Aptera Typ-1 Featured at Star Trek

Aptera Motors is a maker of high-efficiency vehicles, and is located in Carlsbad, California. Its first product is a three wheeled two-seater electric car named the Typ-1. It will be available in two models: all-electric and series hybrid. The electric version will be available in 2008 with the hybrid model to follow.

The Aptera electric car is so futuristic looking. It has been seen on the set of the new Star Trek movie. Its futuristic design aims to maximize efficiency using Computational Fluid Dynamics. It also aims to create the most unique but practical shape for a two passenger vehicle.

Aptera Motors claims the Typ-1 accelerates from 0–60 mph (0-97 km/h) in less than 10 seconds with a top speed of over 85 mph (137 km/h). The Typ-1 will have a range of 120 miles on electricity alone, with a 600 mile range for the hybrid version when fully fueled.

It has got some pretty and practical features such as solar cells embedded under the roof to operate an always-on climate control system, ensuring the interior never gets too hot or too cold. It will use LED running and interior lights to reduce power. A computer-controlled “Eyes Forward” vision system. Instead of typical side mirrors, the car has displays fed by embedded cameras that show a 180-degree view of the rear and side area of the car.

I think this car is the beginning of a great revolution in car technology. Not only does it help us save money from very high prices of gasoline, it also does help save the environment, plus having a great pride for riding the most futuristic car ever made. I wish it all the best of luck.

The Submersible Rinspeed sQuba Concept

The squba is the world's first car that can be driven both on land and under water. It was developed by Swiss company Rinspeed. Like the Tesla Roadster, the all-electric sQuba is based on the Lotus Elise and was inspired by the 1977 James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me. In movies, it is designed as amphibious transport for secret agents, but now it is for real.

According to Rinspeed Boss Frank M. Rinderknecht, "The 'sQuba' is a zero-emission car as documented by the rotating license plate in the rear. It produces no exhaust emissions. The Swiss are among the world's pioneers in the area of hydropower. The 'sQuba's' filling station is the water reservoir." It is no surprise that the vehicle features powerful yet energy-saving LED lighting technology. It drives on land powered by an electric rear-wheel drive powertrain, using rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. In water, it floats on the surface until the operator floods the interior to submerge it.

This is cool! The cars appearance does resemble a beautiful fish too. Although, electricity and water when combined may sound like a bad idea and is dangerous, as long as the pressure in the compartment for the batteries and electric motors exceeds the water pressure, they're not going to get wet. I just hope they did enough research with this before planning into production.

The Other Bond Cars

James bond has been known for flashy girls and flashier cars. His most notable choice is the Aston Martin marque. It is not really that surprising as the automaker has been producing high quality vehicles with the looks that can make anyone crane their necks for a better look.

But a Bond film is not complete without a supporting cast and these people also uses cars just like you and me. Now, these guys (and gals) would not have been permitted to drive on Aston Martins and other elite brand as it might take some of the attention away from Bond's car. So, they end up using other cars.

Let us take a look at what other cars have been featured on Bond films in the past.

According to Wikipedia, an AMC Concord was featured in the movie Moonraker. It was used when 007 and villain Hugo Drax were pigeon hunting. Apart from this station wagon, a Jeep Wagoneer was also used on the film. For those who do not know exactly what the Wagoneer is, think of it as the forefather of today's SUVs.

Another Jeep was used on another Bond film. This time it's the Jeep Cherokee. Bond's lady friend Stacy Sutton was seen driving home on a Jeep Cherokee in the film A View to a Kill. Another XJ Cherokee was used for the film Tomorrow Never Dies although it was only displayed near Wai Lin's hideout.

These vehicles just shows that not even an Aston Martin which can outstrip any Acura MDX with vent visor is enough to make a Bond film complete. With a new Bond film on the way, be sure to keep a lookout for cars (other than the Aston Martin) that will be featured on it.

Back To The Future Via A De Lorean DMC-12

As we listen to Enya singing, Who can say where the road goes, where the day flows, only time? And who can say if your love grows, as your heart chose, only time? isn’t it true that we can’t keep ourselves from thinking that these days, we’re becoming slaves of time - servants of time.

