets that will provide the propulsion for the vehicle. The tubes themselves will act as vacuum tubes to also aid in the movement of the commuter-packed vessels. The electric engines can get the whole thing going as fast as 375 mph for short distances. They are also working on a long-distance, international concept that would move commuters around at speeds up to 4,000 mph (that's right, four thousand). If these plans come to fruition, not only would this change rail commuting, but it could also become a competitor to air travel as well. With their proposed international speeds and friendly economic footprint, it will be a sound alternative.
