Kimpex - 01-104-24 - Taillight Lens on 2040-parts.com

CAR tech: Audi's miracle e-fuel (2013)

Global warming; sky-high oil prices as reserves peak; spiralling crop prices and intense pressure to find fertile land – society faces immense challenges, as it strives to protect the planet and keep our cars on the move. Audi is working on a miracle fuel that could help mitigate these problems, in a facility under construction in the uncompromising, scorching environment of New Mexico, USA.  Not content with having a range more diverse than London’s World Pride parade, Audi is moving into the fuels business, in partnership with US biotech firm Joule Unlimited. The pair are developing carbon-neutral synthetic fuels, called e-fuels in keeping with Audi’s E-tron eco brand.

Volvo’s ‘Drive Me’ is the world’s first large-scale autonomous driving pilot project

Yes, you’ll be able to chat on the phone when the Volvo does the driving for you Like it or not, we’re rapidly moving to the point where autonomous cars will be the norm, with the driver only being involved in the act of driving by choice. Volvo – unsurprisingly with their stated goal of making sure no one dies in a Volvo in future – is at the forefront of the move to autonomous driving, and have teamed up with the Swedish Transportation Administration, the Swedish Transport Agency, Lindholmen Science Park and the City of Gothenburg in a project called ‘Drive Me - Self-driving cars for sustainable mobility’. The project kicks off next year with customer research and the development of the necessary technology and Volvo aims to have 100 autonomous cars on the roads of Gothenburg by 2017, where they’ll be driving round approximately 50 kms of selected roads, including commuter roads, motorways and regular queues.

University of Cincinnati 2008

Students in the Transportation Design track at the University of Cincinnati recently presented their visions for the future of transport. Most of the students were asked to envision a vehicle for use in the year 2030 in a studio course sponsored by General Motors; a brief which asked students to push the design potential of the Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra pickup truck or the Chevy Tahoe/GMC Yukon SUVs. Two graduating students also presented their visions for the automotive future, using the Volkswagen and Saturn brands as their launching pad.