Add Moletech to the growing list of companies trying to cash in on going green -- they claim their new Fuel Saver cuts down on emissions and improves fuel economy in all fossil fueled engines. After some preliminary testing the California Environment Engineering Center for Environmental Research seems to agree that the device does actually work, but until more rigorous assessments are made your, uh, mileage may vary. The "universal product" comes in eight models to fit any size vehicle from cars to scooters to boats, with prices ranging from $119 to $299 USD. If you install one in your Prius and start contributing back to the grid, be sure to let us know.

Because all of the posters plastered on every single surface on the inside of the cars is clearly not enough advertising for your average subway passenger, London is poised to light up a half-kilometer-long LED display in the tunnel between Heathrow and Paddington Station. Manufactured by Canadian firm SideTrack, the simulated video system -- which is composed of 360 individual LED bars synchronized to train speeds -- will replace a static version already installed along the same Heathrow Express route, thus allowing officials to change the message without swapping out physical signage. No word yet on who the premiere advertiser will be, but this medium would seem like a good way for rental car companies to make a compelling point: "Avoid these crappy ads, rent from Avis next time."

[Thanks, Jamie D.]

Frankly we're a little surprised that anyone at Intel even watches a show about motorcycle building (don't they spend all their time in clean rooms trying to one up AMD?), but apparently the world's largest chipmaker has so much love for Discovery Channel's (and now TLC's) American Chopper that it commissioned Team OCC to assemble perhaps the highest tech bike in the world. This 250-horsepower workstation on wheels -- unveiled simultaneously in meatspace and Second Life in honor of the Xeon 5300 series release -- probably sports more digital kit than Sturgis or Laconia have ever seen, including either a quad or octo core chipset (sources don't make it clear), removable UMPC that doubles as a virtual dashboard, rear-facing cameras to replace the mirrors, full audio and video capabilities, GPS of course, and what sounds like a 3G data connection. The two-part build will air on July 12th and 19th, when you can probably expect to see Pauls Jr. and Sr. get into a shouting match over which OS to install on the chopper, as well as Mikey trying to play The Sims while barreling down the Taconic at 90 MPH.

[Via The Raw Feed and CIOL]

Lest you think Honda's devoting all its attention these days to developing future instruments of destruction, you can take some comfort in the fact that it is (for now) primarily a car company and, as such, is still working on technology to help us humans while we're stuck driving ourselves around. To that end, the company's just unveiled a new diesel powertrain system that is says will run as clean as a gasoline-powered car, not to mention provide better mileage. Diesel-powered vehicles are already known as gas-sippers, of course, but also have higher exhaust levels of nitrogen oxide. To cut that down, Honda incorporated a rather dangerous-sounding two-layer catalytic converter into the drivetrain, which converts the nitrogen oxide into less environmentally-harmful nitrogen. The first cars using the new diesel technology are set to hit the U.S. market in 2009, with Honda also open to the idea of licensing the technology to other automakers. In related news, Honda also announced an updated version of its Honda FCX fuel-cell vehicle, upping the maximum driving range to 354 miles and the max speed to a respectable 100 miles per hour. It'll be available in limited numbers in Japan and the United States in 2008, and we assume that when they say "limited" they really mean it.

What's the world coming to? It's bad enough that everyone moves from here to there in their cars, motorcycles, personal helicopters, and human transportation devices (except for us -- we sit in front of the computer for 15 hours a day), but now it seems that the sedentary lifestyle is so prevalent, even robots are demanding their own set of wheels. You may remember Professor Oh Jun-ho's Asimo-like humanoid bot Hubo (probably better known when he sports the head of Einstein and transforms into Albert Hubo); well now Hubo has apparently gotten tired of walking around all the time, and has tasked the professor with acquiring a Segway for him to zip around on. At this point Hubo is unable to board the Segway without some help (geez, how lazy can you get?), but a software upgrade will supposedly provide him with the necessary motivation. See, you thought that our future robotic overlords would be shuffling around slowly while they round us up to toil in the silicon mines; in fact, they'll be corralling all humans at several miles-per-hour from the comfort of their Kamen-built scooters.

