The cars are built using an efficient process that first attaches most of the car’s parts to the chassis, and then adds a pre-painted body as a last step, similar to the way Formula One vehicles are built.

Look at the gallery below, and you’ll see that the car is so tiny that three of them can fit into a single parallel parking space. If all cars were this size, we’d live in a utopian energy-saving world.

The T25 should be available in two years, with an all-electric version, the T27, following later. Link

Allert Jacobs spent three years and $5,000 building a motorcycle that gets 200 miles to the gallon. It’s based on the Honda Innova design, but heavily modified to make it more aerodynamic:

He first built a resistance-reducing nose cone in 2007, in an attempt to increase his Honda Innova 125i’s 114-mpg rating. That design fell short, so he built a 1:5 scale model, followed by a full-size polyurethane and wood mold. By 2009, he was crafting the fiberglass shell. Steel tubes welded to the bike’s frame attach it, and a frame and rails added to the front of the bike allow the front of the shell to slide forward like a door and lock shut. Last winter, he even made aerodynamic cones with indicator lights for his side-view mirrors.

Most of the mileage boost comes from the aerodynamic shape, but Jacobs also converted the bike’s automatic clutch to manual to keep it from slipping. Altogether, the changes worked: On one long trip, the bike got 214 miles per gallon.

Link | Photo: Hans Pieterse

Behold a new prototype dashboard by Ford in collaboration with Smart Design (the designer for the super-easy-to-use Flip camcorder) for their new breed of "green" cars.

The dashboard gives drivers a "wealth of info" without confusing or distracting them. And when Ford researchers tested the new design, they found that drivers get obsessed with achieving a "high score" of getting the highest fuel efficiency:

In order to play into the research finding that drivers are looking for a high score when it comes to fuel efficiency, one high-resolution LCD screen on the dash features an eye-catching rendering of curling vines blooming with green leaves. It’s more than a decorative element; it’s a data-visualization tool intended to change the way people drive. If a driver wastes gas by aggressively accelerating or slamming on the brakes, for example, the vine withers and leaves disappear. More leaves appear if individuals drive more economically.

Matt Vella and Reena Jana of BusinessWeek have more on the story: Link – via Information aesthetics

I applaud Ford for trying to innovate, but as I write this post I distinctly remember driving in Los Angeles and finding a brand new Ford Mustang living up to the acronym Found On Road Dead, still with dealership plates and price tags (seemed that it was being taken for a test drive), broken down on the side of the road. I don’t think the customer bought the car …