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cars

Electric town car's launch paved with $60 million more

Norway's Think Global has received $60 million more in advance of the launch of its electric town car later this fall.

The company hopes to resurrect an electric town car created and later abandoned by Ford. Ford spent over $50 million designing and testing the car. The company will release the car in Norway and England in the fall and perhaps bring it to the states in 2008.

Think already raised $25 million. New investors include Rockport Capital Partners and DFJ Element.

Think's car won't be for everyone. Although it can be driven at freeway speeds, it … Read more

Top 5 dorky things to do in a personal flying saucer

Here's one that's been making the rounds recently--well, actually, anything remotely pertaining to a "flying car" seems to get a nod on every tech blog within a week. (Hmm, I wonder why?) This one, the Moller M200G, actually seems more along the lines of a personal flying saucer. Allegedly, it's actually in development and will sell for a paltry $125K. You'll be able to zip around about 10 feet off the ground at a speed of 50 miles per hour. (No, eco-geeks, I don't know what the mileage or emissions stats are.) And … Read more

Photos: The cleanest hybrids of 2007

While the debate rumbles on about hybrid-car fuel economy in real-world driving, J.D. Power and Associates this week published its Automotive Environmental Index of the 30 most environmental cars on the road. No fewer than 10 of the top 30 are hybrid vehicles--up from eight hybrids in last year's shortlist. Check out our slide show of the top 10 greenest hybrids.

Entrancing: Lincoln's disappearing-door concept

It turns out that BMW is not the only automaker to have toyed with the idea of retractable car doors. Thanks to this video evidence, we now know that Lincoln sponsored an even more elaborate car door mechanism in the 1990s. The mule for the concept was a 1993 Lincoln Mark VIII, from which the B-pillar was removed. Instead of a front-hinged door, the coupe features a retractable panel (complete with an electric window) that slides underneath the car body to allow access. The whole process takes less than 5 seconds from start to finish.

According to auction specialist Ron Susser, &… Read more

Netropa intros Intellinav 2 and 3 GPS devices with focus on value and safety

This is the second time in about a week that a relatively unknown GPS manufacturer has made us stop in our tracks and take notice of their product. Last time it was Navigon, and now it's Netropa. The company's Intellinav 2 and 3 portable navigation systems caught our eye not so much for their design (though compact and shiny) but rather for their pricing and safety features. The Intellinav 2 retails for just $279.99, and unlike some similarly priced systems, it includes text-to-speech functionality, so it will speak actual street names instead of giving you generic directions. … Read more

Hybrids wane, diesels gain as buyers weigh real-world mpg

Barely a week after it was announced that a California man is suing Honda for the worse-than-advertised fuel economy of his Civic Hybrid, an independent study has found that he is not alone in his disillusionment.

Results from this week's J.D. Power and Associates' second annual Alternative Powertrain Study show that the number of customers considering buying a hybrid has declined over the past year, partly due to a realization of the actual mileage that hybrid cars are likely to achieve. Of the 4,000 participants surveyed, 50 percent said they were considering a hybrid compared with 57 … Read more

Microsoft's Virtual Earth Preview is Bullitt-proof

Ever since the first time I saw Lt. Frank Bullitt thrash his Ford Shelby GT around San Francisco, I have longed for a chance to drive the streets of this city unhindered by traffic restrictions, pedestrians, and other such annoyances. Thanks to a Microsoft application, my dream has virtually come true. The Virtual Earth Local Technology Preview makes use of streetside-view photographs similar to those used by Google's Street View application.

With the Microsoft service you get the added bonus of navigating the maps in either a yellow race car or a blue sports car. Drivers get a view … Read more

Knitted Ferrari really moves the needle

We hear a lot of Ferrari-related yarns here at Crave--the story of the cardboard FXX Millechili being one of our recent favorites. But here's one that really made us sheepish: a full-size Ferrari made entirely from wool.

British art student Lauren Porter has devoted nearly a year of her life to making a full-size replica of the car, which looks like a cross between a Testarossa and a 355. According to Tech Digest, Porter enlisted the help of 20 family members and friends to achieve the feat, although she welded the car's steel frame together herself.

Via Tech Digest… Read more

Navigon 5100 and 7100: Not your run-of-the-mill GPS

Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking: "Great, just another company joining the GPS fray." But hold up; you might be interested in hearing about the Navigon 7100 and Navigon 5100. First unveiled at CeBit in March, these two portable navigation systems will both come to the United States and offer subscription-free real-time traffic data, Zagat Survey ratings, and reviews for points of interest, the company announced today. Other features include Reality View and Lane Assistant. The former gives you a 3D, virtual-reality view of complicated highway interchanges, while Lane Assistant will tell you which is the … Read more