ECOLIFE MAGAZINE - Life, Nature, Living

eco vehicles

Eco-friendly Trains for Your Next (and Future) Trips

We've talked about the best train routes and some of the cutting edge technologies found in trains these days. These trains are some of the most eco-friendly in the world and trains you'll want to take when you have the option.

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Z-Car by Zaha Hadid and Patrick Schumacher.

Z-Car - modern personal transportation

Possessing a car in a big city can become quite a headache due to parking space shortage. And it is here that compact and adaptable vehicles come as a boon. Designing a vehicle that can adapt according to different situations, without compromising on looks and performance, is a difficult task. Saying that, however, when Zaha Hadid and Patrick Schumacher work on a project together, you can expect the impossible. The Z-Car is a wonder creation of the duo that comes with a descended body, together with lengthened rear and front ends. It is a compact three-wheeler for two people, with an unusual appearance but a true representative of modern personal transportation.

The Z-Car, with a rubber for expanding and contracting, decreases the wind resistance that gives a good visual space for safe driving. Moreover, running on hydrogen fuel, the Z-Car is an eco-friendly vehicle without any noise and smoke.

This sexy little concept vehicle was exhibited in the ‘2008 Seoul Design Olympics’ held in Jamsil Sports Complex in Korea.

Light Visionary Model Concept car

At first, the idea of a fabric-skinned car seemed intriguing yet impossible to former BMW Design Director Chris Bangle. But after researching highstrength and tear-resistant textiles at Material ConneXion’s Library in New York, he and his team decided to pursue the concept further. Their efforts led to the “GINA” – a visionary shape-shifting sports car made from polyurethane-coated Lycra stretched over a wire aluminum frame. While only a concept car, the GINA’s innovative design is already inspiring a new wave of sleek, lightweight, and fuel-efficient automobiles.

H-Racer

I know it's been on the market for a couple of years but the H-racer is kinda cool... The perfect futuristic toy car for both young and old, the H-racer contains one of the most exciting and advanced technologies of the 21st century. This car operates on 100% clean fuel produced by a miniature solar-powered hydrogen refueling station that converts water to hydrogen using energy captured from the sun.

The H-racer is the working miniature version of the real-size car in development. This palm-size fuel cell car uses a real fuel cell and its own on-board hydrogen storage system. The Hydrogen Station will provide your H-racer with an unlimited supply of clean energy. To create free hydrogen fuel at the flick of a switch, just add water to the station's tank!

Silver Award winner of the Business Week International Design Excellence Awards and included in the “Best Inventions” by Time Magazine, the H Racer is educational fun for all....and I think it's kinda cool ;)

Bamboo Bikes

No no. Not Biolove by Biomega (conceived by the internationally renowned industrial designer and our pal), Ross Lovegrove but the ambitious goal of making bamboo bikes in Africa "The Bamboo Bike Project".

Despite the critical need for bicycles in Africa, there are no local bicycle building businesses anywhere in sub-Saharan. The Bamboo Bike Project (BBP) is a project by Scientists and Engineers at The Earth Institute at Columbia University, that is working with entrepreneurs and investors abroad who see economic, social, and technological potential in implementing large-scale bamboo bike production and sale in local markets. BBP has examined the feasibility of employing native bamboo for bicycle frames, instead of the expensive and technically demanding carbon fiber material, or even the less expensive but also technically demanding aluminum or chromium-molybdenum steel that is commonly used to build bicycle frames.

Get informed...and hopefully involed http://bamboobike.org/Home.html

G-Wiz – Driving down polution

Exclusively from GoinGreen, the G-Wiz AEV (Automatic Electric Vehicle) is a London icon. The best selling EV in the UK and twice winner of the Best City Car award from the Environmental Transport Association, the G-Wiz was designed in California and is manufactured by Indo-US Reva Electric Car Company.

The 2008 model offered improved performance, interior space and safety, whilst continuing to deliver the UK's lowest cost, lowest emissions motoring.

Reva Electric Car Company have introduced a new independently crash tested quadricycle safety package for the 2008 G-Wiz featuring increased front and side impact protection, a strengthened space frame, a collapsible steering column, a hill rolling restraint feature, plus new front disc brakes that deliver a 30% improvement in performance.

The new cabin layout of the G-Wiz with its repositioned seats and curved windscreen provides substantially greater interior space and improved driver vision.

The G-Wiz is small and nippy, ideal for congested urban roads. The advanced ac drivetrain and anti roll bar delivers a smoother more powerful ride, a range of up to 48 miles per charge, a certified top speed of 50 mph, 40% extra mid range torque, swift acceleration to 30 mph (60% quicker than its nearest competitor, making other EVs appear sluggish), whilst the tiny turning circle make the G-Wiz is easy to manoeuvre, simple to park and fun to drive.

Yves Béhar and fuseproject design Mission One

Swiss-born, San Francisco-based industrial designer Yves Béhar and his studio fuseproject are proud to announce their latest project; the world’s fastest production electric sportbike for America’s newest Motorcycle Company, Mission Motors. fuseproject was commissioned to not only design the bike, but also create the name, identity and positioning for the entire brand.

Responding to Mission Motors’ values, Yves Béhar and fuseproject have created a staggeringly innovative design which offers an entirely new aesthetic for a premium sportbike. Mission One’s sharp lines and detailed design pay careful attention to the subtle elements that are essential to the visceral appeal of a premium sportbike.

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The Zero-Emission Sedan of the Future. A Reality Today.

In developing the FCX Clarity, Honda has managed to strike the perfect balance between futuristic technology and the very human desire for a thrilling ride. The result amounts to zero emissions and maximum driving experience.

Yes, the FCX Clarity is the car of the future, but it's already on the road today.
This dynamic full-cabin sedan was designed to set the sedan standard for the next century. The aggressive front end features a 6-sided grille and the whole package is wrapped up in a sophisticated, rich colour they call Star Garnet Metallic.