Only time, aside from God, and of course, our alter-ego knows us completely. When we talk about complete - that means everything - all about our past, present and future. So it wasn’t a surprise that people before us were also fascinated with the concept of a time machine. Ya know, the thrill of controlling TIME - one of our ultimate masters.

In Back to the Future, a 1985 film directed by Robert Zemeckis and produced by no other than the legendary Stephen Spielberg, a time machine was conceived in the silver screen.

According to Wikipedia, using a De Lorean DMC-12, 17-year-old Marty explored the arduous life journey via a time machine invented by scientist Dr. Emmett “Doc” Brown. The car travels in a programmed date and time upon reaching 88 miles per hour through a nuclear reaction of plutonium that produces 1.21 gigawatts required to power the machine. A flux capacitor allows the car to travel through time from November 5, 1955 to 2015 and then back to 1985.

Originally, the De Lorean DMC-12, designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, is a two-door sports car available in the American market from 1981 to 1983. It was manufactured in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland by the De Lorean Motor Company. So what does this car have that makes it the time machine car concept that film makers fantasize about? Well, Wikipedia identified the following features: gull-wing doors with a fiberglass underbody, stainless steel panels and a fiberglass “underbody.”

The De Lorean DMC-12 was powered by a 2.8-liter PRV V6 engine, 166 inches in length, 73.1 inches width and a height that reaches up to 44.9 inches (doors closed) or 77.2 inches (doors open). Sad to say, only 6,500 De Lorean Motor Cars, including this DMC-12 exist today. On the lighter side, I wonder if the car came with a wiper blade in the movie. Ya know, time traveling requires clearer road vision than modern car driving. One wrong move and you might find yourself in a gladiator arena. Scary.

The film was considered as one of the top-grosser films in 1985 pouring over $210 million in the United States box office. Two sequels of the same title followed in 1989 and in 1990.

Back to the Future validates humans’ inner desire to overcome time - to repair the past and see the future - in search for certainty. But as Doc puts it in the movie, “Where we’re going we don’t need roads,” as the time machine disappears into the sky.

Dirty Larry Drives A Charger

In 1974, when we haven't even heard of Jeff Gordon winning championships in NASCAR, Crazy Larry has already set his sight on NASCAR. Sand to get the money needed to make it with the pros, he and his mechanic decided to score money illegally.

I am talking about Larry, played by Peter Fonda in the movie Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry. If you have not yet seen the movie, then try to dig one up somewhere because this is a really good film with a great car chase scene if you are into classics. In the movie, Larry drove a 1969 Dodge Charger. But in reality, three cars were used, two 1969 models and a 1968 model. All these vehicles are equipped with auto parts as reliable as wheel bearings.

Unfortunately, all the three vehicles used in the film no longer exist. One of the 1969 Chargers were destroyed during the making of the film while the 1968 Charger was scrapped. The other 1969 Dodge Charger was sold to a crew after the film was completed. Unfortunately, the said vehicle was involved in an accident in the late 70s and was totaled. Too bad.

Anyway, here are other facts about the movie according to Wikipedia.

• Several chase scenes from near the end of the movie can be seen on a drive in movie screen during an episode of the 2007 Fox TV series "Drive"
• The film is referenced several times in "Death Proof," the segment of the feature film Grindhouse which was directed by Quentin Tarantino. A clip of Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry is also visible in Tarantino's feature Jackie Brown. The film is also referenced in the Beastie Boys song "High Plains Drifter" in the line "Dirty Mary Crazy Larry on the run from Dirty Harry, Stash the cash in the dash but my gun I did carry."

All-Time Famous Cars On Films!

A great film with an exceptional plot and characters is made even better with the awesome cars with sturdy nerf bars being featured in the movie. The action and drama is taken to greater heights when cars take over the scene with their rubber-burning and heart pounding speed and power. Star quality performance is indeed served in a high-speed fashion!

If you can still remember those significant vehicles that made it to Hollywood, these cars are today’s living legend and their legacy lives on and on with the new breed of celebrity cars to invade the silver screen.

