For Halloween this year I asked people on Google+ what I should be for Halloween, and someone suggested going as the blackhat stick man from xkcd . You know, this guy: That sounded like a good challenge. I finished the costume and taped a video, but unfortunately I didn’t have enough time to get the video to the quality level that I wanted
New research by U.S. government scientists presents sobering conclusions.
Posted in R&D 
Tags: -nbsp-nbsp-nbsp, a-recorded-rain, a-sudden-shift, atmosphere, climate, climate-change, cooperative, global-warming, google, home, news, north, researchers 
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Filed under: EV/Plug-in , Audi , Germany For most of its early life, the Audi e-tron family was born and bred for the auto show circuit, and it did quite well there. To really make an impact, though, the cars need to get out, and some e-trons have been making forays onto public streets recently. A fleet of 20 A1 e-trons is about to scoot around the streets of Munich in a program that was announced a year ago . The purpose, as with so many of the plug-in vehicle test fleets run by major automakers, is to gather data on how people use these new powertrains. In Munich, Audi’s data-collecting partner is the Technische Universit
Filed under: EV/Plug-in , China , BYD The launch of BYD ‘s plug-in vehicles has not gone as planned. The Chinese company’s all-electric e6 has been delayed in the U.S. (in part because of a lack of infrastructure , the company says) and the plug-in hybrid F3DM did not sell well at all . In the recent past, profits tumbled and EV production plans were scaled back . Still, the Warren Buffett-backed company is moving forward, and the e6 went on sale Wednesday to the public in China. The Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that the car costs over 300,000 yuan ($47,166 U.S. at current exchange rates). That may be high, but BYD is still claiming impressive specs for its iron phosphate battery-powered car: a range of up to 186 miles in urban conditions and a fast recharge time of just 40 minutes using a 100kW fast charging station. Throw in a top speed of 87 miles per hour and some big government incentives to go electric, and we wonder if this could be the vehicle that turns BYD’s dreams around. BYD starts electric e6 retail sales in China originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 28 Oct 2011 07:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments
Organic molecules similar to those that serve as the ingredients of life can form in stars, a study indicates.
Posted in R&D Tags: -nbsp-nbsp-nbsp, earth, journal, light, news, organic, solar-system, university, zhang No Comments »
Filed under: Hybrid , Manufacturing/Plants , Honda , Toyota , Asia Automotive News reports that Toyota may experience production delays tied to widespread flooding in Thailand . The Japanese automaker relies on certain Thai components, including audio systems, diodes and condensers, that may see production shortages. Honda, too, has issued a statement that the rising waters are delaying production of some vehicles. Such shortages have already caused three plants in Thailand to be shut down entirely and some of Toyota’s facilities in Japan to scale back production. Now there’s a chance that the squeeze may be placed on some North American Toyota plants. Currently, the automaker says that it’s evaluating its supply chain to determine just how far-reaching the production delays will be but Green Car Reports notes that the Prius has been affected. Since late 2010 , Toyota has built the world’s most popular hybrid in Thailand. The AN report indicates that Toyota is already considering cutting one day of Saturday work at its four North American facilities and contemplating additional overtime restrictions. As of right now, the automaker says it has enough parts in stock to continue production while its suppliers source components from Malaysia and the Philippines. All told, the flooding in Thailand has caused a restriction on around 100 individual Toyota components. Continue reading Toyota, Honda say Thai floods may impact Prius production, U.S. vehicles Toyota, Honda say Thai floods may impact Prius production, U.S. vehicles originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 27 Oct 2011 18:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments
Filed under: EV/Plug-in , China Here’s an electric vehicle perk that might prompt some Chinese consumers to go electric: elimination of Beijing’s restrictive license plate lottery . Officials in Beijing are reportedly discussing a scheme that will allow electric vehicle owners to bypass the city’s license plate lottery system. This move would allow owners of electric vehicles to immediately register their rides instead of playing the odds with Beijing’s lottery scheme. Last time we checked, the odds of registering a vehicle in Beijing were 23 to 1 , meaning that most applicants could not legally drive their vehicles on public roads. By eliminating the lottery system for electric vehicles, Beijing hopes to encourage the purchase of battery-powered automobiles. And, as we see it, those officials are probably on the right track. Word is Beijing will, until further notice, allow unrestricted purchasing and registering of electric vehicles. So, for those who have missed out on the city’s lottery drawings, going electric ensures them that they’ll be able to register their own rides for around-town transport. Beijing to waive license plate lottery for electric vehicles originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Thu, 27 Oct 2011 09:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments
Posted in Blog Tags: auto-repair, autos, environment, ford, iphone, license plate, lottery No Comments »
Filed under: EV/Plug-in , Aptera There seems to be something a brewin’ over at Aptera Motors . Gone is Aptera Motors’ former website that displayed info on the automaker’s oft-delayed three-wheeled electric 2e . In its place is a lone, non-working homepage with few details aside from this mission statement: Aptera: The Combination of amazing aerodynamics and advance composites means the coming of a new generation of energy efficient vehicles that will change what we expect from our cars. Keep watching. 2.0 is coming! We assume 2.0 refers to a site redesign, but nobody will say for sure. Aptera spokesman Marques McCammon simply told Green Car Reports : All is well in start-up world. Yes, there is something new coming to the web. I would call it a better reflection of how our business is developing. I can’t say much more than that at this point. As you can imagine, there is no one more eager to talk about Aptera than I am, but all things in their time . So, we don’t know what it is, but we do know that Aptera 2.0 is coming. Keep watching, Aptera 2.0 is coming originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Wed, 26 Oct 2011 18:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments
Posted in Blog Tags: aptera 2e, aptera motors, aptera website, audi, auto-repair, buzzz, cars, facebook, green No Comments »(Cross posted from the Google Australia Blog ) As an engineer I like to solve problems and I like to test stuff, the bigger the better. A couple of months ago I was intrigued by a challenge: Australians have the second highest smartphone penetration in the world (second only to Singapore) but we have one of the lowest usage rates of Google Voice Search. This had some of us scratching our heads, because Google Voice Search understands our Australian accents. So we thought it would be fun to show Australians how well Google Voice Search works by conducting a series of experiments in remote Australian locations. I went to the middle of the South Australian desert with James, a fellow engineer. We found some of the hottest, reddest earth in the country to test a long distance voice search – 50 metres away from the phone! Here’s our adventure: Meanwhile, our fellow Google engineers Noel and Alice went up north to the beautiful Great Barrier Reef, to test Google Voice Search underwater. Now that you’ve seen what Google Voice Search can do, we hope these experiments will inspire you to try it yourself in a more everyday setting, and with your broadest Aussie accent! You can use Google Voice Search on Android phones by pressing the microphone button on the homescreen or downloading the app . You can also download the app for the iPhone here . Posted by Mike Lawther, Software Engineer.
Posted in Tech Tags: adventure, apple, black, google-maps, google-voice, ideas, ipad, iphone, videos No Comments »
Filed under: EV/Plug-in , USA , BYD It’s coming in 2010 . Scratch that. How about 2011 ? Oh shucks, that’s impossible, too. Let’s shoot for 2012 . BYD Auto constantly alters the U.S. launch date of the electric e6 crossover. But this latest bit of info should relieve us of reporting further delays. When BYD announced its U.S. scheme, the automaker claimed retail sales of the e6 electric MPV would start no later than December of 2010. Now, BYD is saying that its primary focus is on fleet sales, particularly of its electric eBus-12 . BYD says the e6 is constantly delayed because the U.S. lacks a sufficient charging infrastructure, even claiming that California doesn’t have enough infrastructure. So, why won’t we have to report further e6 delays? Because Micheal Austin, BYD’s U.S. vice-president, told Bloomberg , “We still have ambitions to jump into the consumer market, but until the infrastructure issue is solved, why would we?” Given that the BYD can now declare the problem “solved” any time it pleases, we expect it not to do so until the e6 is ready
Posted in Blog Tags: auto-repair, automotive, cars, chargers, consumer, facebook, infrastructure, iphone, netflix No Comments »
