Friday, March 14, 2008

The Coolest Way To Get From A To B Without The C

Who said that green vehicles couldn’t be cool? We gathered the coolest ones that many of us want to have. Our favourite: Venturi Fetish, PoweriZer, Zero Bike and Worn Again. Check them out and tell us what’s yours.




Coolest Green Cars

Venturi Fetish
980kg carbon-fibre and aluminium constructed sports car with top speed 100mph. It accelerates 0-62mph in less than 5 seconds. Venturi Fetish is powered by an 180kW motor with its energy supplied by lithium-ion battery. Venturi claims its Fetish will take you 155 miles and those batteries should last around 2,000 charges – or 10 years. To recharge it’ll take 1 hour with the external charger, or if you’re out and about and need to use one of the internal chargers it’ll take 2-4 hours.

Honda Dream II
This electrical oddity might look like it’s from the future, but it’s actually more than 10 years old. The Honda Dream II was built to compete in the World Solar Challenge in 1996, a race, unsurprisingly, for solar powered cars taking place between Darwin and Adelaide. Honda entered the race in both the ’93 and ’96 - this Dream II taking part in the second event. Its inclusion gave the event a huge boost in coverage, the Honda effort shattering previous records by covering the 1866 miles in just over 4 days with an average speed of 55.8mph.

GM EV1
Perhaps the most notorious electric vehicle of them all General Motors EV1 has sparked a huge conspiracy debate that car manufacturers don’t really want to produce electric vehicles. And General Motors has certainly given the conspiracy theorists reason to believe there’s something not right. That’s because the EV1 was universally praised by the 465 people who leased it from the American automotive giant. Not a pretty car admittedly, but its wind cheating shape allowed it to cruise at speed in near silence and maximise the energy from its batteries.

Tesla Roadster
Tesla Roadster is the latest electric sports car to wow drivers with an environmental bent. Its performance matches its looks, the Roadster able to reach 60mph in around 4 seconds – all from a motor that Tesla describes as being ‘the size of a watermelon’. The batteries take up a bit more space, though the lithium-ion ESS (Energy Storage System) is able to run the Roadster for 250 miles without a recharge. Oh, and Tesla claim a top speed of more than 130mph.

Tesla is using Lotus’ strong and lightweight extruded aluminium chassis to underpin its electric sports car. Lotus are involved too in the Tesla’s development.

Smart EV
The Smart’s drivetrain has been developed by the Zytek Group in the UK, its electric motor and batteries giving it a 30kW output and a potential top speed of 70mph. Smart quotes a 0-30mph time of 6.5 seconds, which is reasonable, but suggests the performance after that isn’t up to much… Still, it’s a city car, and it should be quick enough to dice with town traffic. Smart claims a range of ‘up to’ 72 miles. It’s not much but well…

Coolest Bikes
Zero Bike
The bike is a hubless and very lightweight bicycle powered by cranking magnetic pedals which rotate the tires suspended between other magnets. Designed by Makota Makita and Hiroshi Tsuzaki from Tokyo.

Biomega AMS Bicycle
This multi-purpose town bike uses shaft instead of a chain, requiring less maintenance, and leaving fewer oily trousers and tangled evening dresses. A hub dynamo, 8-speed hub gear, shaft drive, and clean, deco design are well integrated on this bike.

Coolest Eco Shoes
Worn Again
Their shoes are made of everything - from bicycle tires, car seat belts, e-leather and reclaimed jeans – yet their shoes are stylish, eco and cool.



Ecolution
They are made of hemp and are vegan, substantial, durable and long-lasting shoes. The upper is constructed with the finest organic hemp fibers with the natural rubber outsole. Great and giving you the peace-of-mind that such an environmentally-positive footwear statement can afford.

Simple Shoes
Simple Shoes are made of recycled car tires, hemp and bamboo - the best combination for eco-aware people.



…And Now For Something Completely Different

PoweriZers
PoweriZers are super-muscles that enhance your natural strength. Curved springs attach to the bottom of the PoweriZers and harness the gravitational energy that is created when you put your weight down. The super-charged springs push back, giving you the ability to run and jump incredible distances!



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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

great article likewise a few things I would like to have

Anonymous said...

I guess I will just get the shoes for now and wait till the bonus comes (if it comes) for the car. I like you site, very fresh and great info and products....well done!

Dan Gill said...

I found you on Best Green Blogs - very cool site.

I thought you might be interested in taking a look at/promoting your blog on a new green product review site We have a ton of content on the Tesla and several other EVs.

We'd appreciate your participation/feedback on the site. Hope to see you on there.

Anonymous said...

I used to think the Tesla Roadster could never be replaced in my heart. I was wrong. The Venturi Fetish is hot!!

Dagny McKinley
www.onnotextiles.com
organic apparel

autobodypart8 said...

very intersting i like it very much.when i came accross your blog i felt that a great blog with great article..
Thanks

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