Honda’s New Affordable Hybrids

Finally. That’s the first thing that popped into my head when I heard that Honda is considering bolstering their hybrid line up with low-cost models. The news comes courtesy of Asahi Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper, wherein Honda President Takeo Fukui reportedly states that the automaker is hard at work on two new hybrids that will cost less than Honda’s current offering, the Insight ($19,800). The move would be a reactionary one against less-than-stellar sales of the Insight (Honda figures to miss projected sales of the Insight by as much as 30 percent), as well as a move against the popularity of rival’s Toyota Prius. So, what do these new hybrids look like?

AutoBlogGreen speculates that one likely candidate is a hybrid version of the Honda Fit (pictured above). This diminutive automobile would be able to provide great fuel efficiency based on its compact design. And with a rumoured price of just $15,800 it would be one of the most affordable hybrids on the planet. Such a move, it is hoped, would mark the beginning of an affordable, entry-level hybrid market, one that both cash-strapped citizens and environmentally conscious drivers are in dire need of (the all electric market, on the other hand, is an entirely different matter).

Meet the Dodge Circuit EV

It won’t be long before all the cool electric-themed names are taken (Tesla Motors alone has a de facto coolness to all their cars) and so we should treat each ‘cell,’ ‘electrode,’ and ‘circuit’ with all due respect. Which brings us to the Dodge Circuit, Chrysler’s prototype all-electric vehicle that continues the trend of sports car meets energy conservation (sounds even more ironic now that it’s typed out).

This spiffy looking EV relies on a 200-kilowatt electric motor, backed by lithium-ion battery system. With 268 horsepower and the ability to go from zero to 60 in less than 5 seconds, Dodge maintains the latest trend from automakers; just because it doesn’t burn gas, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be able to burn through energy. Those stats mimic the Dodge Challenger SRT’s 6.1-litre V8 Hemi, putting the Circuit’s into the echelon of high-end sports car.

The Circuit is one of the projects to roll out of Chrysler’s ENVI department, which specializes in electrically driven vehicles, and has recently been dubbed golden-boy status as Chrysler looks to make the Circuit the first graduate from the ENVI department into commercial production.

The Peapod: The Evolution of the Campus Golf Cart?

Back in 2002 a little movie was released about a floundering college student who spent the bulk of his time attending parties and accruing popularity rather than fastidiously studying away in some ‘nerd’ like manner. This beacon of cool, a true pillar of the college community, had a golf cart as his primary mode of transportation. Now, just seven years later, that short-distance, eco-friendly mode is being reinvented as: the Peapod!

Sporting a grinning grill that looks tailored for Herbie, the Peapod is part of a burgeoning field of Neighbourhood Electric Vehicles. Much like its 2nd cousin, the Segway, the Peapod is intended for short travels, such as cross campus jaunts, or a quick trip to the store. These short travels, once relegated to the bicycle, removes the unnecessary physical propulsion we all loath so much. Instead, this diminutive electrical wunderkind means you only have to get up five minutes before Spanish class as it will bolt you across campus at a top speed of 25 mph.

The End of Car Thievery?

So you double-parked your car and left the car running while you ran into the coffee shop to grab a donut. Darwanism says you lose your wheels as payment for you inepitutde but thanks to modern technology Darwin can go take a flying leap. Yes, now the greatest invention of out time even stop a thief cold in your tracks. I’m speaking, of course, about the cell phone and the some newfangled usage that can only come from a rural Canadian university.

Students at the University of Saskatchewan have developed some relatively straightforward technology to jury rig a remote shutdown for your car using your cell phone. The technology is based on the same principals upon which an automobile’s heat sensor functions.  In the case that your engine overheats the car will detect the temperature surge and decrease the automobiles speed, eventually rendering the entire contraption inert. The only difference is rather than your fluid levels being in control, you are.

Driving Technology to Slow Down

Driving injuries could go down by a twenty-five percent and the air could be cleaner for it, if two transportation advisory bodies have their way with the implementation of speed limiters in the UK.

Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) utilizes satellite position and in-vehicle instruments to monitor a car’s speed and keep it in tune with the accompanying speed limit of the area. A feat accomplished either through autonomous braking or an in-car warning system that could then be overridden by the driver.

A requisite for such technology would be digital speed maps that consist of speed limits for any given road. Thus, the Commission for Integrated Transport and the Motorists’ Forum, who is pushing for the implementation of speed limiters, is urging both automakers and governments to get onboard with the project.

The purported benefits of such technology is stated to be increased safety, fuel consumption, and a reduction of pollution. The recommendation follows trials backed by the Department of Transportation in the UK.

The Poulsen Hybrid (Or How I learned to Stop Guzzling and Love the Environment)

Going green ain’t easy. Especially so if you’ve got $10,000+ tied up in a gas-guzzler. But imagine the sweet Xmas presents you could buy for your loved ones if your car got an extra, oh let’s say, 25mpg. Why, the difference could be that between a red sock stuffed with cotton balls and an actual Tickle-Me Elmo! But alas, you’re still making payments on that sporty [insert any North American automobile here] while the Johnsons are yukking it up in their Prius, with the latest animatronics to gyrate out of Sesame Street strapped into the car seat alongside them. If only there was a way to make the old new again…Enter: The Poulsen Hybrid.

