Posts Tagged ‘Green’

Evocation of the Evoque

Wednesday, March 9th, 2011

The New Range Rover looks like it will be reaching out to a new gener­ation of consumers who have a little envir­on­mental knowledge encoded into their love of the Land Rover brand. We hope that the company manages to stay true to their core whilst facing up to the envir­on­mental imper­atives facing us all.

The new Range certainly looks the part — it seems to have captured the stylish attitude (don’t mention the word bling) created so success­fully in the Range Rover Sport. But the company seems to be making much of its less Macho credentials.

As part of the Evoque launch, Land Rover has produced a series of films that give an in-​​depth look at the design and testing processes used during the Evoque’s devel­opment. Created to coincide with the Car Design News awards (at which the Evoque won Best Production Car), the series includes four individual pieces that focus on the innov­ative tests that the prototype vehicles are put through – including 3D virtual testing, camou­flaged runs and heat resistance in Dubai.

The first video in the series (below) gives a cinematic intro­duction to the Evoque paired with an interview with Land Rover design director Gerry McGovern. It also has some great behind-​​the-​​scenes footage of the designers and engineers at work.

Stay tuned for more inside track in the coming weeks.

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Green Machines For Xmas

Friday, December 25th, 2009

bentley-soapbox-003

We know, that every boy from the age of six to 106 would dig this little Bentley Soapbox for Christmas: but you’re not having it.

Because the sexy little creation is Bentley’s. And only Bentley’s it was a result of 2008’s Bentley’s Green Power exper­iment . But, of course, there a whole plethora of sexy little electric machines that register on the radar of desire. Take this Daimler-​​Benz concept for example.

Cell_Roadster

Built appar­ently by Benz trainees in homage to the company’s early experiemtns in auto engin­eering, we can see the appeal of this sort of altern­ative transport. Fuel Cells and light­weight motoring are one way to feel good about your movement for 2010.

More practical, however, would be this electic powered and pedal cycle by San Francisco Based company Ultra Motors. The A2B has 500 watts of power and a 20 mile range that would cover most urban journeys.

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Will Plug-in Hybrids Undermine the Grid?

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

Fisker

US wires are buzzing (no pun intended) with an improbable angst over whether or not the next gener­ation of Plug-​​In hybrids will put disastrous strain on the already over-​​stretched US national grid.

The 2010 Fisker Karma (pictured) and the 2011 Chevrolet Volt plug-​​in hybrids, among other electric-​​drive vehicles, are scheduled to roll out next year. The Nissan Leaf electric car (that comes without a range-​​extending engine) is also due for release in 2012, and will be even more reliant on plug-​​in power, so it’s a question worth asking.

While the Fisker is undoubtedly the nicest looking hybrid we’ve ever seen and has a chance of being sold in numbers, we doubt that even the oil-​​guzzling Americans are being a little hysterical over these anti-​​heroes of all-​​american motoring. Some local utility companies have however, apprently worried about the impact of “clusters of EVs in specific neigh­bor­hoods where early adopters may live”.

Still, we suppose that the odd period of grid blackout may be a small price to pay for the atmosphere.