DesignApplause

Heightening awareness of design-driven objects.
Transportation Department

Pi1. Hybrid bicycles.

September 16th, 2008 by PRand | 2 Comments

Pi1. Hybrid bicycles.

Electric/pedal power hybrid bicycles make a lot of sense as commuters. With a small amount of battery power to augment your pedaling efforts, you can achieve extra speed and distance while leaving a minimal environmental footprint and paying next to nothing per kilometer. The Electrobike Pi is a fine example of the state of the [...]

Tags: Transportation


Top 10 hybrids.

September 16th, 2008 by PRand | No Comments

Top 10 hybrids.

source = http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/469/top-10-2008-hybrids (show cars.com though!!)
Hybrid rankings have often been simplistic: Most are little more than lists of the highest-mileage models on the market. Here, we ranked hybrids based on how much fuel savings they get when compared to their non-hybrid version, as well as how much all that saved gas is going to cost [...]

Tags: Transportation


Tesla roadster.

April 18th, 2008 by PRand | No Comments

Tesla roadster.

High-design. Electric. 50-state approved (USA).
After quite a bit of tweaks, good and bad press the FDA finally blessed the Tesla in January 2008 and this red (green) car can go on sale. The car won’t solve the world problems, at least not this particular car — $100K — but it is a start.
Tesla is [...]

Tags: New · Objects · Producer · Transportation


Ecomobile.

March 30th, 2008 by PRand | 3 Comments

Ecomobile.

The bad news: $77,000 USD and Peraves will only make 100 units a year. The good news: This unusual vehicle is manufactured by the Swiss company Peraves. The Ecomobile is essentially an enclosed motorcycle. The power for the Ecomobile originates from a rear mounted liquid cooled 4 cylinder BMW K series motorcycle engine.
When in [...]

Tags: Objects · Producer · Talent · Transportation


EV-X7. Electric motorcycle.

March 17th, 2008 by PRand | 2 Comments

EV-X7. Electric motorcycle.

Here’s one electric vehicle where limited range no longer seems unpalatable. Designed and built in China by a company called Axle Corporation, the EV-X7 is driven by an electric wheel hub motor and has a top speed of 93 mph. This, of course, is a snail’s pace compared to modern motorcycles, but then again, this [...]

Tags: Concept · Objects · Transportation


Jano.

March 3rd, 2008 by PRand | 7 Comments

Jano.

What do these two bikes have in common? Two wheels? We can feel the love.
Designer Roland Kaufmann has gone and built a bicycle out of wood. He calls this cycle Jano, and says it’s a dual bike, equally at home trekking cross-country or taking its rider to and from work every day. This project [...]

Tags: Concept · Designer · Talent · Transportation


Quaranta concept.

March 3rd, 2008 by PRand | 1 Comment

Quaranta concept.

Italdesign Ggiugiao Quaranta concept powered by Toyota Hybrid Synergy drive
Uncompromising innovation in Giugiaro tradition
An ‘extreme’, clean-technology project embodying 40 years of styling research and engineering celebrated by Italdesign Giugiaro in Geneva
The ‘Quaranta’ project is a concept car designed to celebrate Italdesign Giugiaro’s forty years of business in styling and technological research at the service of [...]

Tags: Concept · Producer · Transportation