Let’s have a recap on the world’s most renowned cars on films provided by Geocities:

• American Griffiti - 1956 DeSoto Firedome Seville
• Back to the Future - DeLorean
• Big Fish - 1967 Dodge Charger
• Bullitt - 1968 Dodge Charger 440 R/T and 1968 Ford Mustang
• Blues Brothers - 1974 Dodge Monaco
• Blade I and Blade II - 1968 Dodge Charger
• Big Fish - 1967 Dodge Charger
• "Christine" - 1957 Plymouth Sport Fury
• The Choppers (1961) - '59 Buick convertible
• Cobra - 1950 Mercury
• Corvette Summers - Customized Corvette
• Duel - 1970 Plymouth Valiant
• Dirty Mary, ,Crazzy Larry - 1969 Charger R/T 440, 1966 Impala
• Dragstrip Riot - '55, '56, '57 Corvettes
• The Car - 1969-1971 Lincoln Mark III
• Thunderbolt and Lightfoot - 1973 Plymouth Fury
• Fast and Furious - Mazda RX-7, Mitsubishi Eclipse
• Too Fast and Too Furious - Nissan Skyline GT-R 2
• Gone in 60 Seconds (1974) - 1971 Ford Mustang Bos 302
• Gone in 60 Seconds - Ford Shelby Mustang
• Fireball 500 (1966) - SSXR Barracuda ('66 Barracuda), 426-powered
• 66 Belvedere stock car
• Green Hornet - '66 Chrysler Imperial
• The Love Bug - VW Beetle
• Two Lane Backtop - Hemi Cuda, Dodge Daytona
• LeMans - Gulf Porsche 917
• Smokey and Bandit - 1976 Pontiac Trans Am
• Grand Theft Auto (1977) - Rolls Royce
• Rebel Without a Cause - 1949 Mercury Coupe
• Matrix Reloaded - Cadillac Escalade EXT pickup, silver Cadillac CTS sedan
• Italian Job (2003) - Mini Cooper S
• The Wraith - 1986 Dodge Daytona turbos and Dodge M4S concept car
• Last Angry Man - 1947 Buick
• Little Ceasar - 1926 Cadillac
• Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life - Jeep Wrangler Rubicon
• Mad Max 2: Road Warrior (1981) - 1973 Ford XB Falcon coupe
• Vanishing Point (1971, 1997) - 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T
• White Lightening (1973) - Ford LTD
• X2: X-Men Unites - Mazda RX-8
• xXx - '76 GTO

The Power of Imagination

Did you know that award-winning director Stephen Spielberg’s passion in filmmaking was instigated by watching movies during his childhood? Particularly… (Aww... My memory... I forgot the title!)

Spielberg used to be a nerd as a kid. More often than not, he gets bullied in school, until one day, his imagination was unleashed by the spectacle of an exploding train on the big screen. And the rest was history. Now, almost everybody knows what this man is capable of doing.

The invention of the world’s first-ever amphibious car shares the same story. Rinspeed’s scuba car, to be displayed at this year’s Geneva Motor Show this coming March 6 to 16 was inspired by the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me which was filmed in 1977. The film was about a megalomaniac who planned to destroy the world by creating his own Atlantis - a new civilization under the sea. And of course, Bond had to be there to do his job. Rinspeed’s scuba car’s concept was gotten from the Lotus Esprit sports cars used by M16 agent Bond played by Roger Moore, which main feature was its ability to transform into a submarine. Whew! That was about 3 decades of research and tests. The Rinspeed guys really deserve some pats on their backs, don’t they?

The scuba car is powered by an electric motor with torque that drives the rear wheel. It has two propellers in the stern and two jet drives in the bow that allow the car to run underwater while diving with its lightweight body. Also, Carbon Nano tubes, one of the car’s components sustain the driver and its passengers’ breathing by supplying them with fresh breathing air.

The car can submerge about 10 meters. So an Acura Legend brake caliper would be necessary for this car in case it goes beyond the normal depth.

However, scuba car is literally “for your eyes only” ‘coz so far, Rinspeed has no plans of mass-producing this car-type.

Yet, it only signifies one thing: There’s power in imagination!