PC makeover with Best Buy $1,199.99As a preview to the 2009 Los Angeles auto show, Honda sent out some tantalizing words--but no photos--of a new concept it will display. The Personal-Neo Urban Transport (P-NUT) concept is described by Honda as an "ultra-compact, aggressively designed coupe". Given the word "personal" in the concept's name, though, we're assuming P-NUT will be less CRX and more Batcycle, probably with some electric drive technology thrown in.
When our coverage of the 2009 Los Angeles auto show starts on December 3, we will post photos and answer the question, what is P-NUT?
(Credit:
Antuan Goodwin/CNET)
Last year, Scion's booth at the SEMA Show was jam-packed with some of the craziest cars at the show. 2009 saw the continuation of that grand tradition.
This year, Scion brought out an xB with a built-in kitchen (sink and all!), another with its own dancefloor, and yet another that had been stretched into a pickup toting a matching custom scooter. Scion's other models also got some modding love in the form of a rally-prepped xD and a loud-and-low tC that seemed to have forgotten its roof.
Check out some of the wildest Scions of 2009 in our gallery.
In a road train, a lead vehicle controls slaved cars, letting the drivers work or relax.
(Credit: Ricardo Engineering)The latest research into allowing people not to drive comes from Europe, where the EU is funding a road train concept. A road train is a group of cars controlled by a lead vehicle. If you are on a long trip, your car might detect a road train going in your direction. You could then choose to join it, slaving your car to the lead vehicle. If a car wanted to leave the train, the gap between it and the other cars would be increased so it could safely exit. The lead vehicle would be operated by a professional driver, and include equipment designed to control the other cars. Along with drivers being able to work or relax while riding in a road train, each car would draft the one ahead, getting about 20 percent better fuel economy.
Existing technologies make road trains possible. Cars would use GPS to find out if a road train is near, while radar could determine the vehicles' following distance to each other. Electronic throttles and power steering units would allow the lead vehicle to control each car in the train. The EU is also looking into this concept because road trains are a less expensive means for achieving some degree of autonomous vehicle operation, rather than installing sensor infrastructures along the roads.
The concept is being developed by Ricardo Engineering, funded by the EU, with a project called Sartre (Safe Road Trains for the Environment). Test track trials will take place in Spain, the U.K., and Sweden.
Sartre may not be the most appropriate name for the project, as giving up control of your vehicle to a higher power doesn't exactly comport with existentialist philosophy.
(Source: BBC News)
View the Peugeot BB1 concept photo gallery
(Credit: Benoit Solivellas/CNET)Our colleagues in Paris got to drive Peugeot's BB1 concept car, a rare opportunity as concept cars usually get rolled out for display in a few auto shows, then never see the light of day again. The BB1 is small, designed as a city car, and runs on electricity, getting a range of 75 miles.
The BB1 includes an iPod dock mounted in the center of the steering wheel, which might prove to be a problem for the airbag. With an iPhone in the dock, the BB1 becomes Internet-enabled.
The GReddy Genesis Coupe is pretty heavily tuned and it wasn't even the craziest Coupe at Hyundai's booth.
(Credit: Hyundai)Last year, Hyundai was all about the Genesis sedan at the 2008 SEMA Show. For 2009, the newer and sportier Genesis Coupe steps to the forefront for its share of the spotlight. Hyundai had no fewer than four Coupes in its booth and there were dozens more scattered across the rest of the show floor. If that's not enough to convince your that Hyundai's got a hit on its hands, we're not sure what will.
Among Hyundai's offerings were the wild midengine V-8 RM460 Genesis Coupe and the mild Hennessey Tuning School Coupe. Also in the mix was Hyundai's Genesis Coupe 2.0T R-Spec, which we've already taken a look at, and a Genesis sedan that received custom hand painted graphics live during the show.
Check out our photos of Hyundai's assortment of Geneses for even more details.
Subaru's booth wasn't the biggest at the show, but it made a killer first impression.
(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CNET)Subaru's booth at the 2009 SEMA Show is located directly in front of the entrance to the show's Central Hall. And, wow, does it make a good first impression.
The first thing that you see upon passing through the doors is the towering 400-horsepower TRAX STI and its equally imposing sleigh trailer--built by none other than Subaru enthusiast numero uno, Ken Block. After finding our way around (or under) this massive one-off snowmobile, the rest of Subaru's offerings seemed a bit mild, yet were still impressive in their own ways.
For example, a VIP-styled Legacy sedan featured big wheels, big luxury, and an air suspension system to provide a super-low stance. Over on the other side of the booth, a road race Impreza sat poised to take on the Grand-Am Koni Challenge racing series. And any Subie-fan worth his salt would immediately recognize Mr. Block's other ride, the Gymkhana 2 STI from the previously featured videos of the same name.
Check out our photo tour of the Subaru booth for more photos and details; and as a bonus, check out the embedded video of Block's TRAX STI destroying some fresh snow with full reverse-lock action. You can thank me later.
