Nevada OKs Driverless Cars?

Will Nevada be the first state to have driverless cars on the highway? Well according to this article in Popsci (via Boing Boing) not anytime in the near future but what has taken place IS big in its' own right. recently a bill was passed that granting the Department of Transportation the authorization to draft a set of regulations and rules governing autonomous cars.

From the article:

• The legislation charges the Nevada DOT with creating the legal framework that will determine things like performance standards and licensing requirements, as well as designating certain areas within the state where autonomous cars might be tested.

So, no cars without drivers zoomin down the highways of Nevada, but they will be the first to have a framework in place when testing begins and considering some states are still struggling with low speed electrics, this kind of thing is very forward thinking.

Popsci article

Dodge Charger: Leader of the human resistance?

Well I'm speechless.....

Car that runs on AIR due in US showrooms by 2009

Anyone that is anywhere near on the ball knows that we are being feed a bill of goods by the producers of fuel products. Now why am I phrasing it just that way? Because I am not talking about just OIL. My argument covers the whole spectrum of products to power our vehicles, be they oil guzzlers, hybrids, gas of whatever kind.....whatever. My point is that we are being force fed that we HAVE to have some sort of gas or fluid running through the damn things. Electrics are a bit better, but ultimately they just move the emissions from your tailpipe to somewhere in the mid-west. I have seen some truly inventive alternate drive ideas, from liquids that change density when heated, torsion, flywheels but by far the most inventive is the car that runs on air. I have seen this engine on a couple of instances and its amazing. Compressed air is the only motive force. Here is some of the text from the article in Dvice:

Car maker Tata Motors announced the world’s first air-powered car last year for India, and now it’s going to be delivering a version to the U.S. starting in 2009 or early 2010. The company’s Zero Pollution Motors (ZPM) division says the $17,800 car will deliver jaw-dropping specs, such as a 1000-mile range on each fill-up of compressed air, a top speed of 96mph.

Now its not 100% free of of the "fuel" hurdle....anyone knows that if you compress a gas and then release it, you get an energy sink. To keep the tanks from freezing and to give the air more umph, the manufacture is using propane to keep the air warm. Even so, they are able to keep the "mileage" well over 100mpg. I really think we are breathing the fuel of tomorrow, air.

More