Cars and Accessories: 2007

Showing posts with label 2007. Show all posts

Monday, October 15, 2007

If the robust HyperBike is the bicycle equivalent of a Hummer, then the high-tech Yamaha Bobby is the BMW one.

Yamaha Bobby concept bike connects to the Internet.(Credit: Yamaha)

The Bobby prototype from Yamaha Motor is an electric bicycle that lets riders connect to the Internet. Ubergizmo pointed out that the bike can also be turned on and off from select cell phones.
Bobby is one of 19 concept bikes Yamaha Motor plans to show at the 2007 Tokyo auto show. The Bobby is part of Yamaha's "Art of Engineering" theme for this year's show, according to Yamaha.
Yamaha Motor also seems to be partnering to build a motorcycle engine for a Toyota, according to earlier reports.

Behold the four-cylinder VW Tiguan.
(Credit: Volkswagen)

The summer driving season has come and gone--just in time for us to give our undivided attention to the Frankfurt auto show.
On the home turf of BMW, Audi and Volkswagen, the 62nd International Motor Show is playing host this week to carmakers from around the world. They've promised to bring scads of new rides, from the green to the lean to the turbocharged driving machine.
Consider these, for starters: Ferrari's 430 Scuderia has classic sports car lines, Nissan's Mixim packs a pair of electric motors, Volvo's ReCharge is a plug-in hybrid and Ford is trotting out names like Econetic and Kugo.
To see those models and more, click here: "Photos: Cleaning up at the Frankfurt Auto Show."

The future of electric propulsion...
(Credit: CNET Networks)

We're not convinced about the wisdom of this one. GM is using this week's Frankfurt auto show to reiterate its commitment to alternative fuel cars with the unveiling of the Opel Flextreme, a concept plug-in car that builds on the buzz of the E-Flex drive train from the Chevy Volt. The car itself relies on a series hybrid drive train, which combines a lithium-ion powered-electric motor with a biodiesel combustion engine that is used solely for running the electric motor when the battery's charge runs out.

...or the past?
(Credit: CNET Networks)

However, as blue-sky as the vehicle's power train may be (lithium-ion batteries have a long way to go before they're ready for production vehicles), that is not the main cause of our concern. What troubles us is the fact that the GM has integrated two Segways into the back of the Flextreme--presumably to highlight its electric-mobility message. Now, we're no marketing mavens, but we suspect that a company trying to promote a fledgling technology would try to avoid association with a device that ended up falling--commercially and physically--flat on its face. [...]

Audi has released photos and some spec info on its new A4, which will officially debut at the 2008 Frankfurt auto show in September.
Most notable to tech enthusiasts may be the optional xenon headlights that include 14 LED lights. These are "daytime driving lights," aka LED bling, for your car. Audi refers to them as "wings." I think they look more like eyelashes. You can see what they look liked turned on below.
As for the goodies for the driver who's into automation, the new A4 will include lane departure warning, blind spot detection and adaptive cruise control.
The A4 also has a an electro-mechanical parking/emergency brake button in lieu of a parking brake lever. With more room in that area, Audi offers an armrest with two 12-Volt power sockets beneath it as an extra. A new radio-operated key can store car settings, lock and unlock the car, and start the ignition with a button push.

It's showtime again in the auto world--that time of the year when manufacturers trot out their latest fleets of new models and wacky concepts. In preparation for the forthcoming Frankfurt auto show, Nissan this week unveiled details of its Mixim electric concept car. According to Nissan, the Mixim (which is unlikely to make it to production) is aimed at young, Web-savvy, digital-age drivers with a penchant for gaming. Check out our photo gallery here.