Chinese Carmaker Licenses “Snowden” Name For New Electric Vehicle


Haima Snowden and you're not! Hainan-based Haima Auto has contracted with the Chinese trademark owner of the “Snowden” name and are planning to use the American asylum-seeking secret-spiller's monniker for a yet-to-be-released EV (electric vehicle). One would hope the upcoming Snowden sedan won't leak as much as its notorious namesake.

FAW Haima Automobile Co., Ltd., or Haima for short, is a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned automotive manufacturing company FAW Group founded in 1992 as a joint venture between the government of Hainan province and Japanese automaker Mazda with the original plan being for Haima to produce locally assembled Mazda “clones” in China for sale to the domestic market.

inventorspot.com

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The Tesla Model S Is So Safe It Broke the Crash-Testing Gear


The Tesla Model S may be the safest vehicle ever tested by the feds. So safe, in fact, that according to the automaker, the all-electric sedan broke the testing equipment at an independent commercial facility.

Most cars get five stars in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s frontal crash protection test and four stars for side impact protection. But the Model S aced them all: front, side, pole, and rollover. And Tesla adds in its announcement that during a previous roof crush test used during validation, the machine failed while applying more than 4 G’s of pressure — the same as stacking four of the electric sedans on top of the car without the roof breaking.

wired.com

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BMW's New Electric Car Is Just Like a Tesla, Only Much, Much Worse


I was ready to love BMW’s new electric car, the i3. Maybe I will, once I get the chance to drive it. I'd really like to love it, if only so I can stop raving about the Tesla Model S all the time and rave about a different car for once. But at first glance: yeesh. It has the range of a Chevy Volt and the looks of a Pontiac Aztek. And those aren’t even the most disappointing things about it.

The i3 is a big deal, or at least it was supposed to be, because it was designed from scratch to be an electric car, like Tesla’s Model S was—and because it’s a BMW, which implies that it’s well-built. It had been hailed, in fact, as BMW’s answer to the Model S. But it does not seem to be that.

slate.com

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Car hackers use laptop to control standard car


Next time you have a passenger in the back seat of your car offering infuriatingly "helpful" advice about your driving skills, count yourself lucky that they aren't doing anything more sinister in their attempts to guide your vehicle.

Two security experts in the US have demonstrated taking control of two popular models of car, while someone else was driving them, using a laptop.

forbes.com bbc.co.uk

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Woman arrested after driving car for a quarter of a mile down railway tracks


A woman who was allegedly intoxicated abandoned her on the railroad tracks near Corydon Pike early Sunday, causing train service to be disrupted for several hours.

Floyd County police arrested April N. Hill, 22, of Greenville, Ind., and charged her with disturbing a train bed, a class D felony, and operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

courier-journal.com

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Siemens-Konzept für Elektro-Lkw: Stromschlag von oben


Wenn über die Senkung des CO2-Ausstoßes diskutiert wird, stehen meist die Pkw im Vordergrund. Großes Sparpotenzial gibt es aber auch bei Lkw. Siemens hat jetzt ein System zu Elektrifizierung der Laster gezeigt. Dabei setzt der Automobil-Zulieferer auf eine mehr als hundert Jahre alte Technik.

spiegel.de

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Carrol Shelby, R.I.P


LEGENDARY ENTREPRENEUR CARROLL SHELBY PASSES AWAY LOS ANGELES - May 11, 2012 - Carroll Shelby International, Inc., (OTC: CSBI.PK) announced today that Carroll Hall Shelby, a man whose vision for performance transformed the automobile industry, has died at age 89. Mr. Shelby passed away yesterday at Baylor Hospital in Dallas. The cause of death was not disclosed. Born on Jan. 11, 1923, Carroll Shelby was one of America’s greatest success stories. Championship-win-ning racecar driver, “flying sergeant” wartime pilot, philanthropist, entrepreneur, car manufacturer and racing team owner, he embodied the ingenuity, tenacity and grit to overcome any obstacle. He is perhaps the only person to have worked at a visible level with all three major American automobile manufactur-ers. Carroll Shelby founded Carroll Shelby International, a publicly held corporation involved in many indus-tries. His licensing arm has agreements with industry giants, such as Mattel, Sony, Ford Motor Company and Electronic Arts. His car company, Shelby American, has a thriving parts business as well as a line of muscle cars including the Shelby GT500 Super Snake, Shelby GT350 and Shelby GTS. The Las Vegas-based company also manufactures a limited number of the 1960s Shelby 289 “street,” 289 FIA, 427 S/C and Daytona Coupe Cobras.

carrollshelby.com usatoday.com wiki

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Abu Dhabi sells stake in Tesla electric car firm


State owned power supplier Abu Dhabi National Energy (TAQA) has sold its 7% stake in US electric carmaker Tesla.

TAQA, three-quarter owned by the government, said it made a profit of $113m (£71m) on the sale.

bbc.co.uk

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How To Brick An Electric Car - Tesla Motors’ Devastating Design Problem


Tesla Motors' lineup of all-electric vehicles — its existing Roadster, almost certainly its impending Model S, and possibly its future Model X — apparently suffer from a severe limitation that can largely destroy the value of the vehicle. If the battery is ever totally discharged, the owner is left with what Tesla describes as a "brick": a completely immobile vehicle that cannot be started or even pushed down the street. The only known remedy is for the owner to pay Tesla approximately $40,000 to replace the entire battery. Unlike practically every other modern car problem, neither Tesla's warranty nor typical car insurance policies provide any protection from this major financial loss. Here's how it happens.

jalopnik.com

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Die Limousine mit dem Schwedenofen


«Raus aus der warmen Stube und rein in die warme Stube auf Rädern.» So oder ähnlich könnte das Motto von Pascal Prokop heissen. Der junge Mann hat einen Ofen in seinen Volvo 240 eingebaut. «Wenn ich müde bin oder zu viel getrunken habe, will ich im Auto schlafen», erklärt der Rangierlokführer aus Mettmenstetten in der Rundschau, weshalb er auf die Idee mit dem Ofen in seinem Auto mit Jahrgang 1990 kam. Nun müsse er gar die Scheibe etwas herunterkurbeln, damit ihm nicht zu warm sei. Anfangs fiel er mit seiner Konstruktion noch mehr auf: «Der Kamin ragte zunächst zwei Meter in die Höhe. Das sah gut aus, aber ich kam nie weit.»

20min.ch

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Swiss man installs wood-burning stove in his Volvo


Here’s an equation you probably didn’t learn in school: European cold snap + Swiss ingenuity = wood-burning stove in a Volvo.

Europe is being hit by severe cold weather that started two weeks ago, and the Continent’s deep freeze expected to continue until mid-February.

Swiss man installs wood-burning stove in his Volvo

nationalpost.com

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Derweil in Tschechien


Derweil in Tschechien

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