trucks
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Chrysler shows off Ram plug-in hybrid electric truck, won't sell it to you
There's already a few hybrid trucks on the market (most notably from GM), but true plug-in hybrid electric trucks are another matter altogether. Chrysler now looks set to change that, however -- at least in a small way -- with its new Ram plug-in hybrid that's set to roll out to fleet operators this summer. It was just unveiled at the Washington D.C. Auto Show, and it pairs a 12 kWh battery pack from Canadian battery-maker Electrovaya with Chrysler's own 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 engine, which Electrovaya says will allow for up to 20 miles of driving on electricity only. Unfortunately, there's no word on any plans to actually make the truck available to individual consumers, but Chrysler does seem to at least be optimistic about hybrid trucks in general, with a company spokesman noting that half-ton pickups are naturally much better at carrying a battery pack than a car, and that trucks work better as hybrid vehicle platforms.
Art Lebedev's Transparentius eliminates opacity, improves road safety
Kudos where it's due: not many design houses use tanks in their illustrations of a new road safety concept. Transparentius, as with most good ideas, is remarkably simple -- you jack a camera onto the front of a truck, or lorry as they're known in some places, and then project that image onto the back of your hulking transporter. The effect of this is to render the truck figuratively transparent for the driver behind, who is enriched with a lot more information about what lies on the road ahead. No word on how the rear projection is achieved or how sunlight glare is overcome, but knowing Art Lebedev, you can bet both challenges are solved in the most unaffordable fashion possible. Anyhow, now that you've got the idea, we're throwing this one over to you dear mod-loving friends -- can you build this without remortgaging the house? [Thanks, Dennis]
Caterpillar and CMU team up to create world's largest robotic monster truck
We're always hearing about some fantastical, nigh-mythical creation that Carnegie Mellon University is in the midst of cobbling together from spare parts, crazy ideas, and pure, simple genius, so maybe we shouldn't be frothing over the new robotic truck they've partnered up with Caterpillar to create, but this one promises to be the "world's largest." Adapting software CMU used in the DARPA Urban Challenge, the team hopes to end up with fully automated, 700-ton trucks capable of moving up to 42 miles per hour which will be used for mining. The trucks would theoretically reduce costs, increase productivity, and save lives. The Frankenstein-ed vehicles will boast GPS, laser range finders to identify large obstacles, video equipment, and a "robotic driver." The scientists somewhat predictably foresee some (as of now) rather far-fetched consumer applications in cars and trucks over the "next five to ten years," but we're taking that with a few salt grains for now. The trucks aren't ready quite yet but we hear their arrival is imminent, and and we can only imagine that somewhere in the world, Grave Digger is crying to himself.Update: We've changed the title to reflect the accurate arrangement, which is a teaming up of CMU and Caterpillar, not DARPA. Thanks to the commenter who pointed that out.
Titan's air jack lifts your car with hot air, can't be used for a game of volleyball
The only thing worse than getting a punctured tire is trying to use a flimsy scissor jack to change it. Break down on a dirt or snow-covered road and you probably have as good a shot at losing your hand as you do fixing a flat. Not so with the Titan, which may look like an exhaust-powered whoopee cushion, but can actually haul cars (even lifted rigs) up into the air on nearly any surface. Just run a hose to the exhaust of a running car, and the $120 (and up) balloon will gently raise the vehicle aloft -- and by "gently" we mean "really, really slowly." It's probably a little faster than calling AAA, but not as easy as Superjack's remote-controlled kit for lazies. If you have the patience, check out the vid after the break for six minutes of tire-changing action. [Via Autoblog]
Virginia Tech students create "smart" brake lights for cars
It's only taken about a million years, but someone has finally decided that improvements are possible in automobile braking lights. Students from Virginia Tech have developed a new system that can show not just whether you're stopping, but if you're slowing down, when you're about to stop, and how quickly you're pressing the pedal. The concept uses an array of horizontally arranged LED lights -- when you begin to slow, lights in the center glow orange, after a certain threshold side lights turn to red, and if you're slamming on the brake, they'll all flash red. The team, led by mechanical engineering Professor Mehdi Ahmadian, has plans for the system beyond the lab, though they speculate that it will be easier to add them as additional indicators on commercial vehicles at first. If this pans out, someday soon we may all be tailgating a totally psychedelic light show.
