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Submission + - This Car Can Lean Into Curves, Literally

Submitted by cartechboy
cartechboy writes: You know how motorcycle riders lean into the corners, sometimes even touching their knee to the ground? Yeah, you can't do that in a car, but Mercedes-Benz has developed new technology that replicates that sensation by leaning the car into bends. It's called Dynamic Curve and it's part of the Active Body control suspension system on the new 2015 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Coupe. In turns, special plunger cylinders raise the suspension struts and lower the opposite side, depending on the direction of the bend. This has the result of tilting the car body slightly towards the inside of the corner, countering centrifugal cornering forces. Mercedes says it's not design for increasing cornering speeds, but increasing pleasure for the driver and passengers. We now live in an era where cars actively lean into corners for driver and passenger pleasure.

Submission + - Tesla Has To Sell 6 Million Electric Cars To Make History

Submitted by cartechboy
cartechboy writes: Many entrepreneurs have tried to start car companies in the U.S. over the past century, but the last person to do so successfully from the ground up was Walter P. Chrysler in 1924. To say this feat is monumental would clearly be an understatement. That isn't to say many haven't tried. Those who have include Preston Tucker, Henrik Fisker, Malcolm Bricklin, and even John Delorean. Now it's Elon Musk's time with Tesla. But what will it take for Musk and Tesla to be successful? The answer is the sale of at least six million electric cars. That's what it'll take to make history. Henry J. Kaiser's car company Kaiser-Frazer (later Kaiser Motors) produced a staggering 750,000 vehicles in its nine year run. Times have changed, back in 1955 when Kaiser closed up shop, only 11 million vehicles were sold globally, where as last year 83 million vehicles were sold globally. To equal the scale of Kaiser's achievement Tesla will have to sell at least 6 million vehicles. While not impossible, it gives an idea of the challenge facing any automotive entrepreneur.

Submission + - Tesla's Fate In New Jersey To Be Decided Tomorrow

Submitted by cartechboy
cartechboy writes: There's been a ton of guerilla warfare between auto dealers and Tesla Motors, and it's about to continue. Tomorrow a bill will be heard by the Consumer Affairs Committee of the New Jersey State Assembly regarding electric-car companies like Tesla to sell their cars directly to the public. This bill applies solely to zero-emission vehicles. Auto-dealer associations both at a state and national level are extremely threatened by Tesla's direct-sales model. Dealers in some states have been successful in banning Tesla's direct-sales model, while others have failed. The Federal Trade Commission has already stated it's in favor of Tesla's direct sales model and is against dealer-backed bans. It feels what the dealers are trying to do only hurts the consumer. Is Tesla's direct sales model the future of car sales?

Submission + - Rocks Made of Plastic Found on Hawaiian Beach (sciencemag.org)

Submitted by sciencehabit
sciencehabit writes: Plastic may be with us a lot longer than we thought. In addition to clogging up landfills and becoming trapped in Arctic ice, some of it is turning into stone. Scientists say a new type of rock cobbled together from plastic, volcanic rock, beach sand, seashells, and corals has begun forming on the shores of Hawaii. The new material--which the researchers are calling a "plastiglomerate"--may be becoming so pervasive that it actually becomes part of the geologic record.

Submission + - Eating Breakfast Won't Help You Lose Weight (sciencemag.org)

Submitted by sciencehabit
sciencehabit writes: Dieters are often urged to eat breakfast as a way to lose weight, so they don’t binge later in the day. But two new studies suggest this conventional wisdom is wrong. The authors speculate that the volunteers compensated for any changes in food intake at other times of the day. A second, smaller report in the same journal assigned lean adults to breakfast or no breakfast and found little impact on metabolism and heart health.

Submission + - End of an Era - No more PSP (theguardian.com)

Submitted by Linnen
Linnen writes: Sony has ended shipping PSP handheld in Japan.
From Guardian;
"Now PSP is saying goodbye. Shipments to the US ended this year, and they are closing in Japan soon. European stores will see their last arrivals toward Christmas. Launched in Japan in December 2004, it is almost 10 years old – not a bad achievement for a handheld that was almost written off early in its lifespan."