We know that people are unfairly discriminated against everyday for any number of reasons -- their ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and even weight -- but a new policy recently enacted by Australia's Qantas airline seems to be the first time in history that folks are being singled out because of the brand of laptop they choose to sport. Due to the recent spate of flaming Dell notebooks and the subsequent, unprecedented battery recall, new Qantas regulations make it clear that no Dell laptops -- not even those unaffected by the recall -- are allowed to contain batteries while on the plane; at one point Qantas even reportedly took the unusual step of requiring Dell-toting passengers to remove their batteries at the gate and tape up the contact points, ensuring that only those clever enough to remove the tape would be able to operate their laptops in-flight. Either way, if you want to get some work done, you'll have to buy a first- or business-class ticket (and probably an inverter as well) to power your lappy from the embedded outlets only available in the pricier cabins. A Qantas spokesperson claims that the policy has been relaxed a bit since the initial Dell owners were pulled aside before boarding; now you won't have to "admit" owning a Dell until an on-board announcement requires you to do so. "Once you've figured out how to operate your seatbelt, located the emergency exits, and safely stowed your carry-on luggage in the overhead bins, please calmly remove the battery from any Dell laptop you may be carrying so that it does not spontaneously combust and kill us all. Thank you for choosing Qantas, and have a super flight."

[Via TUAW]

Just because Boeing decided to pull the plug on its Connexion service doesn't mean in-flight broadband has been grounded for good, with a company called ASiQ now promising to step in and fill the wireless void. ASiQ -- who recently revealed plans for allowing consumers to use their regular cellphones while flying -- has just announced an upcoming package based on an Inmarsat broadband link that will supposedly cost airlines just $5 to $15 to operate per flight (depending on the size of the aircraft) over a five year lease, meaning users should benefit from much lower fees than the typical $27 Boeing was charging for long-haul international trips. ASiQ will initially show off its attractively-priced system at Miami's World Airlines Entertainment Association conference and exhibition in mid-September, and plans to begin rolling out the commercial service sometime next year. We'll have to wait and see if the supposedly-lower infrastructure costs actually translate to cheap service for consumers, but if we can get our mid-air WiFi on for like five or ten bucks a flight, well, we can certainly envision this project really, um, "taking off."

[Via Geekzone]

Even though air travel has gotten marginally safer since the tragedies of 9/11 -- thanks in part to fortified cockpits, increased air marshal presence, and a ban on toenail clippers -- it still doesn't seem impossible for a group of determined individuals to hijack a plane and turn it into a deadly missile. And should such a suicide-style attack happen again, the only surefire way of protecting targets on the ground would seem to be shooting the plane out of the air -- a nightmare scenario that no one wants to see. Well, soon airlines may have another, much safer option at their disposal in the form of a software platform being developed by a consortium of 30-odd European businesses and research institutes that would make an aircraft's systems completely unusable in the event of a cockpit breach -- control of the plane would be passed to officials on the ground -- even if one of the hijackers was among the 1337est of hackers. The $45 million program is being spearheaded by Airbus (already big fans of auto-pilot), Siemens, and the Technical University of Munich, with the first results of the collaboration scheduled to be revealed at an October conference in the UK. Here's to hoping that the group comes up with a working solution sooner rather than later, because this is one technology that just can't be deployed quickly enough.

Anyone whose garage is so packed full of junk that getting in and out of the car is nearly impossible will appreciate a new feature set to debut on future BMW models that allows you to stand outside while your Bimmer parks itself (as well as unparks itself, we assume, or this tech wouldn't be very useful). The German manufacturer recently released a video of this self-parking wizardry -- you can catch it by following the Read link -- which shows a happy homeowner simply pushing a button on his keyfob to fire up the motor, retract the side-view mirrors, and send the car on a controlled journey to its home just inches from another luxury ride. The system leverages distance-sensing technology that we've seen before from Mercedes, Toyota, and the like, but requires a reflective lens on the garage wall to operate, which unfortunately precludes its use in public parking lots. Still a pretty useful feature, but if it takes three years to find its way into commercial vehicles as BMW anticipates, we'll probably already have the parking covered with those self-driving models we've been promised.

If you're the type that enjoys taking short road trips at low speeds, then a new "car" hitting the States this month may be just what you've been looking for: by the end of July, Toronto's Feel Good Cars Inc. is set to ship one of the country's first fully-enclosed, all-electric vehicles to 20 dealers nationwide, with 25 more expected to sign up by the end of the year. The Microcar Zenn (which stands for zero emissions, no noise) is an electric version of the diesel-powered MC-2 sold in Europe; Feel Good imports the cars without a drivetrain, slaps in a five-horsepower engine at its Canadian factory, and plans to unleash a small fleet of 2,000 vehicles in the next year at $10,000-a-pop. Equally at home in the inner city or a gated community, the Zenn features many of the same amenities you'd find on a regular car -- seat belts, headlights, defroster, and a gauge cluster (no nav system, though) -- in a 1,200-pound package that's just 120-inches long. While vehicles such as the Chrysler GEM have shown us that there is indeed a market for these glorified golf carts, folks who enjoy hitting the highway and feeling the wind in their hair will surely steer clear of the Zenn, as its top speed of 25MPH and maximum range of 35 miles mean that you couldn't possibly merge into 60+MPH traffic -- that is, if the battery even lasted long enough for you to make it to the on-ramp in the first place.

