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), ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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. ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...