Autocar UK's road test editor Steve Sutcliffe has a strange obsession of the sideways kind. His perverse purpose is to try and drift just about anything with wheels around his slice of test tarmac. His most recent offering to the tire gods is a diesel London Cab. Click play to see how he makes out. [Autocar]...
Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. I've been looking for a DOTS-worthy Subaru for a long time, but it seems that most of the 70s and 80s examples were crushed long ago. While I'd prefer a BRAT, we'll have to settle for this Justy. First, let's listen to the song I always hear in my head when contemplating a tiny Subaru from the days before mall parking lots were full of the things. Dr. Demento was a big fan of this tune,...
Nearly 3,700 World War II shipwrecks lie submerged in the Pacific Ocean, some containing noxious cargo including oil, diesel, gasoline, chemicals, and even unexploded ordnance....
AFP - Shaquille O'Neal has earned many nicknames during his NBA career: "The Diesel," "The Big Aristotle," "The Big Daddy" and, since his move last year to the Phoenix Suns, "The Big Cactus."...
The debut of the mid-engined Volkswagen Roadster — with design based on the above shot of the Volkswagen Concept R — was reportedly planned for the LA Auto Show later this month. Automotive News is reporting it's skipping out on fun in sunny So-Cal and it's now heading straight for the Detroit Auto Show early next year. A spokesman for VW claims it's to attract more attention to the debut of the vehicle, which is likely to see production as early as 2011. This makes perfect sense because when we think of convertibles, we think Detroit in the middle of...
Eco Factor: Volkswagen is working on a new microcar that needs just 2 liters of fuel for a 100 kilometer ride. If you are a car manufacturer then fuel-efficiency would be your mantra to make all your future launches successful. Volkswagen also knows this and the company is now working on a new 2-liter microcar which could go a distance of 100 kilometers on just 2 liters of diesel. Boasting a fuel-efficiency of 117.6 MPG, this new microcar would be based on a shorter version of the Up! and will enter production next year. The car would be using...
Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles found parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. Since I started doing Down On The Street, I've been hoping to find an old street-parked Airstream for the series. There are a few on the island, but they're stubborn driveway dwellers, never venturing out into fair DOTS territory. However, a Hell Project Apollo motorhome, parked with most of its windows removed in an upscale East End neighborhood full of million-buck Victorians is almost as good! I can't figure out the date of manufacture of this...
Storefronting is Curbed's regular look at the changing retail scene, with an emphasis on how it impacts neighborhoods. Opening a store? See a store that's opening? Keep us posted. It looks like Diesel's Union Square location is coming along rather well, sans a new exterior. The old California Savings has been repainted always-hip black instead of getting the glossy silver treatment that rendering had us anticipating. Bonus: a dozen or so security cameras posted along the Italian jean-purveyor's wall 'o adspace. Don't worry, though, they're fake. Or at least we presume as much, considering a couple are upside down. ·...
In a move that seems to fall somewhere between greenwashing and legitimate green progress, the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority recently announced that its Tri-Rail regional transit lines would be running 8 out of its 10 trains on a nearly pure blend of biofuels. Let’s consider the pro’s and con’s. First of all, any press is good press, as they say. Especially when we’re talking about a public institution such as a transit authority, whose endorsement of biodiesel seems more significant and far-reaching than, say, Willie Nelson’s. Plus, the fuel is cleaner than standard diesel. It emits less carbon...
According to AutoExpress, Audi is reportedly looking to fill the city car hole in their lineup with a version of the VW up!. The UK mag's even mocked up what they think an Audi version of the sub-sub compact would look like in a color that appears to be... yes, lime green. The Audi version would get the same engine lineup expected to fit under the hood of the VW up!. In fact, we're hearing there may only be one difference between the two — as always, it's what's inside that counts. Autoexpress expects to see available gas and diesel...
Linc Volt Project Neil Young currently drives a 1982 Mercedes coupe diesel that runs on vegetable oil he buys from a restaurants, but that's just a "band aid", according to him. His real goal is more ambitious: He hired a team to modify his 5000 lbs, 20-foot long 1959 Lincoln Continental to make it run on "on natural gas, electricity or some other form of clean energy". He would like it to get over 100 MPG equivalent and win the $10 million Automotive X-Prize. Read on for more details.......
Eco Factor: 335.000 solar powered mobile base stations to change the way we talk. Analysts at the ABI Research believe that solar-powered mobile base stations can transform the mobile communication industry to one of the greenest in the world. These analysts predict that in the next five years, 335,000 base stations will be powered by sun, out of which about 40,000 will be completely off-grid. Base stations in northern countries will however, follow a more hybrid approach and will also use diesel or electricity as a backup for cloudy days. The solar powered base stations will be more beneficial...
