Planes, Trains, & Automobiles

Energy Crisis

Mike Whelan posted the above photo to his Flickr photostream recently. Back in April, when gas prices were still well below the $3-per-gallon mark, it looked like sales of SUVs were starting to slow. Interestingly, we’ve crossed the threshold Keith Bradsher quotes in High and Mighty, his book detailing how the US auto industry became […] » about 200 words

Segway Easy Rider Movie Trailer

Remember those guys who rode a Segway cross-country last year? Well, they’ve got a movie coming out. Yup, there’s even a trailer. Possibly more interesting: the photo gallery (from which the photo above came). Thanks to Engadget for the link. 10 mph, 10mph, cross country, easy rider, movie, movie trailer, on the road again, photo […] » about 100 words

Space Shuttle Tracking (and other good uses of the Google Maps API)

Tom Mangan has put the Google Maps API to interesting use with his space shuttle tracking page. Also worth checking out: his Blackbird Spotting site and TLable, a little extension to make pinning/annotating maps even better. blackbird, google maps, map api, space, space shuttle, spacecraft, sr-71, tom mangan » about 100 words

Japanoid K-Cars

Gizmodo reported it a while ago, but a Canadian company called Japanoid is importing these and other tiny Japanese cars. How tiny? At or under 1.5 meters (under 5 feet!) wide with engines 660CC or under. They’re called Kei Jidousha, or Keicars, or just K-cars (though not to be confused with Chrysler’s K-Cars). Japanoid has […] » about 200 words

Jet Turbine Powered Toyota MR2 On eBay

Yup, it’s up on eBay now (closing in a day or so) with the following description: Everybody needs one of these, cleaning out the garage, this little car is so much fun, it is thrust powered by 2 GE t-58 turbines, has 4 fuel tanks, power steering, power brakes, fire detection, fire suppression, roll over […] » about 300 words

Doggy And You: Mark Schutte’s Dog Powered Scooter

Engadget has a link to Mark Schutte’s dog powered scooter. This catches my eye because my friend Joe is always looking for ways to exercise his sled dogs in the summer. The developer, of course, is very serious about its befits and usefulness of this contraption. Here’s the sales pitch: Focus your dogs energy and […] » about 200 words

SMART High Efficiency Car Coming To US

I got excited a while ago when I learned that Daimler Chrysler was bringing their little SMART car to Canada, and I’m even more excited now that I learn that it’s coming to the US via ZAP, a company originally formed to make and sell electric cars (ZAP stands for zero air pollution). Though powered […] » about 100 words

Casey Bisson

Who Doesn’t Want a Caboose?

Perhaps it’s the lasting effects of watching The Station Agent too many times, but I went looking for a place to buy a caboose. They’re big; as much as 50′ long, 16′ tall, and 11′ feet wide. And they’re heavy, perhaps 30 tons. But they can be moved on roads via big trucks and cranes, […] » about 300 words

Casey Bisson

Moving About On One, Two, or Three-Wheels

We’ve come to expect certain things. Cars have four wheels, for instance. And we expect two-wheeled vehicles look like bikes or motorcycles or scooters. Then came the Segway a few years ago and shifted the two-wheeled concept around. Now, a number of stories regarding vehicles of one, two, and three wheels have come out. They’re […] » about 600 words

Saab Is Latest Car Maker To Get Excited About iPods

MacNN reports that Saab has released an iPod integration kit: Saab has quietly introduced its own iPod/MP3 Player audio integration system. The new system, listed in the most recent Saab Accessories Catalog from October 2004, offers direct input for and control of the iPod on its Saab 9-3, according to one MacNN reader: “I spoke […] » about 300 words

Russian Battle Station Polyus

DefenseTech reported, some time ago, on the old USSR’s Space Battle Station (or, communist Russia’s answer to Reagan’s star wars program). More pictures are in a forum at Militaryphotos.net. Called Polyus, it was ridiculously huge — as with all things Russian. Sadly, (from a purely scientific perspective) DefenseTech reports “it couldn’t get itself into a […] » about 200 words

