Vision of Beauty

To accommodate the on-growing demand for eco-friendly automobiles, BMW has unveiled their 4-seat Vision EfficientDynamic concept car at the Frankfurt, Germany auto show, in which they boast is, “superior to anything provided so far by a hybrid vehicle.”

With a futuristic styled exterior, the interior was designed to give the passenger a floating-in-air feeling. Besides the Kevlar seats, the remaining upholstery mainly consists of natural materials. In addition, the car is also equipped with new a 3-dimensinal head-up display and BMW night vision.

Powered by two electric motors and a turbodiesel engine, the synchronous electric motor in front can provide a continuous output of 80 horsepower. The two electric motors either carry double duty in propelling the car, or serve as regenerative powerplants to recharge the onboard lithium-polymer batteries.

The Vision EfficientDynamics concept car has a mostly aluminum chassis with a roof and the exterior body made almost entirely from a special polycarbonate material. Running in electric mode, the Vision can travel up to 31 miles and also has a rechargeable battery that’s fully charged in about 2.5 hours when connected to a 220-volt 16-amp outlet.

Turning Over a New Leaf

Japanese car manufacturer Nissan Motor Co. unveiled their new zero-emission vehicle on Sunday. The Leaf is the company’s attempt at an environmentally electric automobile and is set for distribution in Japan, the U.S. and Europe next year.

Equipped with a recharging port and eliminating a noisy engine, CEO Carlos Ghosn feels confident that this car will indeed become popular. With an estimated cost of $10,000 – $15,000, Nissan promises that the Leaf will go into mass-production as a global model in 2012.

Just Add Water

Eco-friendly technology has yet to be fully embraced by the automobile industry. Hydrogen power has been discussed for a while but due to production and storage complications, production has been at a halt. But that hasn’t stopped the Horizon H-racer.

This assemble-it-yourself model car runs entirely on renewable hydrogen fuel instead on disposable batteries. Hydrogen generates power by combining with oxygen in the atmosphere. The H-Racer is equipped with its own hydrogen fuel cell and refueling station. All you have to put into the mini-racer is water.