La Dolce Veloce

Every car nut knows that lightweight wheels are an important element in vehicle performance. To achieve this, wheels have been designed with lightweight materials (magnesium, and more commonly, aluminum), improved manufacturing methods (forging, to increase the strength per unit weight), and construction techniques (making the wheels from multiple pieces, to optimize material and process for each part). Well, a company called AutoVelocity has taken it a step further, producing what can truly be considered a twenty first century wheel. What makes it special is the use of carbon fiber for the rim (with magnesium for the spokes, though a titanium version is in the works). The result is a wheel that weighs half what a comparably sized one would (like 8lbs!). Inexpensive? Not a chance. Try $1500 and up. PER WHEEL. (Note – their website indicates that they’re not just a wheel company, but rather, are designing a supercar to hit the roads this fall. Quite ambitious, I hope they succeed!).

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Now this is just plain *fun*. Not just, the car, though its lightweight construction and race car engineering will surely make it a blast to drive. Rather, the company itself – Tramontana, located in Spain. I mean, you just know that the employees there had a blast designing this car (shown below in a computer generated image). It’s wild, extreme, and even attractive. I find the mix of american hot rod and formula one car interesting. The car has some nice lines, and its tandem seating configuration is well suited to a shape like this. Oh, this probably goes without saying, but don’t expect to see this car in the US!

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This seems like such a perfectly obvious good idea. San Francisco now has 15 hybrid taxis. It’s been well proven that hybrids offer their biggest advantages in slow city driving, making them perfectly suited to a city such as SF. While this represents a very small percentage of SF’s 1400 taxis, it’s a great start. I’m not quite sure why they chose to use the Ford Escape Hybrid when the Toyota Prius gets better gas mileage, but oh well.

According to Bloomberg, Porsche is set to introduce a new sports car. The mid size coupe, based on the Boxster chassis, will be priced between the Boxster and the 911. Don’t count on it be any quicker than the base model 911 (though it’ll have a respectable 295hp). Its styling is similar enough that Porsche will be careful not to cannibalize sales of the 911 by making a more powerful Cayman.

Pictures of the new Miata have been released (leaked?)! Very nice design, I’m quite happy with it. I was worried it’d look too much like their Ibuki concept car. Instead, it’s a very nice evolution of the design. Love it! See the rest of this post for more pictures.

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If you’re following the environmental issues surrounding automobiles, you’ve no doubt already heard about California’s attempts to decrease carbon dioxide emissions from vehicle in the near future. Naturally, automakers oppose this as the only feasible way of accomplishing it is to improve fuel economy (and they’ve filed lawsuits to block this legislations). Support for this is increasing though, most recently from the California Public Employees Retirement System (CALPERS). CALPERS plans to put pressure on the automakers through sharefholder resolutions, using their financial might (the pension fund totals $182 billion) to get the lawsuits dropped. Read more about it here.

Lamborghini will be showing a topless version of its Gallardo at March’s Geneva Motor Show. Concept car? Nah. Lamborghini is one company that doesn’t DO concept cars. Yes, maybe that’s changed lately under the influence of Audi, but my guess is this ‘concept’ will see production by fall. See the rest of this post for more pictures.

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