Take a huge engine and drop it in a basic chassis. The VSR follows the classic hot rod formula to a tee.
(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CNET)Cadillac and General Motors have unveiled the VSR Cadillac V-Series Powered Sports Rod Concept, or VSR for short, at the 2009 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. What's the VSR concept, you ask? Well, according to GM:
"This concept features a contemporary hand-sculpted body and unique blend of Cadillac styling cues, with proportions and form that evoke images of earlier days of race cars/sports cars and 'Hot Rodding.' Race car engineering, state-of-the-art electronics and technology express the modern supercar era."
That means that GM had taken a lightweight and stripped-down aluminum hot rod chassis and slapped a thoroughly modern 6-liter, 400-horsepower Cadillac V-8 engine under its clamshell hood. This engine is probably a close relative to the 6.2-liter mill that powers the CTS-V. It transmits its power and torque through an automatic transmission to a pair of meaty, 22-inch rear wheels shod in TOYO Proxes S/T tires.
Up front, a pair of 20-inch wheels is connected to an electric powered rack-and-pinion system to handle the VSR's steering duties. All four corners are independently suspended on Air-Ride Technology Shock Wave air struts. Halting the VSR to a stop are a quartet of disc brakes with six-piston calipers and 13-inch rotors.
Although on display in a single seating configuration, the VSR actually seats two with its passenger side tonneau cover removed. Both passengers sit in carbon fiber bucket seats, but only the driver gets to tickle the custom steering wheel and play with the Digital instrumentation by Medallion. Cabin tech comes in the form of an iPhone/iPod Touch compatible audio system and a rearview camera system by Peak.
We don't expect to see this baby on the road any time soon, but it's good to know that someone at GM still has an active imagination.
MIT's concept robot head mounts on the dashboard to assist with navigation.
(Credit: MIT)MIT intends to revolutionize GPS navigation by making it friendly and predictive, using a friendly robot helper to anticipate your needs. The Affective Intelligent Driving Agent (AIDA) is a robot head on an articulated neck, reminiscent of movie robots from the 1980s, that mounts in the center of the dashboard.
It incorporates an expressive "face" that can smile, look sad, show warning signs, and even wink at you. AIDA was developed as a collaboration between the Personal Robots Group at the MIT Media Lab, MIT's SENSEable City Lab, and Volkswagen Group of America's Electronics Research Lab.
AIDA's expressive behaviors are designed to endear the device to you as it helps in your daily navigation. The robot learns your daily commute and which areas you frequent for which purposes.
For example, if you always head to a particular district in your city around dinner time, it will assume you like to eat dinner there. After it memorizes your commute, it will automatically plug in your route to work when you get into the car on a weekday morning. If you go to a hotel for a dalliance every Thursday at noon, it will probably give you a wink and a knowing grin as it maps the route for you.
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The Yamaha EC-f is an electric motorcycle concept designed for ease of use.
(Credit: Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, Inc.)
Just as carmakers develop electric cars, motorcycle manufacturers also see the writing on the wall, showing off a collection of electric bikes at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show. The Tokyo Motor Show has always played host to a substantial display of motorcycles, and this year is no different--except that the highlights of the show all have a green angle. Honda, Yamaha, and Suzuki all brought concepts to the show that could spell the future of riding, and possibly a new way for future commuters to get to work.
Check out photos of electric scooters and motorcycles at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show.
The Toyota FT-EVII is a new electric concept car based on the iQ platform.
(Credit: Automotive News)Although a leader in hybrid cars, generally conservative Toyota has seemed uninterested in developing electric cars--until now. At the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show, Toyota unveiled the FT-EVII, an electric car concept.
Toyota does away with a traditional steering wheel in favor of modern art.
(Credit: Automotive News)In putting together the FT-EVII, Toyota used its own off-the-shelf technologies, such as the iQ platform and components from its Synergy hybrid system. Although not on sale in the U.S., gasoline- and diesel-powered Toyota iQs are sold in Japan and the U.K. For the power train, Toyota went to lithium ion batteries for the FT-EVII, as opposed to the nickel-metal-hydride power pack from its current hybrid vehicles.
Where many electric cars in development, such as the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi iMiev, are specified to get about 100 miles range, Toyota only proposes 56 miles for the FT-EVII, and a top speed of 62 mph. These figures limit its use to sprawling metropolises, such as Tokyo, London, and New York.
Toyota also wanted to break away from traditional notions of automotive performance, so did away with a conventional steering wheel or foot pedals. Instead, the FT-EVII gets a weird-looking yoke, a piece of sculpture that supports an instrument cluster, navigation device, and a cup holder.
Toyota modified its hybrid badge, replacing the blue inset with a yellow one.
(Credit: Automotive News)The FT appellation, which we previously saw when Toyota announced the FT-86 concept, also on display at the Tokyo Motor Show, stands for Future Technology. We expect to see many more FT concept cars from Toyota in the coming years.
