The flying car has been on the tip of every geek’s tongue for decades. We want it. They know it. Despite these facts, it has yet to hit the mainstream. That isn’t stopping Terrafugia from taking the technology and making it into a hybrid vehicle. With a range of nearly 500 miles, the concept would include vertical take-off and landing capabilities, a plug-in petrol-electric hybrid flying car, and the ability to be a four-seater. It may not be in the immediate future for consumers, but we may see it someday according to iol. As the Transition program shifts from research and development to production…

The Model S is the great hope for many environmentally-conscious people around the world. They’re cheering for it, wishing they had one, and attacking anyone who would deny Tesla and co-founding face man Elon Musk from achieving their goals. Now, National Geographic explores the building of the Tesla “megafactory” in Fremont, CA, on the edge of Silicon Valley. Formerly a GM and Toyota plant, the long video shows the process that it takes to build the factory that can adequately and responsibly build the car of the future. “We should not play Russian roulette with the atmosphere,” Musk said. “We’ve…

The cars of today are costly in more ways than one. In 2010, there were 35,000 deaths due to car crashes in the U.S., and car crashes cost the economy $230 billion every year. Traffic congestion costs the U.S. economy a staggering $87.2 billion a year. As a nation, we waste 4.2 billion hours in traffic each year—that’s one work week for every traveler. The environment takes a beating from the cars of today as well. Twenty-two percent of carbon dioxide emissions come from cars and trucks, and 2.8 billion gallons of fuel are wasted each year due to congestion. Fortunately, self-driving cars figure…

The environmental movement has long had its sights on the automotive industry as a central point of change. They have pushed the idea that gas-guzzlers are one of the main culprits in the war on the environment and that if we change our ways to alternative energy sources, we can improve the world around us. What about our health? Can EVs improve our health conditions as well? That’s the contention of the study-based infographic below. It came to us from Baker Electric Solar thanks to Milwaukee Ford Dealers. Click to enlarge. …

When people mention “cool movie cars” the first thing that normally comes to mind is James Bond. The British spy known as 007 has had two-dozen movies played by eight actors, limitless beautiful women and some of the most famous villains of all time, but in the end it’s the cars that drive some of the most exciting scenes in movies. This exceptionally-exhaustive infographic depicts all of the James Bond vehicles, their fictional specs, and other interesting facts that surround them. Click to enlarge. From: New Orleans Honda…

As populations grow and continue to migrate into cities, transportation has become an issue within congested cities. Less than half of the inhabitants of New York City, for example, even own a car. It just doesn’t make sense to own one when the distances traveled is short while traffic and parking are impossible. The folks at MIT Media Lab demonstrated this half-scale vehicle to TheNextWeb at the Media Evolution’s The Conference. As you’ll see, this solves two of the three major problems with intra-city travel – ownership (they can be shared) and parking (they fold). Traffic is still a challenge,…

As it does with most trends in marketing, the automotive industry has gone from way behind just a year and a half ago to shaping the venues and carving the path today. There have been some missteps to say the least, many in the business from car dealers to manufacturers are fully embracing social media as a venue to get their brand and message out to the masses. Earlier this year we wrote about how the industry is embracing new media. Now, we’ve compiled a breakdown of the major manufacturers and how their current social media presence ranks in this competitive world. By the numbers There’s an old saying:…

Nissan has become the first automaker to use Quick Response (QR) codes on individual vehicle window stickers across its entire lineup. The campaign will begin on the 2012 Nissan Altima and Sentra, and will be added to each subsequent 2012 model year vehicle. QR code technology being used in Nissan’s “On Vehicle Graphics” campaign is designed to provide a more interactive experience for consumers with web-enabled iPhone, Android and Blackberry devices. Nissan’s North American marketing chief, Jon Brancheau, believes the technology will give consumers more value when they’re shopping…

Last month, Nissan announced a major milestone, having delivered 4,000 Leaf electric vehicles to customers in the U.S. As a record number of consumers take delivery of the innovative Leaf, Nissan is bringing test drives of the all-electric marvel to 26 cities across the country. Nissan’s “Drive Electric Tour” kicked of late last year, but the automaker recently began the second phase of the tour on July 8 in New York. Currently the Leaf is available in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Tennessee, Texas, Oregon and Washington, but it will become available in additional markets later this year….

Add to your personal list of things that don’t need to exist (everyone keeps one of those, right?) this remote-controlled car, which has the singular distinction of being the world’s fastest. Nic Case designed the Schumacher Mi3 with one purpose in mind: to break the world record for fastest toy car – and boy howdy, has he done exactly that. This $4000 pocket rocket is made of carbon fibre, powered by an 11HP motor connected to a 12-cell battery pack, and travels at a cool 161.76 mph. In the event you’re unaware, that’s really damn fast – perhaps fast enough even that I can’t imagine this thing handling…