Casey Bisson

In Car iPod, Take 2

Engadget echoed a story from AutoBlog (duh, I just noticed that they’re both from Weblogs Inc.) about an iPod integration kit that works with most all 1998-or-newer cars: iPod2car. First, it gives a clean line-in to the stero from the iPod, then it gives next and previous track as well as rewind and fastforward control […] » about 300 words

It’s Automotive Week In The Blogs

First Gizmodo published a feature on in-car computers. ArsTechnica got into the automotive theme by reporting the International CXT story. Not to be outdone by Gizmodo, Engadget reported on the ultimate car computer install: a Tatra with a Mac in it. For some reason, I went looking at the Tatra car-mod and found Tatra trucks […] » about 200 words

Casey Bisson

The Bellingham Accident

I pulled up to the stop sign at the end of North St., looking to turn left onto Route 126 in Bellingham, MA, at about 3:40 PM on Saturday 18 September when I saw a red Dodge Neon coming down the hill towards me with its brakes locked up. It was a busy intersection and […] » about 200 words

Casey Bisson

“I Wanted a Tatra, So I Got A Tatra”

Engadget picked up on the story about the Tatra with a Mac in it. I couldn’t help checking for changes since I first saw the story. There’s a new version of DashMac, the control software, and it seems he can now control his car via SMS messages, but most things seem in-line with where he […] » about 200 words

Casey Bisson

High And Mighty

I can’t help but steal the title to Keith Bradsher’s excellent book about the titanic rise of SUVs on our highways. Bradsher, in his 2002 book, makes note of efforts at Freightliner and Mercedes to release uber-SUVs based on the companies’ commercial truck bodies but weighing in at just under the limit at which commercial […] » about 200 words

Casey Bisson

In-Car Computers

The age of the in-car computer has come. One vendor calls them “carputers,” and Gizmodo lays it out for those who want an Intel-based CPU in their trunk/under the seat/in the dash. What to do with a computer in the car? Now that computers have moved out of the den to become part of the […] » about 200 words

Casey Bisson

NH License Plates

For a variety of reasons, I was happy to discover that NH allows drivers to check the availability of vanity plates online (though, somewhat nervous find that the state uses Microsoft servers). The search enlightened me to a variety of plates I didn’t know about. We’ve all seen the “veteran” and “Purple Heart” plates, and a few “antique” plates, but I’ve never seen a “street rod” plate. But there are even more plates available.

Then I found Plate Shack‘s library of Bicentennial plates from New Hampshire. Down at the bottom of the page is a collection of “custom town plates” that were issued in place of the standard front plate. Those plates are from 1976, but “the tradition continues, as New Hampshire allows cities and towns to design custom front plates to celebrate important events or fund the restoration of historical sites.”

So now I’m wondering, why doesn’t Warren have a custom plate honoring our famed rocket?

Casey Bisson

Flying Car Options

In commenting on the Space Race story, Zach pointed out that the Moller Skycar is still under development (which is better than going bankrupt or just disappearing — like so many other good ideas have). If you poke around the site you can find video of flight tests and sales info. Yes, they’re taking deposits for deliveries they hope will start in 2006.

Meanwhile, the sky hasn’t fallen on the Trek Aerospace Millennium Jet either. It did a successful un-tethered forward flight test in early 2004 and the site claims more is in store.

For options available today (and for less money than either of these will take you for), you might look into the Rotary Air Force 2000 GTX-SE. For around $30,000 you can have an aircraft that can take off in less than 75 feet, land in less than 10, cruise at 80MPH (100MPH max), and burn only 6GPH.

You’ll need a full private pilot’s license with rotary wing endorsements, but it could be the ultimate commuter vehicle.

Casey Bisson

Hmmm… Boats

It looks like a tug boat, but the Great Harbour 37 could be a lot of fun. A magazine article talks about bareboat charters in the British Virgin Islands and the pleasures quietly exploring the coves and uninhabited areas on your own. » about 100 words

Casey Bisson

Return of Dirigibles: Delayed or Dead?

The 90s saw a resurgence of interest in dirigible airships. People believed their time had come again, but few are flying today. The CargoLifter, a cargo airship designed for loads of 160 metric tons (that’s over 175 US tons), is in receivership, and little has been heard of the Zeppelin NT.

Links and more info:

Casey Bisson