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 turbocharged form it has a claimed, and rather disturbing, top speed of 202 miles per hour. Inside are two leather covered car style seats, and all the equipment expected in a luxury car. (more…)
Value item: Tata Nano. A car christened “the peoples car” debuted in 2007 amid a lot of controversy. Its an unremarkable car if you don’t take into account that it’s sticker price is $2,500 USD. The negative is it is manufactured in India as an easy-entry into owning an automobile. Many feel that India’s densely populated cities, and streets, are ill-equipped to handle the additional emissions.
The car will have a 624-cc petrol engine generating 33 bhp of power. It will sport a 30-litre fuel tank and 4-speed manual gearshift. The car will come with air conditioning, but will have no power steering. It will have front disk and rear drum brakes. The company claims mileage of 23 km per litre. (more…)
The biennial Art Center Design Conference is a three-day international gathering of entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and innovators from many fields and disciplines. The 2008 Conference, Serious Play, will explore the essential role of play in business, the arts, science, storytelling, technology, and more.
May 7-9, 2008 Art Center College of Design, South Campus, Pasedena, California, USA
Earth Hour 2007 was a Sydney, Australia event to fight global warming by saving energy and raising awareness. On March 29, 2008, Earth Hour goes global.
Just a few days left before Earth Hour—March 29, 2008. 8-9pm. Between now and then send a reminder to your blogosphere connections to participate. You can continue to remind people about conserving energy for the rest of the year too! Here’s how…
1. Forward this information or create an original. (The image in this post is a photo taken from one of the many posters, billboards in Chicago.)
2. Place your Earth Hour post on your blog along with these instructions…
3. Send a minimum of 5 bloggers—or your entire blogroll—to do the same. Notify them of the tag.
4. ADD your site to the list and place your blog’s name and url in a comment here to let DA know you successfully forwarded this info. DA will acknowledge your success with a comment in your post. Email webmaster [at] designapplause.com if you have questions. (more…)
When does form and function equal art? Here is an example. A recent reviewer said “If Apple did housewares, this might be the iPot.
Inspiration: Brooklyn, designer Joey Roth— “I’ve always been entranced by small, beautiful things that are so detailed, they seem like miniature worlds, yet so ordinary they’re often left unnoticed. I designed Sorapot to emphasize one of my favorite- the unfurling of tea leaves. Sorapot suspends the process of tea making in a glass tube a few centimeters above your tabletop. Unlike standard teapots that confine tealeaves in a small mesh basket, your leaves will have full run of Sorapot’s interior as they unfurl and change the hot water into tea. You might even see a tea-colored shadow cast by sunlight that passes through the tube and comes to rest in a gossamer puddle on your table.”
The Sorapot package benefits aesthetically from naturally imperfect corrugate patterns and earthen hues. Natural materials such as jute and recycled paper ensure its biodegradable impermanence. The molded pulp composition of the package provides a sturdy yet forgiving structure that is stout enough to function as a nested shipper and attractive enough to present well at retail.
Glass teacup
Joey is not done. There is also a twist to the new teacup. Joey says, “As you can see in the Sorapot video, glass tumblers are my favorite teacups. The contrast between the smooth glass and the fragrant amber tea may not make the brew taste better, but it definitely heightens the experience for me. I designed this teacup to emphasize the the beauty of tea on glass while insulating your hand and tabletop from heat.”
Another distinguishing feature is the Sorapot’s glass and metal components are fully recyclable.
The Sorapot and glass teacup can be purchased online at joeyroth.com We are going to get one. A spot of tea anyone?
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 doesn’t burn an ounce of fossil fuel. It also looks like something the police force in Minority Report would patrol the suburbs with, were it painted black. (more…)
Here is a product to help your house go green. As you know, even when your giant plasma screen is dark it is not turned off. It’s never off but on standby silently sucking energy. Many other products to the same: the phone, phone charger, the stereo. A neat feature with this surge protector is it comes with a giant ON/OFF switch—that comes with a magnetic wall mount! As for why its good… two of the plugs are permanently on, where the rest of the plugs can be turned off with the giant switch to save energy.
Here is what Belkin says…
The new Belkin Conserve is an 8-outlet surge protector that makes it simple to eliminate wasteful standby power to your electronic devices, helping you reduce energy consumption, save money, and lower your overall impact on the environment. (more…)
Simple idea that seems so obvious after it becomes available. A portable power source for your mobile devices.
Charge the Powerstick from any USB port anywhere, anytime; free yourself from wall sockets, converters, adapters and chargers. Travel overseas without converters or need for a power outlet.
Handy handy handy!
“Simplicity drives the purpose and form of the Ecosol Powerstick, . . . the Powerstick is ultra-portable . . . monitoring the Powerstick’s energy status is a breeze.” Core 77 via Powerstick
Just about the time we should be thinking about 86ing our plastic bottled water habits we have a bottle story. We came across this art and artist via trespluscool The artist is Martine Camillieri, a french artist who works with colorful plastics. Trying to think of an adequate bumper sticker here. —No to trash. Make art!— You get the idea, help us out here.
see our post 21st century waterfall
animating water bottle recycling rates 2005 (more…)
