If only we could go back in time and continue earning living wages as children. The Junior 35 MPH Classic Corvette, while a 2/3 scale replica of the 1956 Corvette, actually runs on gasoline and features automatic transmission for easy driving. It seats two kid-sized people, and can zoom them around at a maximum speed of 35 miles per hour.

Even if both the driver and passenger are hefty specimens of childhood, the Classic Corvette can support up to 330 pounds—though I’m sure traveling near or at max weight will affect the car’s performance somewhat. With a price of $32,000, the …read more

Anyone who’s tried walking barefoot on asphalt during a sunny day knows that turning roads into solar panels makes sense. Solar Roadways recently received a $100,000 grant from the US Department of Transportation to further develop its Solar Road Panel concept.
The Solar Road Panel is simply the addition of glass, LED lights, and solar panels on top of standard road concrete. It’s meant to replace asphalt, currently used to smoothen out roads for ride comfort and noise reduction.
What makes Solar Roadways’ concept even more interesting are the embedded LED lights, which would allow the road to dynamically change lane markings, …read more

Everyone’s buzzing over the Chevy Volt, which is basically a hybrid car (runs on an electric and gasoline engine) with ginormous batteries. Eyes have bulged over the claimed 230 miles per gallon mileage.
But Math-dude turned blogger Mark insists that “The method that GM used to produce that mileage figure is extremely dishonest and completely uninformative”. In other words, the figure publicized is technically true, but would turn out different in practical situations. That’s because GM apparently came up with figure by computing how long it would take for the car to actually start consuming gasoline, if the batteries were fully …read more

I saw this video (produced circa 1930s) way back in 2006 (on archive.org). If you’ve somehow missed out on its awesomeness, here it is:

So Ken Block the rally driver is known for the views he scores on YouTube. So what happens when he enjoys the support of BBC’s Top Gear? A really well-edited and polished video, of something called Gymkhana, full of slow-mo goodness:
I know Block just started participating in the World Rally Championship, but why only now? What, did he have to develop his skills at Rally America or something, before going to the big leagues? This driver has props, and the unsophisticated rally fan in me thinks he can give Sébastien Loeb a run for the money.
The course is actually within …read more

Turns out you can mod the Nike+iPod kit to make your car doors unlock when you walk close enough to the vehicle. And of course, the doors lock once you walk away. You only need to take your keys out to start the engine.
Totally cool, the setup involves hooking up the iPod adapter to custom electronics, and pocketing the footpod. The full how-to is available at Sparkfun, and includes details on how author Nate had to actually weaken the radio receiver of his Mazda so that the car wouldn’t automatically unlock while he was walking around the office (he wrapped …read more

Nokia has finally established itself in North America, with customers even in relatively undeveloped Iowa using the company’s products.
As the underage and rebellious James T. Kirk drives down in an “antique” Corvette, he gets a call from the angry owner. And how did he know a call was coming in? Why, through the futuristic version of the Nokia ringtone of course! And who would’ve thought Nokia moved past the typical standalone phone, featuring products of more integrated form?

Unless earlier parts of the movie’s timeline have changed, it’s good to see that the world’s number cell phone manufacturer has survived World …read more

More electric motion goodness is coming our way soon, with Tesla announcing that their new S Sedan will cost $50,000. Somehow, the manufacturer has managed to bundle efficiency, good looks, and a high top speed into a package normally associated with combustion-based engines. A clear sign that electric locomotion for the mass market is on its way to reality.
But there’s still a long way to go. No doubt, Tesla has made some pricing progress with the S. Yet 500 Benjamins is still way beyond the reach of the majority of the US auto market, which is where I’m assuming the …read more

So you come up with the Aptera 2e, a really efficient two-seater, three-wheel car. Even better, it runs as much as a hundred miles on one 8-hour charge from your standard wall outlet. Even even better, the car draws energy from the friction generated by its brakes, and its built-in solar panels.
Even even even better, you’ve got at least 4000 people who’ve actually paid for the car! So why can’t manufacture Aptera Motors rely on the government for some badly-needed cash to push its ideas further?
Here’s the thing: the US Department of Energy’s $25 billion loan-program for alternative-energy cars only …read more

Avid fans of F1 probably know about those sweeping rule changes for the 2009 reason, but it’s still pretty cool to see them expressed as a visual aid designed to satisfy the mollification-hungry masses. Check it out:

Key segment: the short explanation on the new KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System), plus how it can add an almost video-game-like tactical dimension to an F1 race.