World’s First Ferrari Theme Park Unveiled
Posted By Ben Goulding, 22 March, 2010 | permalink
Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, which is set to open in 2010, is the world’s first Ferrari theme park and largest attraction of its kind.
(Youtube Link)
The Park is located on Yas Island – set to become a global tourist destination with a wide range of accommodation and entertainment facilities – on the North East side of Abu Dhabi’s mainland.
It will fittingly feature the fastest roller coaster in the world, capable of travelling at speeds of up to 125mph and generating the same G-force as driving a Ferrari Formula One car.
More details about the park in the link.
1 Comment | Posted in: Business | Entertainment
Pikachu Cars, I Choose You!
Posted By Ben Goulding, 16 March, 2010 | permalink
Whoever had the idea of converting their car into everybody’s favorite Pokémon character, Pikachu, is simply a genius. The attention to detail on these cars are second to none. I’d love it if when you press the horn, it screams out “Pika Pika Pikachu!” What car wouldn’t get out of your way then?
Car That Runs on 10,000 Cups of Espresso
Posted By Ben Goulding, 11 March, 2010 | permalink
A BBC presenter will aim to travel 210 miles, from London to Manchester, in a car that is run by 10,000 espressos.
The car features a system converting the grounds into flammable gases which fuel the engine instead of petrol.
Jem Stansfield build the vehicle in an effort to encourage young people to think about how we can tap into energy from waste products and new sources.
Comments Off | Posted in: Sci/TechHe said: ”Everyone recognises that coffee can give a person a bit of a boost, but many probably had no idea it had enough energy locked away to power a car.
”It’s important for kids to understand that power is not something that is mystically there, simply at the flick of a switch or by pushing a pedal.
”With the energy challenge that is facing the world, the more we encourage children to think about alternative fuels, where energy is stored and how it can be released, the better.”
Woman Calls Cops On Herself For Drink Driving
Posted By Ben Goulding, 3 November, 2009 | permalink
Mary Strey is a very honest woman … or maybe just an extremely drunk one. She called police in Clark County, Wisconsin to let them know that she was driving whilst intoxicated.
1 Comment | Posted in: News“Somebody’s really drunk driving down Granton Road,” she told the 911 dispatcher.
The dispatcher asked if Strey was behind the drunk driver, to which she replied “No, I am them.”
The dispatcher asked, “Okay, so you’re calling to report you’re driving drunk?”
“Yes,” Strey said.
The dispatcher told Strey to pull her vehicle over, and she complied. She waited for a deputy to arrive with her hazard lights flashing. According to the police report, Strey failed field sobriety tests, and a preliminary breath test showed she had a blood alcohol content of .19, more than twice the legal limit to drive.
She’s due in court in December, facing charges of first offense operating under the influence.
Crazy Man Driving a Half Car
Posted By Ben Goulding, 2 November, 2009 | permalink
(Youtube Link)
This Serbian guy thought it would be a great idea to drive half a car, so guess what he did – he got half a car and drove it! Yeh, really!
Why? – Nobody knows.
Comments Off | Posted in: EntertainmentiPhone App Can Drive Your Car
Posted By Ben Goulding, 26 October, 2009 | permalink
German researchers have developed an iPhone application that allows motorists to drive a car using their mobile phone.
iDriver converts your iPhone into a real-life video game controller capable of steering and directing a vehicle, as well as controlling it’s acceleration and braking.
Take a look at it in action:
(Youtube Link)
Runaway Russian Bus With No Brakes Rams 19 Cars
Posted By Ben Goulding, 21 October, 2009 | permalink
(Youtube Link)
Take a look as this runaway bus in Perm, Russia, without brakes, hurtles through the city centre smashing into nineteen cars and leaving four people needing hospital treatment. Watch for the man with the briefcase on the crossing. Someone was definitely looking down on him that day.
1 Comment | Posted in: NewsThe Simple Concept by BMW
Posted By Ben Goulding, 13 October, 2009 | permalink
(Youtube Link)
Meet the Simple Concept by BMW – Simple is the acronym for sustainable and innovative mobility product for low energy consumption, a vehicle concept combining features and advantages of both motorcars and motorcycles.
The concept owes its protective passenger compartment to motorcars whereas the streamline shape, the two occupants seated one behind the other and the uniquely driving experience are naturally owed to motorcycles. Whilst researching ideas for futuristic urban mobility combined with the prerequisite of reduced consumption (less than 2l /100 km eqals more than 120mpg) and emission values (50g CO2 /100 km), the BMW Group spawned this concept vehicle featuring the extremely low weight of 450 kg and aerodynamic drag properties (0,18 drag coefficient), which of course also fulfilled all the BMW Group premium brand demands: sheer driving pleasure, innovative vehicle configuration, technology integration and a sense of comfort and spaciousness.
It’s a nice concept, but in the real world how viable is it? Would you drive one to your workplace? Without a paper bag on your head?
Comments Off | Posted in: Business | Sci/TechDrive-In Automobile Museum
Posted By Ben Goulding, 12 October, 2009 | permalink
This is the project winner of the international invitation competition for the construction of an Automobile Museum, held by the Jiangsu Head Investment Group and the government of Nanjing, China.
This is what Francesco Gatti, the chief architect of the winning team, 3GATTI, said about the design.
“A building to be dedicated to the automobile, where the automobile is also the vehicle to visit the space. You visit the first external ramp of the museum with your own private car, like a SAFARI, you park your car on the roof and visit by foot the internal ramp going down. The building could seem to appear as an urban car exhibitor, with its corners and angles filled with tempting shining exposed automobiles.”