Fox goes all-HD for 2008 MLB season
That's right baseball fans, after cutting back the number of HD broadcasts last year, every single game on Fox this season will be in sweet, sweet 720p, including the All-Star Game. The network's MLB broadcasts start April 5 with either Mets/Braves, White Sox/Tigers or Padres/Dodgers coming your way depending on region. Good job Fox, we still haven't forgotten about Fox Widescreen, but today, you get a gold star.
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that bling
Zenkoku Dekotora Matsuri is a Japanese Wii game dedicated to pimping out Japanese Dekotora (i.e., "decoration trucks). While that concept may or may not impress you, the customization options in this game look almost limitless. The developers really thought of every inch of the truck when it comes to decoration (although, you might need to be a decent artist to make yours look good). Also, we're not automobile experts, but being able to make your truck bounce around in traffic looks pretty amusing.A title like this is unlikely to be localized, but with the recent release of the Wii Freeloader, that's fortunately not much of an issue anymore.
Latest Zenkoku Dekotora Matsuri shots bring out our inner trucker
As a one-time fan of Sega's 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker on the Dreamcast, it saddens this writer that Zenkoku Dekotora Matsuri is such an unlikely candidate for localization. Jaleco's first Wii game allows players to pimp giant trucks with various lights, symbols and insignia (the literal translation of "Dekotora" is "Decoration Truck"), before taking them on the road. Even in Japan, this is considered to be a slightly obscure sub-culture, meaning these new Dekotora screens are probably as close as we'll get to haring around the highways of Osaka in a 60-foot articulated juggernaut, sporting badly-drawn lightning bolts on our ride.Strap in tight and hurtle past the break for more shots.
Cinematic for Wrath still to come, in case you were worried
Just in case you were worried, even for just a second, that the paltry ingame Death Knight video we got at BlizzCon was supposed to be the official trailer for the next expansion, worry not-- Nethaera has confirmed, just to be sure, that the best is yet to come. You may think it's silly, but I have to admit, after that ingame vid at Blizzcon, the Lament of the Highborn video, and the recent Zul'Aman video, I was just a little bit worried, way in the back of my mind, that Blizzard might be done making CGI for WoW.I'm glad I was wrong-- I can't wait to see Arthas back in classic cinematic form. We probably won't see it until a lot later than sooner (there is still the Sunwell to release to the PTR and then the live realms), but it's good to know that we still get to see a badass CGI. Truck commercials are all fine and good, but we still haven't heard a "you are not prepared" for Wrath yet.
Somewhat more Sedate Truck found at Gamestop
This profoundly limited-edition copy of Excite Truck was spotted on the shelf at GameStop. Evidently, an employee drew this charmingly quaint alternate boxart instead of using the default GameStop display box for loose games. You can see from the little motion lines that the truck is clearly excited, which is a much subtler approach than the usual bright colors and EXTREME explosions.We totally prefer the lunch-break line art shown here to the real boxart, but we're still a little shocked that they're selling this copy as a new game with no discount.[Via Siliconera]
Mitsubishi CM-7200 screen to replace rear-views in trucks
Mitsubishi is taking the rear-view mirror into the 21st century, with its new CM-7200 7-inch screen. The screen displays the rear-mounted camera in your truck, which according to Mitsubishi's press release, have been available in Japan since 1970. The CM-7200 ships on November 1 for ¥65,100 ($553) -- even at that somewhat elevated price, we're willing to bet that before the end of the year someone will figure out how to hook up a computer, DVD player, or console to the monitor. So Japan, when truck drivers start causing road accidents because they're putting or batting in Wii Sports, don't say we didn't warn you.[Via I4U News]
