Tesla readies new transmission, ramping production
To day, since production began in March, 27 Tesla Motors Roadsters have been delivered. Now the production rate is expected to ramp considerably thanks to a deal with BorgWarner to build the enhanced “Powertrain 1.5.” The Telsa designed, single-speed gearbox is expected to help supply 30% more a…
Chevy Volt rolls out into the open at expanded last
It’s official public debut may still only be coming next week, but it looks like GM has finally decided to give up on the carefully-chosen teaser shots and let the hotly-anticipated Volt out in the open for all the Web to see. No doubt to the dismay of some, the would-be next Prius certain loo…
Noise-cancelling Toyota Crown zeroes out sounds at head height
As astutely pointed out by our friends at The Red Ferret Journal, it’s a bit odd to see hybrid car makers cutting down on noise while electric car makers are looking to add it back in, but Toyota’s silence isn’t of the kill-a-biker sort. Toyota has worked internal noise-canceling into its new Cr…
French public rail trials RFID / USB combo ticket system
In an effort to facilitate ticket purchasing, SNCF — France’s public rail system — will commence a 1,000 user trial of its Weneo smart card system that Fall. Riders will be able to purchase tickets with the small USB dongles at turnstiles via RFID. Once the balance is depleted, users can refil…
Avidyne’s MLX770 provides pilots with two-way text messaging support
It’s not that texting from planes is currently impossible, it’s just not terribly dependable. Thanks to Avidyne’s Q4-bound MLX770, however, all that is about to change. The two-way datalink receiver will not only enable pilots to have access to the radar mosaic for most of the world along with w…
First plug-in Priuses to hit fleets next year
Toyota hasn’t made a huge secret of its plans to develop and sell a plug-in version of the Prius, and it the wheels are turning a little faster than we’ve heard — fleet examining of plug-in models has been pushed up to early 2009, with the goal of having “several hundred” on the road by the end…
Production Chevy Volt interior and exterior spy shots leaked?
We’ve seen GM’s carefully managed Volt PR campaign, but that hasn’t stopped our friends at AutoBlogGreen from combing the net for a better look, resulting in these obvious snaps of the center console and the production exterior rolling along the set of Transformers 2. The shiny, rounded all whit…
Japanese firms to partially propel cargo ship via solar panels
First things first — when we say “partially” propel, we mean partially. Nippon Yusen and energy distributor Nippon Oil are teaming up to spend around $1.37 million in order to equip a car-hauling cargo ship with 328 solar panels. Rather than just supply energy for the crew’s on board entertainm…
Reconfigurable Performance Display to show off engine stats in choose GM cars
We’ll be honest — we still kind of prefer the days when hacking Wiimotes and other household gadgets was the preferred method for extracting more enjoyment from one’s vehicle, but we suppose there’s no stopping progress. Starting in 2009 (a few years too late for the Fast & Furious crowd), …
FAA computer glitches causing meaningful flight delays
It’s not clear what the exact problem is, but every major airport in the country is currently experiencing flight delays considering of an FAA computer problem at a facility south of Atlanta. All that’s being said is that the system that processes flight plans is having troubles, but that all fl…