Comments Off | Posted in: NewsThe architect describes the museum as a “movie sequence in which the principal actor is the car”, a building where two car-related panorama go hand in hand: on the one hand the architect’s conscious attention to motorway aestheticism and urban scale – the structures and materials remind one of a viaduct – and on the other, his transportation into the museum of the ergonomics of the interior of a car. The furbishing and details within the edifice are related to and on a scale with its specific functions and it is not difficult for the visitor to imagine that he is in a car on a highway, rather than in a museum.
Visualizing the Advances in Motor Vehicle Safety Over the Past 50 Years
Posted By Ben Goulding, 22 September, 2009 | permalink
(Youtube Link)
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conducted a unique crash test to demonstrate the advances in motor vehicle safety over the last 50 years. In this test, a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu and a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air are both going 40 mph and the vehicles collide offset, driver side to driver side. This is the same crash configuration represented by the Institute’s 40 mph frontal offset barrier test, which is used to rate the frontal crash performance of new cars.
1 Comment | Posted in: Health | Sci/TechBig Ball vs Cars
Posted By Ben Goulding, 28 August, 2009 | permalink
(Youtube Link)
Wasting time has never been so much fun! Great job guys. Totally made my morning.
Comments Off | Posted in: EntertainmentReal Life Transformers Transforming Costume
Posted By Ben Goulding, 21 August, 2009 | permalink
(Youtube Link)
Wow! Where can I buy one of these?!
Comments Off | Posted in: EntertainmentClever Fifth Wheel For Easy Parking
Posted By Ben Goulding, 11 August, 2009 | permalink
Ever wanted to park in a really tight space, but thought it wasn’t worth the hassle? Well this Egyptian man never has any hassle parking, no matter how small the space is.
He put a fifth wheel on his car, which can be raised or lowered depending on whether he is driving or parking. The wheel enables him to easily maneuver into the smallest of parking spaces. So simple, but genius! Check out the video.
(Youtube Link)
Soda-Powered Engines
Posted By Ben Goulding, 11 August, 2009 | permalink
“An Albuquerque, New Mexico man has developed a device that helps engines run on soda, including the highly-caffeinated Mountain Dew.”
(Youtube Link)
Youtube To Sponsor Formula 1 Racing Team
Posted By Ben Goulding, 6 August, 2009 | permalink
Video sharing website, Youtube, is set to sponsor the new U.S. Formula 1 team USGPE (formerly US F1), which will join F1 in 2010.
YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley has had meetings with the USGPE team and Youtube is likely to sponsor the car.
Although there has been speculation about this for a while now, it appears that everything has been finalized now and Youtube will be a major sponsor in Formula 1 next season.
When it happens, it will be the first time that an internet-based company will be represented on the F1 track.
Comments Off | Posted in: Business | Internet | SportHorse Tramples Car
Posted By Ben Goulding, 5 August, 2009 | permalink
Check out this dramatic footage of a horse galloping over the top of a car in northern Israel, caught by tourists in the area.
(Youtube Link)
Excited tourists were watching a group of horses galloping down a highway when one failed to dodge an oncoming vehicle, leading to it trampling the car.
The driver had a lucky escape, only suffering minor cuts, but the car was damaged beyond repair. Luckily the horse also only suffered light injuries from the head on collision.
1 Comment | Posted in: NewsToyota Car Used To Design New Font
Posted By Ben Goulding, 4 August, 2009 | permalink
(Youtube Link)
Whether it be advertising, design, or marketing, all car companies try to be creative with their products, however Toyota has taken creativity to a new level. They used their super-mini-compact car to design a font that we can all download and use.
You can download the Toyota iQ font here!
Comments Off | Posted in: Sci/TechGoogle Maps Driving Simulator
Posted By Ben Goulding, 2 August, 2009 | permalink
Geoquake has released a 2D driving simulator on Google Maps. Using the Google Maps API for Flash, you are able to check out different locations from around the world including Manhattan, Las Vegas, London and Tokyo Station.
The only problem is that it’s slightly unrealistic. You can drive through any object, be it a building, tree, swimming pool or traffic. Perfect for getting to your destination in super quick time!
Comments Off | Posted in: Entertainment | Internet | Sci/TechA Car For The Blind
Posted By Ben Goulding, 25 July, 2009 | permalink
One major drawback for the blind, is their inability to drive. Well, undergraduates at Virginia Tech have created a car that the blind can drive.
The students used the same technology that lets cars drive themselves, to allow the blind to drive. The vehicle uses a laser range finder, voice software and other sensory technology which worked flawlessly when blind drivers took the wheel.
A vibrating vest provides cues to follow when accelerating and decelerating. The vest vibrates in different places — the back, the belly and the shoulders — to convey different commands. When the entire vest vibrates, it means, “Slam on the brakes!”
This is a great step forward for the blind. Perhaps in the future, such technology could be used to benefit everyone. It could certainly help cut down alcohol-related traffic incidents. Blinding work guys!
Comments Off | Posted in: Health | Lifestyle | Sci/TechWhen A Ferrari Met A Citroen 2CV
Posted By Ben Goulding, 22 July, 2009 | permalink
Ever wondered what you’d get if you crossed a Ferrari with a Citroen 2CV? No, me neither. Well one pair decided to give it a try.
Ferrari/Citroen Hybrid. Image: SOLENT
Nicolo Lamberti, 35, and Milko Dalla Costa, 51, who run the Italian Nimik rally team spent 5 years and $250,000 to make the odd couple come together.
They took the chassis and engine on a Ferrari F355 Berlinetta which they had found at an “interesting price” and combined it with the body of a 12bhp Citroen 2CV Fourgonnette bread-van which they found abandoned in the back of a garage. The result of the project is a bizarre looking vehicle which can go from 0 to 60mph in under 5 seconds and has a top speed of 180mph.
A crazy idea and a crazy hybrid. Well done chaps.
3 Comments | Posted in: Sci/Tech | Sport