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French train breaks speed record

France's high-speed TGV (Tres Grande Vitesse, or very high speed) train broke the record for speed on a rail today in a much publicized test, according to the Paris-based International Herald Tribune. The train, code-named V150, reached a maximum of 574.8 kilometers an hour, or 357 miles an hour, but fell just short of the record for all types of train.
That record is held by the magnetic levitation train of Japan, whose technology means it does not touch the rail. It reached a speed of 581 kilometers per hour, or 361 miles an hour, in 2003. But the Japanese technology is more costly, typically runs shorter distances and is less compatible with existing rail networks.

Posted by   at 4:13 PM to Transportation | Permalink | Comments 0

All go at the New York Auto Show this weekend

The New York Times identified expected highlights of this week's New York International Auto Show in the Sunday paper.
They include the “Taxi 07” exhibit of eight cars and showcase prototypes for taxis of the future, including a Toyota Sienna minivan taxi with a motorized seat and a Chrysler PT Cruiser taxi prototype powered by a lithium-ion battery pack.
Vehicles making their debut include the Infiniti G37 coupe, a stronger 330-horsepower follow-up to the popular G35 and the Ford Flex, a three-row crossover based on the Fairlane concept of 2005. Chevrolet will show three concept minicars from its South Korean design studio, including the Trax, a boxy bulldog-faced crossover with a frugal 1-liter 4-cylinder engine. And a larger 2008 Mercedes-Benz C-Class will also make its first United States appearance. Mercedes hopes the redesigned sedan will offer tougher competition against the BMW 3 Series in the compact luxury class.
Meanwhile, in front of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on the west side of Manhattan's midtown, Camp Jeep will let showgoers ride shotgun in Jeeps to demonstrate their off-road ability, including fording water and climbing an 18-foot hill.
Ths show runs Friday through Sunday.

Posted by   at 10:51 AM to Shows | Permalink | Comments 0

Auto balls. Yes, they're art

Check out the work of Artist Lars-Eric Fisk who somehow turns entire vehicles into balls about six feet in diameter, in The New York Times. Fisk, of Burlington, Vt., specializes in sphere-shaped sculpture and has made balls out of a VW Microbus - his best known piece - a school bus, a green John Deere tractor, a brown U.P.S. truck and a white Mister Softee ice cream truck, complete with lights
His work has been shown in museums including the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park in Lincoln, Mass., outside Boston, and the Dartmouth College museum. The VW ball is in a private collection.
In the catalog for the DeCordova exhibition, he called the sphere a “simple, seamless form expressing movement and the concept of endlessness and timelessness without a beginning, without an ending.”
Crikey! But then it's usually best to let an artist's work speak for itself and these pieces are great.

Posted by   at 10:39 AM to Design | Permalink | Comments 0

Looking at DIY projects for green wheels

Forbes.com's Dan Lienert reports on a number of companies and technologies offering "do-it-yourself" kits for building hybrid cars or converting existing cars into hybrids.
For example, for $200, Robert Q. Riley Enterprises, a Phoenix-based design company, offers construction plans for a three-wheeled sports car called the XR-3. A completed XR-3 will reportedly deliver between 125 and 225 miles per gallon, Lienert reports. A three-cylinder diesel engine powers the front wheels and an electric motor run by a lithium-ion battery powers the rear wheel. The driver can switch between battery-only, diesel-only and hybrid driving modes. The DIY kit will be available this May or June.
Riley is just one of several companies offering electric-car conversions. Spend, say, $15,000 to $25,000, and you can have any car you want converted into an electric one thanks to an array of emerging, green technologies carmakers are unveiling, Lienert writes.

Posted by   at 10:31 AM to Alternative fuels | Permalink | Comments 0

Rand McNally offers NASCAR Road Trip Guide

Hey, NASCAR fans, check out Rand McNally's new Ultimate NASCAR Road Trip Guide.
The guide blends 160 pages of maps with 200 pages of in-depth travel information and visitor tips for each of the 31 NASCAR-sanctioned tracks in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Available now at RandMcNally.com, the 8.5 x 11-inch guide
has a suggested retail price of $14.95.

Posted by   at 10:18 AM to Racing | Permalink | Comments 0

Proposed law aims to curb street racing in R.I.

Lori Nunes endured every parent’s nightmare in April 2003, when her 17-year-old son, Justin Nunes, was killed in a grisly accident caused by two teenagers racing their cars through Swansea, Warren and Bristol.
Last night, The Providence Journal's Scott Mackay reports, Nunes joined Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch, State Rep. Raymond Gallison, D-Bristol, Sen. Walter Felag, D-Warren, Bristol police officers and 30 or more relatives and friends of her son in an event at Colt State Park to remember Justin and argue for legislation that would make it easier to prosecute drivers who use the public streets for drag racing.
To make it easier to prosecute violators, the legislation that Nunes has worked on with Lynch would define street racing as a crime, and would establish tougher penalties for it. A second or third street racing offender would incur an automatic felony. License suspensions of six months and one year would accompany second and third violations respectively. Current law does not provide for an automatic license suspension for street racing, a fact that Lynch said was a “shocking” hole in state law.

Posted by   at 10:02 AM to Safety | Permalink | Comments 0

After dry spell, RIDOT projects set to hit the road

After a seven-month financial drought, the state Department of Transportation is about to resume the multimillion-dollar flow of contracts that build and repair the state’s highways and bridges, reports The Providence Journal's Bruce Landis.
Edmund T. Parker, the DOT’s chief engineer, told Landis his agency hopes to advertise 16 contracts, worth an estimated $29 million, for bids from contractors this month and next, after the release of $104 million by the Federal Highway Administration.

Posted by   at 10:00 AM to Traffic , Transportation | Permalink | Comments 0

Justices give EPA power to regulate car emissions

The U.S. Supreme Court handed down two decisions yesterday that could create an unprecedented opportunity for setting new standards for reducing greenhouse gases from automobiles and lead to emissions reductions by a major utility, reports The Providence Journal's Peter Lord.In Massachusetts et al v. Environmental Protection Agency et al, the court ruled 5 to 4 against the Bush administration’s contention that it didn’t have the authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from motor vehicles. The EPA had resisted calls by Massachusetts and other states to impose limits, saying it didn’t have the authority to do so. Yesterday, the court rejected every argument made by the EPA to do nothing, Lord writes.
Environmental Defense et al v. Duke Energy Corp. et al, which Lord says appears to have more limited impact, the court ruled unanimously to vacate a lower court ruling that allowed the power company to upgrade 29 of its generating plants without having to conform to stricter air emissions rules. The case was sent back to the lower court for further review.

Posted by   at 9:49 AM to Environment | Permalink | Comments 0