This nifty bit of engineering ingenuity looks rather like an immobilizer boot strapped onto the wheels of your car (either both on the front or back, depending on front or rear-wheel drive). The ‘boots’ are in fact electric motors that are bolted onto the wheels, with an accompanying 4.5-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack (or lead acid, depending on the model) that gets stored in the host vehicle’s trunk. According to Jim Motavalli, writer for The Daily Green and recent visitor of the Bridgeport Magnetics Group’s hybrid-housing warehouse, “the motors do not drive the car, but kick in to provide a power boost between 15 and 60 miles per hour. [While] regenerative braking helps keep the batteries charged.” The design comes from Ulrik Poulsen (hence the Poulsen Hybrid), founder and CEO of Connecticut-based Bridgeport Magnetics Group.

MyKey; Parents rejoice, teens weep

We talk about a lot of things here on Gadget Addiction. Things that are close to us, things that makes us feel cool, hip, and ‘with it.’ But now it’s time to talk about those things that do the opposite. I’m referring to those things called kids.* And in respect to them we need to think about the ways in which technology has made our lives safer and more secure but more importantly we need to think about how its made life scarier and more creepy. It’s the responsibility of every decent god-fearing parent to protect and coddle their children from the potential dangers of the widow-maker that is this modern world. Cell phones should be doled out solely to track the whereabouts of your little ones and car keys should only be dispensed if they somehow limit teenagers from actually driving. Wait…what? Ford recently announced that the all new 2010 Ford Focus will come with a new fangled electronic governor that will actually inhibit the (presumably teenage) driver from playing loud music or speeding (or, god-forbid, doing both at the same time!)

Car-Sensing Cell Phone Saves Your Life

OKI, the Japanese company behind the wildly big-brother-ish facial recognition software aimed squarely at the surveillance market, has come up with another bright idea: mobile phones that warn you that you're about to be hit by a car.

On the surface, this technology sounds like a great idea. After all, there have been attempts to ban iPods, cell phones and other handhelds while crossing the street in some areas. Why? Because, apparently, some people are too stupid to look up from their handheld long enough to see cars heading right at them (let's not discuss the idiot drivers who can't spot the slow-moving tech-obssessed fools, not looking up from their handhelds). Carrying a cell phone that is capable of alerting you of oncoming traffic with a ringtone or by vibrating would stop gadget-banning legislation in it's tracks by solving the problem the hopeful new law tries to address.

However, there's a big catch with this kind of technology.

Dash Navigation Express Open to 3rd Party Developers

Nowadays it seems you can’t turn a page of the paper or read a website (like this one!) without seeing something to do with GPS devices (they’re all the rage with the kids these days). This is especially the case when it comes to in-car navigation devices. In respect to these direction-giving wonders, there are several manufacturers in the market and each one likes to think that it brings some unique feature, something that gives them the competitive edge in the field. But if that’s the case, with each company with a supposed ace up its sleeve, than Dash Navigation Inc. is packing a royal flush.

While providing the world’s first internet connected GPS device, Dash has seen fit to open up the, uh, Dash-board of its veritable Dash Express to 3rd party developers. These 3rd party applications are called DashApps and they offer web based content on the go. So what could Dash Inc. cook-up with some 3rd party developers for the launch of DashApps?

Coldwell Banker: House hunting? Look up available locales on the web than create a route to their location *But first, ask yourself why you are looking up available homes while you are aimlessly driving around the city? Seriously. Why?

WeatherBug: Access live local weather with MyWeatherBug.

Trapster: Ever wished you could avoid speed traps? Ever wish you knew which stoplights had red light sensors so you could blow through the ones that didn’t? Meet your new friend Trapster’s ‘Find Traps Now.’ Now you can safely speed and comfortably fly though those pesky red lights…ah the future…

Funambol: Link up with nearly any online calendar (e.g. Google, Yahoo, Outlook) and find the best route to your next meeting or hot date!

Mediaguide: Just what was that crazy pop tune you just heard on the radio that you can’t get out of your head? Use Mediaguide’s ‘BakTraxRadio’ function to list the last three songs played on any FM or AM station!

Well, there you have it. What may very well be the future of in-car computer systems.

(I really think the slogan for this launch should be: Because you don’t have enough occupying your attention while you drive….)

Unfamous Electrical Engineer Gets Giant "Green" Gadget Named After Him

Tesla Motors and it's flagship car, the Tesla Roadster, both bear the name of Nikola Tesla. As a Gadget Addict, you may know who Tesla was, but it's possible you don't. He's the guy who invented Alternating Current (that stuff that comes from those wall-outlets to power all your stuff). Nikola Tesla also held a couple hundred patents, invented the first remotely controlled devices, hung with Mark Twain and was pretty sure he could broadcast electricity to everyone around the world for free. Sadly, while that last bit never came to pass, the type of electricity he invented would allow the twentieth century to unfold the way it did.

Thanks to Telsa's main competitor for AC being Thomas Edison (who believed DC was the way to go) most folks tend to never hear about Tesla in the first place. People point to the rock band from the 1980s with the same name and now they have Tesla Motors to be confused about. So, why name a car company after a guy who's barely known for the invention of the most commonly used form of electricity?

It's that last word that is the key...