If you are not familiar with the concept of recreational vehicles, or the RVs, you must be a dinosaur. The vehicles are usually used by couples or a small group of friends who would either drive away or sail on the water. While both at the same time were not possible until now, here is a cool vehicle called the Harmony, which has been designed by Weili Feng from China.

The Harmony is like a yacht on wheels. It is an amphibian vehicle that can be used on the road and also as a yacht on the water. It is environmentally friendly and comes with space for 4 people to live. It has leisure areas, toilet, kitchen, and entertainment facilities and makes living a “living joy”.

I would so love to get this for myself as it not only looks good and is environmentally friendly but also is a great source of joy. It comes with a hydrogen battery and solar paddles which make sure that the product is not extremely taxing on the environment. You might have to wait for a while to get this product for yourself as such cool products take time to reach the market. Sometimes, they just don’t get manufactured either!

Via: Design Boom

SARTRE is a futuristic project envisioned by E.U as a part of the EU Safe Road Trains for the Environment. It comes with minimal technology and uses navigation systems that communicate with the lead vehicle and gadgets that control acceleration and steering. It is akin to carpooling and could bring order to the highways and the lead vehicle could even be a bus.

Following vehicles could be controlled all the cars are tethered and individual drivers can eat breakfast in peace or browse internet. It could actually change the way we travel and could reduce much of the traffic congestion and also improve safety as it requires only one person to manoeuvre all the following traffic. The cars can exit the carpool anytime and thus it would improve in fuel economy and also in aerodynamics.

Volvo and Ricardo UK are some of the companies involved in the project. It comes with a list of safety and environment benefits that can’t be ignored or brushed aside. If the project sets off successfully, you could see the European highways getting a completely new look. It would be interesting to see how these projects are completed successfully as they might have to undergo rigorous safety tests.

Via: Wired

This year, the Tokyo Motor Show 2009 has been particularly dismal. There have been less number of participants than last year and very few visitors as well. It could be due to the market and how people have no more money to spend on fancy cars.

Last year, there were many participants from other countries as well, including the U.S. This year, only one company took part from the American nation and that turned out to be a farce as well. The only participant was in the form of a Jeep-logo pink shoulder bag on the back of a Japanese photographer, and that dismal has this event been!

Moreover, imagine driving around in a pink jeep even if they did take part in the event! The picture below was uploaded by one of the readers at Jalopnik, Skaycog. I would rather be dead than drive one of these.  If you think there are other such weird pink jeeps or cars, feel free to comment below and share it with us and other readers!

The Tokyo Motor Show 2009 saw a number of new cars, both electric and conventional all vying against each other. What makes this year’s show different is that many companies are already talking about mass producing hydrogen powered cars.

Honda president Takanobu Ito revealed that hydrogen powered cars are still a farfetched dream but the future may see a number of fuel-cell electric vehicles and that would dominate the course of automobile industry in the coming years.

With zero emission and long distance travel made possible by these vehicles, they can lead to a significantly lower level of air pollution and thus may hold answers. Takeshi Uchiyamada, the chief engineer of the first-generation Prius hybrid however contradicted and felt hat one should depend on a single technology alone as there could be different answers for a single question.

Toyota president Akio Toyoda felt that electric cars and vehicles would be used in short distance travels. Nissan, Mazda, Suzuki and many other companies have already unveiled their fuel-cell vehicles at the Tokyo Motor Show 2009. Looks like green fuel and EVs certainly have a great future.

Via: AFP

Weekend barbeque parties just got more exciting and a whole lot more fun. A newly launched start-up company, Motothority, whose sole aim is to provide innovative solution in when it come to luxury. Their very first creation is called iREV, a 360 degrees floating recreational vehicle, that has a seating capacity of 10 people and acts as a floating barbeque as the iREV sports a barbeque grill as well.

The iREV has been designed keeping in mind the endless personal and commercial applications that this ingenious vehicle represents. This recreational vehicles can be operated 365 days a year, both on land and water. The iREV has already made its debut in Europe and international markets with a high degree of success, and has so fare already sold300 units worldwide, since its inception in the year 2007.

According to iREV’s manufacturers,

“In keeping with our company mission of being the driving force behind innovation, Motothority has been in negotiations with Fortune 100 companies who are the lead innovators in their respective industries. Discussions and research have begun on innovative marketing campaigns to showcase and integrate their products/services. These companies include but not limited to LG, Google, Microsoft and Heineken USA.”

Via UnCrate & Motothority.

It’s no fun driving around on boring roads with everyone else when you can have the calm lakes and wild seas all for yourself. Out on the water, solitude is all yours even if there are other boats around you. But it can be quite a drag when you’re driving around in your car and suddenly feel a liking for going out on the water.

Czech inventor David Buchwaldek knows how frustrating that can be so he went off and invented a velomobile that you can drive on steady roads right off into the waters of your choice. Titled HEPAV, the eco friendly velomobile cum kayak is electric powered and even has a steering wheel with hydraulic steering.

