Vehicles and Accessories

Alternative vehicles, fuels, and technology.

Biodiesel America

Biodiesel America is a campaign whose mission is to change 100,000 diesel school busses to biodiesel by 2010.

Biodiesel America grew out of Josh Tickell's Veggie Van Organization and its ongoing mission to educate school children and their parents to the benefits of biodiesel. Joshua Tickell and Kaia Roman took a cross-country tour in the Veggie Van during the summer of 1997. During the tour, fuel for the Veggie Van was made from used restaurant fryer oil in a machine called the Green Grease Machine. Not only does the three ton, biodiesel powered Winnebago get 25 miles per gallon on vegetable oil fuel, but its exhaust also smells like french fries.

The Green Grease Machine is a portable biodiesel processor that produces a non-toxic, biodegradable diesel-like fuel, "biodiesel," from vegetable oil. Built as a college senior project by Joshua Tickell, the Green Grease Machine demonstrates a simple method for producing a renewable fuel from replenishable abundant resources.

Biodiesel can be made from any vegetable oil, including soy, sunflower, canola, and even used cooking oil from fast food restaurants (the stuff they make french fries in!).

Visit biodieselamerica.org What is Biodiesel?

National Biodiesel Board

Elsbett

Compressed Air Powered Vehicle

MDI Zero Pollution Vehicles are simple, economic, and clean. The French engineer Guy Negre has developed a concept of a totally non-polluting engine for use in urban areas. The engine powers a five-seat vehicle that will supposedly have a range of approximately 200 km using compressed air stored in either carbon or glass fiber tanks and it actually emits cleaner air than what we usually breathe. The temperature of the clean air expelled from the exhaust pipe is between 0 and 15 degrees below zero and can be subsequently channelled and used for air conditioning in the interior of the car.

Visit theaircar.com

Air Motor

Engineair is a company focusing on the development of air motor technology based on a unique rotary piston concept. Different from conventional air motors, the Engineair motor, invented by Mr Angelo Di Pietro, has virtually eliminated internal wear and friction and offers superior performance at a wide variety of application requirements.

Visit www.engineair.com.au

Liquid Nitrogen Cars

These zero emission vehicles can actually help clean up air pollution.

Check out the UNT (CooLN2Car) and the UW (LN2000 Car)

How Air-Powered Cars Will Work

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars

You've probably heard all about fuel cells and carbon nanofibers. There are too many versions to mention here, but HyWeb is a good place to start.

Visit HyWeb

enV
EnV is a hydrogen-powered fuel-cell motorcycle that is not part of some distant Utopian dream.

Warning: The Hydrogen Economy May Be More Distant Than It Appears

How Fuel Cells Work

Better Public Transportation

ULTra is an innovative form of Personal Rapid Transit (PRT). ULTra (Urban Light Transport) emerged from a fundamental reappraisal of the transport needs of a city. It is designed to meet the expectations of passengers — convenient, inexpensive, reliable, safe and easy to use, while also satisfying public demands for value for money, ease of construction and environmental benefit.

Conventional forms of public transit require passengers to collect in groups until a large vehicle is scheduled to travel on predetermined routes. In contrast, ULTra offers personal transport with no waiting, and takes passengers non-stop to their chosen destination. This is a transport system which is as convenient as, or in congested environments more convenient than, the car, but with minimal environmental impact.

ULTra offers an advanced form of PRT that is ready for application, giving effective, low cost and sustainable transport for cities, airports and special developments worldwide.

Visit atsltd.co.uk

High Quality Flying Car

Moller International has developed the first and only feasible, affordable, personal vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicle the world has ever seen.

The M400 Skycar has vertical take-off and landing abilities similar to a helicopter, flies like an airplane, and can travel short distances on the ground like an automobile. All this and incredibly, it's easy to fly! Actually a computer does the flying. The pilot need only move the controls in the direction he wants to go so that little skill is required.

Reasons why the M400 Skycar is safer than helicopters and airplanes:

The M400 has eight engines, one or more can fail and the Skycar will still operate safely.
The M400 has three independent computers for flight management with only one needed to fly.
Since computers control the Skycar flight during hover and transition, the only pilot input is speed and direction. Undesirable movement of the Skycar from wind gusts is automatically prevented.
In the unlikely event that insufficient power is available to hover, the Skycar's aerodynamic stability and good glide slope allows the pilot to maneuver to a safe area before using the airframe parachutes.
Each nacelle fully encloses the engines and fans, greatly reducing the possibility of injury to individuals near the aircraft.

By emphasizing simplicity, durability and redundancy, Moller is making safety an inherent attribute of this revolutionary aircraft.

Visit moller.com Related Wired Article

No More Long Drives to Work

The Transition by Terrafugia is a roadable Light-Sport Aircraft; a multi-purpose vehicle that is capable of flight, yet is street legal like any other automobile. The Transition will be able to land at the airport, fold up its wings, and drive on the road.

Visit terrafugia.com

CarterCopter

The CarterCopter is a hybrid between an airplane and a rotorcraft. The combination of the slowed, unloaded rotor and the simple, small wing is what allows the CarterCopter to operate so efficiently. Its efficiency is on par, or better in high speed cruise than those of fixed wing aircraft (airplanes) with a stall speed less than 70 mph, and is much more efficient at high speed than any conventional rotorcraft.

Visit cartercopters.com

AirScooter II

By eliminating the need and complexity of swashplates, collective and cyclic control through a coaxial rotor design a number of benefits beyond conventional helicopter designs are immediately realized. First; enhanced, intuitive flight controls are achieved by simple motorcycle-style handlebars and the absence of a tail rotor. To gain altitude, simply throttle up like you would on a motorcycle, turn left or right on the handlebars for craft rotation and move the handlebar assembly as a joystick for directional control (including reverse). No pedal controls are necessary, which means someone without the use of their legs can just as easily fly the AirScooter. Handlebar controls represent the most distinguishable feature of the AirScooter. AirScooter's patented design also provides an amazing level of stability while in the air and during flight.

Visit airscooter.com

Motorcycle Fun without the Worry

Steer it like a car and the CARVER will bank like a motorcycle. The fully automatic hydraulic-mechanical DVC system makes this exciting kind of driving possible, lending itself very well to a sporty driving style.

Enjoy the steering and feel how responsive DVC balances the vehicle body for you, banking to the exact natural angle.

CARVER is not only a comfortable cruise vehicle for long distance driving, but its compact dimensions allow it to easily glide through city traffic. The combination of its powerful, sporty performance, sensational driving qualities and high comfort make the CARVER perfect for daily personal use.

Visit carver-worldwide.com

flytheroad.com

The VentureOne 2-passenger flex-fuel Hybrid vehicle will achieve 100 miles per gallon, accelerate from 0-60 in 7 seconds with a top speed of over 100 mph and only have a retail price of under $20,000.

Make Your Pickup a Dump Truck

Turn your pickup into a dump truck and unload up to 3,000 lbs in as little as 30 seconds with Loadhandler®! No shoveling, no climbing, no bad back. Loadhandler® consists of a heavy gauge poly fabric rolled onto a steel bar that runs the length of the tailgate. To load, just unroll the drag sheet to cover your truck bed. To unload, lower the tailgate, insert the crank handle into the end of the roller bar and rewind the drag sheet. If I ever get a pickup truck, I'm ordering a Loadhandler® the same day. Loadhandler® is such a cool, useful, affordable invention.

Visit www.loadhandler.com or Buy it from Amazon.com