Submission + - Ford Just Created A Midsize Sedan That Barely Weighs Anything

Submitted by cartechboy
cartechboy writes: Today's automakers are scrambling to make lightweight vehicles to help improve fleet fuel economy. Using aluminum in high-end luxury cars is nothing new, but using it in pickup trucks, that's new. Ford stunned the industry in January when it unveiled the new aluminum 2015 F-150. By using aluminum it shaved 700 pounds from the truck's curb weight. Now Ford's showing an even more advanced design concept called the Fusion Lightweight Concept Car. It's a midsize Ford Fusion that weighs less than a subcompact Fiesta. How? Ford made use of extensive lightweight materials like carbon fiber, aluminum, lightweight plastics, chemically strengthened glass, and it event went so far as to fit it with aluminum brake rotors, carbon fiber wheels and oil pan, composite springs, and more. Ford acknowledges the materials and methods used to create this concept aren't ready for mass production, but it's working on getting there with the use of shared architectures, new production methods, and volume. This is a look at the future, and it's not so far away.

Submission + - Elon Musk hints at surprise move on Tesla patents (usatoday.com)

Submitted by mpicpp
mpicpp writes: Tesla CEO Elon Musk, in expressing surprise other automakers haven't made big commitments to electric cars, said Tuesday he's thinking of doing something "fairly controversial" regarding the company's patents.

He didn't elaborate, but says it's a decision he would have to "carefully explain."

The surprising statement made at Tesla's shareholder meeting raised questions about whether he may be thinking of a particularly bold act, such as releasing some of Tesla's patented technology in order to foster further electric car development.

Submission + - Facebook acquires data plan startup Pryte (cnet.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Facebook plans to dominate how mobile data is sold. Mysterious Finnish startup didn't even launch before acquisition.

Submission + - Lithium-Ion Batteries Be Woven From Yarn In The Future?

Submitted by cartechboy
cartechboy writes: Currently, battery packs are solid units that take up space and are available in limited shapes. But what if your entire car seat became a large, comfortable battery? If recent experiments by scientists at Fudan University in Shanghai, China become reality, future lithium-ion battery packs could be woven from a yarn-like fabric. Wei Weng and his colleagues have designed and fabricated carbon nanotube composite yarns that can be wound around lithium-ion battery fibers and onto a cotton fiber, to create a lithium-ion battery. These fibers with a 1mm diameter can be woven into flexible textiles or cloth, like strands of any other material. This could lead to the dawn of wearable electronics since devices would have a power source that wouldn't require pockets and compartments for solid batteries. This leads to the automotive application for electric cars. Where there's material, there's a potential battery--think automotive trim panels, seats, carpets, and more as potential batteries. The battery so far exhibits impressive electrochemical properties--0.75 mWh/cm energy density and capacity retention of 87 percent after 100 cycles. Improvements are on going, but this could be the next big thing.

Submission + - Intel Wants To Computerize Your Car

Submitted by cartechboy
cartechboy writes: Google just unveiled its cute self-driving car prototype, and now Intel is the next tech company looking to get in on the rapid digital change coming in cars — a potentially lucrative area for expansion. Intel is releasing what it's calling an "in-vehicle solutions platform" — processors, an operating system and developer kits Intel is hoping automakers and others would use to build in-vehicle infotainment systems. From the developer perspective, there is a chance the Intel release makes building easier and cheaper. But is it good for automakers to be building these systems instead of Google and Apple? So far, no automaker has done so well on software, and some have seriously damaged their reputation (ex: MyFord Touch and Sync, Cadillac CUE).

Submission + - Anatomy Of The 1,000 MPH Bloodhound SSC

Submitted by cartechboy
cartechboy writes: The laws of physics are pretty clear: speed is relative. To a snail, human walking pace is incomprehensible, yet compared to the speed at which light travels, everything in the universe is standing still. To us mere humans, 1,000 mph is pretty fast. It's even faster along the surface of the planet, which is what the Bloodhound SSC land speed record team aims to achieve next summer. Using both a jet engine and a rocket, the 1,000 mph target seems within reach. A new video has been released detailing the anatomy of the record attempt including the start and stop points which are twelve miles apart. The entire run is lined with rocks which isn't very comforting, but the Bloodhound SSC does have the world's strongest brakes, parachute, and air-brakes. Still, aiming your 1,000 mph car at a bed of rocks is still risky business. We'll find out how it all pans out next summer when the record attempt run takes place.

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