[Via Autoblog Green]

When it comes to implementing high-tech innovations inside the passenger cabin, it's usually names like BMW, Mercedes, and Lexus leading the pack, so we were a little surprised to see Chrysler seemingly beat all those luxury manufacturers to the punch with a hot (and cool) new cupholder for the 2007 Sebring. Not only does this dugout look like it does a great job protecting your beverage from tipping, it's actually got both a heating and cooling mechanism that will keep your coffee at a piping hot 140 degrees Fahrenheit or your soda at a chilly 35 degrees. You'll be able to pick up the new cupholder sometime in Q4 of this year for around $20,000 (note: price includes car).

[Via AutoSpies]

Hanging out at the beach is always a lot of fun, but swimming in the ocean is, like, really tiring, so when our friends all decide to go in the water, we usually cop-out by making up some lame excuse about a leg cramp. Thanks to a new product on the market called the Seabob, however, we may soon be able to enjoy the surf as much as we enjoy sitting on our towel drinking daiquiris, as the German-engineered device promises to do for swimming what the Segway has done for walking,  Seabob is able to propel its rider along the surface of the water at 12-miles-per-hour, and then dive down to nine feet with only light pressure applied to its controls, although overriding the electronic depth-limiter lets experienced divers cruise as low as 130 feet. Power comes from a 3.6-kilowatt electric motor delivering 570-newtons of thrust, and a handy LCD display keeps you informed of water temperature, diving depth, and the 60-minute battery's remaining capacity. As we learned from Segway, leading a sedentary lifestyle doesn't come cheap, so until they initiate a loan program, don't be surprised if you end up shelling out over ten grand for one of these models after taxes, shipping, etc.

[Via Stuff]

You've already got both a car and an SUV that can magically transform into watercraft at the touch of a button, but what to do about your spoiled kids who want to go from land to sea without changing vehicles? Luckily for you, Aquada and Humdinga (that name still kills us) manufacturer Gibbs Technologies has just revealed a prototype product that's sure to be hit with the younger crowd at your summer house: the Quadski dual-purpose ATV / jet ski. Equally at home in sand or surf, the Quadski can hit a claimed 50 miles-per-hour traveling on either surface, thanks to a 140-horsepower engine and a propulsion system protected by no less than 60 patents. The switch from ATV to jet ski supposedly takes a mere five seconds, and a full tank of gas will give you either a 372-mile range on land or two hours to tool around in the water -- but don't go getting the kids too hyped up, because there's no word on when/if the Quadski will see mass production.

[Via Gizmag, thanks Madeleine]

Air travel is about to get just a little bit safer -- though not in the anti-terrorist, heavy-handed security type of way -- thanks to Virgin Atlantic's impending fleet-wide rollout of a device that allows ground-based doctors to remotely diagnose passengers in medical distress. The airline has just announced a deal with Remote Diagnostic Technologies that will result in each of Virgin's planes being outfitted with the Tempus telemedicine system, which contains blood pressure and pulse monitors along with an integrated video cam, and transmits data down to medical personnel via the on-board telephone system. Flight crews will be trained to independently operate each of Tempus' individual instruments, but unlike the in-flight defibrillators that preceded this system, attendants will have the added benefit of live instructions from experts on the ground, if necessary. Virgin will employ the Tempus boxes until at least 2009, and claims that it would like to eventually see an industry-wide implementation, which RDT probably wouldn't mind too much either.

[Via MedGadget]

Bicycles have always been a great way to get around, but the whole pedaling thing really takes away a lot of the appeal for some people -- we're sure countless dusty bikes with flat tires are hanging in garages nationwide. Well a company called RevoPower wants to put that huge fleet of two-wheeled vehicles back on the road with an innovative new product that easily converts most mountain or hybrid bikes into 20MPH mopeds. The Wheel, as it's known, manages to pack a gasoline- and oil-powered 23cc, two-stroke internal combustion engine into the space between a standard wheel's spokes, giving it a clear advantage over other modification kits which require tinkering with the existing drivetrain. Once the old wheel has been swapped out for the new Wheel, all you need to do is attach the throttle control to your handlebars and slide the fuel container into your water bottle cage (hope you don't get thirsty on your ride), and you're ready to hit the streets at an environmentally-friendly 200+ MPG. A video of The Wheel (and some overly-eager focus group members), which is due out next year for $400, is available by clicking here.

[Via Popular Science and high t3ch]