News - July
New car that could be the answer to Britain's high petrol prices
Honda has created a hydrogen-fuelled car that could one day be the answer to soaring petrol prices. The FCX Clarity is powered by an electric motor and on a single tank of gas will travel 270 miles.
The Clarity is three times more fuel-efficient than that of a conventional petrol car and twice that of a hybrid vehicle. Reaching top speeds of 99 miles per hour, it is probably the greenest car on the market as it only emits water vapour.
The fuel system works by creating electricity from the chemical process of combining hydrogen and oxygen. The Clarity will have a 129hp electric motor and a 171-litre tank. Honda president Takeo Fukui claims: "If we can bring costs down by a certain amount, I think we can start to mass-produce. These vehicles are necessary for the environment."
Consumers should not get their hopes up too soon though. Honda is only planning on making 200 over the next three years and believes it will be another 10 years before they can begin to mass produce the car.
The 200 cars have been reserved for the rich and famous living in California, as hydrogen fuelling stations already exist there. Unfortunately the UK market will need to wait a few years before they can get their hands on these little beauties.
Cars hit the catwalk with the latest in road couture
The catwalk has finally hit the workshops with big name
car manufactures looking to it for their latest inspiration.
BMW is no exception, with its latest design being somewhat
of couture fashion for the roads.
The BMW Gina Light Visionary is a convertible that is covered
in a flexible, hard wearing, figure-hugging fabric, instead
of the normal metal panels. The car also has the ability
to change shape. No longer will drivers need to worry about
showing up at a party with the same car as someone else.
A simple flick of a switch will change all that. Levers under
the flexible fabric will move around to give the car a different
look, from exposing the head lights to lifting the bonnet.
The safety of the car has not been bought into question
with the unusual material choice. Underneath the fabric lies
a series of metal bars that create a sturdy structure to
protect the driver and passenger.
The height of driving fashion is more haute couture at the
moment, as the car is only a design study; however BMW is
hopeful that some of the concept included in the Gina Light
Visionary will be used in cars in the future.
Drivers should watch out - the highway will soon become
the new fashion runway!
Parking tickets they never knew they would get
Most motorists have felt hard done by when it comes to parking
attendants, having received a ticket when unloading the weekly
shopping, or arriving back at their car one minute after
the ticket runs out. However, there are some situations where
no driver would expect a ticket. Well at least that's what
they thought!
Here are five of the craziest parking tickets of all time:
- Michael Collins was on his way to collect a skip in North
London, when suddenly the road gave way and the front wheel
of his 17-tonne truck became stuck. Unbeknown to Mr Collins,
a burst water main had caused the road to collapse and
whist waiting for his truck to be rescued a parking attendant
appeared. To the astonishment of Mr Collins and the residents
who had gathered to see what was happening, the parking
attendant stood on her tiptoes and slapped a ticket on
the windscreen. Her only response was "you can appeal"
- Nicky Clegg for Stoulton near Pershore, was driving in
her car with her 11 year old son and 82 year old mother,
when out of nowhere a tree crashed onto the car. Miraculously
no one was hurt, that is except for the car, which sustained
a crushed bonnet, smashed windscreen and broken wing mirrors.
- Police dragged the car to the side the road and told Ms
Clegg that it would be fine to leave it there until the next
day, when she had got over the shock. However, when Ms Clegg
return the following day she was astonished to find a parking
ticket on the window
- It comes as no surprise that drivers and their motor
vehicles often receive parking tickets, but how many people
would expect their four legged friend to receive a ticket.
That was the question left on Robert McFarland's lips,
when he left his trusty steed, Charlie Boy, for a brief
moment at the side of the road in Yorkshire and returned
to find a parking ticket attached to his horse. Vehicle
description: "brown horse"
- For the past four years a mobile National Blood Service
van has been visiting Sutton and parking in the same spot,
outside a group of offices. One parking attendant was not
feeling as charitable as those inside the van and decided
their gift for the day would be in the form of a parking
fine. Looks like the saying is true, no good deed goes
unnoticed
- Chris O'Mahony was going about his normal day driving
a bus, when he saw ahead of him a bus stop full of people
waiting to board. He pulled over and started to let people
on. Everything seemed normal enough, except for one passenger
who joined the queue, a parking attendant. He issued Mr
O'Mahony and his bus a parking ticket for stopping in a
restricted area. Looks like Mr O'Mahony wasn't the only
person issuing the tickets on his bus that day
