- Written by anoop eee
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FOUR WAYS OF LOOKING AT A CAR
AS A FUEL- FREE RIDE
It looks like a lunar Lander, but what’s really out of this world about venture eclectic tribrid is that-for short distances, at least-it can be powered entirely by wind and sun. Thanks to its onboard wind turbine, a mere breeze can juice the car’s battery enough to provide 14 kilometers of driving. You get five to six more kilometers from solar panels on the roof(to go farther than the grocery store, you need the car’s plug-in battery).Without sides, the venturi is not the safest, although its designers say it’s intended more for errand running than for highway driving. In 2007, the company sold 200 early versions of the car for $33,000 each; more mainstream models were unveiled in October. Whether or not this particular car catches on, the hope is that its innovative technology will.
VENTURI ECLECTIC
VENTURI ECLECTIC
AS A THRILL RIDE
As cars become smaller and sleeker with our changing energy needs, the experience of driving is likely to morph too. Enter the ventureone, from a us manufacture and a Dutch engineering firm. It’s one of half a dozen three-wheel concept cars being developed that combine the fuel savings of hybrid with the excitement of riding something like motorcycle. In this case, the car is the same height and length as a mini cooper, but the car’s pilot-er.driver-is enclosed in the single front seat by a glass canopy.(another passenger can sit in the single backseat.)And on a quick turn--yee-ha!-the vehicle tilts to one side. The cars are priced at about $25,000 and go on sale in early 2010.
AS THE NEW BUG
When the Rs1lakh(or nearabout) Nano debuted at the New Delhi car show last januvary,it was heralded as “transformational”, That’s because the four door,three-metre-long sub-subcompact from tatamotors puts driving within reach of an entirely new segment of the worlds population-India’s millions of motorbike and scooter rides. Other Asian markets are next, but experts say that the prospect of the whole third world on four wheels could have outsize negatives(think global gridlock and massive co2 emissions).Not that developed countries have much right to complain about anyone else’s fuel consumption: California currently burns more petrol than all of India.
AS GOOD, CLEAN FUN
You know you’d feel smart driving an emission-free car. But the tesla roadster_an all-electric sports car—is proving that losing a tailpipe can be stylish too. The two seater, which looks (and costs) more like a Porsche than a prius, not only accelerates from zero to 100 in four seconds but gets more than 320 kilometers per charge. And it’s powered entirely by its lithium-ion battery, unlike hybrids, which have two separate systems: an electric motor and a petrol engine. The downside? meeting demand. though the company has taken orders for more than 10000 of the six-figure vehicles, it has delivered only 30;the plan is to roll out close to 2000 this year.
