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Inhabitat's Week in Green: LA Auto Show, tidal energy farm and Japan's futuristic eco-city
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. It was a big week for green cars, as Inhabitat scoured the floors of the LA Auto Show to search for the latest and greatest in green auto design and innovation. We were excited to check out Audi's hybrid-diesel E-Tron Spyder concept car, Croatia's first electric vehicle prototype the DOK-ING XD, and Honda's hotly anticipated 2013 electric version of their popular Fit. Honda also made waves at the west coast auto show with their Civic Natural Gas car, which took home the title of 'Green Car of the Year' -- the Civic is the cleanest running internal combustion car certified by the EPS. Meanwhile, Ford announced that their EVOS plug-in hybrid will be hitting the market next year, FlyKly's ultra-modern electric bikes have become a choice ride in New York City, a German museum decided to recreate an operable version the world's oldest electric car, and the US Navy successfully sent a test-ship out on a 117 hour voyage using a 50 percent algae-derived fuel. There were also some exciting announcements in clean energy technology this week, including a recent report completed by leading scientists that predict giant orbiting solar power plants could supply all the earth's energy needs by 2041. We also learned that France will open the world's largest tidal energy farm in 2012, and GE will provide the turbines for a $100 million wind farm in Mongolia. Also for Mongolia, a local geo-engineering firm is making plans to battle the capital's scorching hot summers by cooling it down with gigantic manmade chunks of ice that mimic naleds. London's audacious mayor came up with an equally ambitious idea -- his plan is to curb pollution by spraying the city's roads with a sticky calcium-based adhesive able to catch airborne pollutants. We also got the inside scoop from Panasonic's Energy Solution Business Director, Haruyuki Ishio, on the futuristic eco-city that is being planned for Fujisawa, Japan.
Ford promises more AppLink love at CES, Evos on the show floor
At CES last year, Ford's big news was twofold: the company unveiled its first EV in decades, the Focus Electric, and it spent plenty of time talking up AppLink, which brought a new degree of smartphone integration to Sync. We recently made a little stop by the company's Detroit R&D center where we were told not only to expect an announcement at the 2012 CES regarding a suite of new apps in AppLink, but to also get ready to see a hot concept car. Sadly, though, it's a car we've already seen: the cloud-connected Evos will be making its North American debut. But, maybe we'll get lucky and Ford will find room to unveil a second new car at the show. Its booth should certainly be large enough.
Ford Evos cloud-connected concept car unveiled at Frankfurt
The 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show doesn't kick off until tomorrow, but already Ford's unveiled the tasty hunk of conceptual automotive design it teased us with a few weeks back. It's called the Evos, it's loaded with technology and, while it doesn't look much like any of the current autos you'll find down at the local Blue Oval dealer, it's actually said to be the precursor of a new model that's coming in just four months time. Join us after the break for more details. %Gallery-133254%
Ford's Evos concept is the cloud-connected hybrid EV of our future (video)
Not ready for the future? Too bad, it's here -- well, at least in concept form. Debuting soon at Frankfurt's international auto show is Ford's Evos, a cloud-connected hybrid EV that serves as a preview of the kinds of smart and hyper-connected vehicles Dearborn eventually wants to build. Details on what powers it are scant, but we do know it'll rock the gasoline-electric drivetrain from the upcoming C-Max Energi. And when you've exhausted the combined 500 mile range, you can top up that lithium-ion pack by plugging in or wirelessly through inductive charging. With gratuitous access to data you've slung into the cloud, the Evos is deeply intertwined with your daily routine. It'll change your alarm clock if your morning meeting is canceled, continue music playback from other devices where you've left off and even suggest alternative routes based on your schedule and past driving history. Oh and it'll monitor your heart rate too. Don't believe us? Proof of that and more reside in the video after the break, which'll hopefully tide you over til September -- when we get to see if it lives up to the hype in person.