The velomobile has a tapered aerodynamic design and looks extremely good, unlike most velomobiles. It is completely enclosed so as to protect from all kinds of weather. Buchwaldek believes that the pedal powered HEPAV could be used for traveling to close lying islands and may even be used to cross the English channel. That may be slightly ambitious but someone should probably try it before we rule it out!

Check out the video here”

amphibian velomobile from Jan Jan on Vimeo.

Via: TreeHugger/Recumbent-Gallery

Come December and the world will witness the largest and the most expensive private yacht named “private gigayacht the Eclipse”. It’s owned by none other than Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea football club and one of the wealthiest self-made billionaires. The unprecedented yacht is built at a whopping US$ 1.2 billion. The security system will leave you dumbstruck.

It has missile defense and intruder detection systems. The most fascinating part of the security system is its private system that can detect the digital cameras of ever-intruding paparazzi and blind them with laser bursts thereby ruining the photos clicked by the spy cameras. The Eclipse is 560 ft (170m) long. It has two helipads, 11 guest cabins, two swimming pools, an aquarium and a mini-submarine, which can dive up to 50 meters below the ocean surface. One of the swimming pools can be completely drained and converted into a dance floor (How cool is that now)?

The master bedroom is armor plated and fitted with bulletproof glass, as is the bridge. Its missile detection systems will warn the crew in case of any incoming rockets or if there are pirates trying to attack the yacht. The sophisticated security systems will definitely put the Somali pirates to some deep thinking. Looks like Abramovich’s gargantuan yacht will prove too strong to be attacked. To maintain this enormous yacht, Abramovich may need as many as 70 crew members.

Via: GizMag

Welcome to the pet world! Pet owners can heave a sigh of relief as their pets can fly now in Pet Airways (PAWS), an airline, which is exclusively designed for pets (cats and dogs) to fly to and from New York City, Baltimore/Washington D.C, Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles. Hitherto, pets have been pit in the cargo section whenever they fly on an airplane.This most of the time causes a lot of difficulties to the pets.

They find it difficult to breathe at times, and this may cause emotional disturbances to them.Sometimes they even die as well. Interestingly, the only humans on board are the pilots and the airline staffers who give all pets pre-boarding walks and bathroom breaks.Trained attendants do a routine check up of the pets every fifteen minutes during the entire journey. The airline literally takes care of everything and it even provides a Website so that the owners can track the progress of their pets.

Besides, Pet Airways also offers a Frequent Flyer program that awards Pet Points, Pet Airways Affiliated Pet Resorts and other PAWS services as well. The fare for one way travel range from $149.99 to 4399.99 depending on the destination and the size of the pet. You can also book online tickets for your pets much in advance. Pet Airways plans to transport reptiles, birds, pigs and other domesticated household pets later.

Via: Examiner\PetAirways

Well, it aims to sail on roads, those with least traffic of course. The design is keeping in view the merits of a yacht on a premium vehicle which is powered by the environmental force – wind.

The design concept does give a sneek peak into the direction a luxury brand like BMW is likely to take in the future. The BMW will have efficient dynamics, active hybrid greener emission controls.

It is said that yacht like vehicle has a rigid sail so that it can draw energy from the wind, and the driver can control it from the cockpit. The driver’s entry into the cockpit however is the through the elevating windscreen of the sleek concept vehicle.

Such a vehicle would work best on plain surfaces with strong tropical wind, ideally deserts and beaches.

Via: Like Cool, Stefan Radev

After 5 years of work, a Kiwi team, inventor Grant Ryan and engineer Peter Higgins, has designed a cycle with an electronic motor. Released at EUROBIKE on September 2, 2009, the “YikeBike” is a radical electric bicycle that weighs just 9.8 kilograms and can be packed into a bag.

It has a small but powerful 1.2 kW electric motor and a controller that replaces chain pedal, gear box, mechanical brakes, cables and levers. The YikeBike is the first bicycle in the market with electronic anti-skid brakes. The lithium phosphate battery takes 30 minutes to charge.

Lights, indicators and brake lights make the cycle safe and easy to ride. YikeBike is ideal for city journeys of up to 9km and is capable of reaching a top speed of 20km/hr. However, the vehicle does take some getting used to. The rider sitting upright while steering with his hands by his side is quite a sight. The YikeBike seems to be inspired by the original penny-farthing but is simpler and safer.

‘We’re not trying to compete with traditional bikes,’ says Grant. ‘We aimed to produce an electric bike that was portable, lightweight, compact, practical and fun. We wanted something you could ride to the bus stop in the morning, take to the office and charge up under your desk.’

The bike is a simple option to beat the city traffic. This zero emission bike lets the riders play their part in helping the environment. However the YikeBike does cost you a good $4860.

Check the video here:

Via dailymail