motor

It's race day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. You can almost feel the rumble of the engines and hear the whine of fine-tuned race cars whipping around the curves. Here they come! A small herd of flat fish pull quietly up to the track. These aren't your usual racers. They are participants in the Formula Sun Grand Prix, part of the American Solar Challenge for solar-powered cars.

The track racing event begins on May 2 and continues through May 7, but I'm standing outside an engineering building in Albuquerque at the send-off for the University of New Mexico team. The fire-engine-red car is swarmed by media members and well-wishers who can't take their eyes off the futuristic-looking design.

It took 15 electrical, computer, and mechanical engineering students about eight months to put this creation together. It's called the Lobo del Sol, which translates to Sun Wolf.

The three-wheel car is powered by an electric motor culled from a scooter. The body is crafted from Nomex, a lightweight material that's also used in race car driver fire suits.

The chassis is all hand-made. Small square solar panels donated by Schott Solar look like they've been sewn onto the surface into a big, high-tech quilt.… Read more

The 2012 Mitsubishi i will be riding a big wave to Hawaii, the first North American state to receive the all-electric car.

The Japanese automaker today revealed that beginning this month, Hawaiian consumers will be able to reserve the Mitsubishi i for a refundable deposit of $299 on Mitsubishi's Web site.

The Mitsubishi i will be available to test drive at Cutter Mitsubishi in Aiea, Hawaii, this fall.

The energy-efficient, five-door Mitsubishi i will launch in Hawaii, California, Oregon, and Washington in November 2011. The vehicle will be available nationwide by the end of 2012.

The car, with an … Read more

Almost exactly a year ago, in April 2010, professional motocross rider Randy Childers sustained serious injuries after a crash in the last race of the day at Cowboy Badlands in West Beaumont, Texas.

He suffered broken ribs and a fractured wrist, but most seriously a crushed vertebra in his neck (C3) that required him to be airlifted to Houston, where surgeons inserted an artificial vertebra and fused two others together (C4 and C5) during a marathon operation that lasted 12 hours.

Today, the 24-year-old is the star in a single-patient trial of Rice University's RiceWrist robot, a wearable exoskeleton that mimics the joints from his shoulder to his hand.… Read more

In this shot we get a peek at Chevy's new MyLink infotainment interface, the aesthetic of the dashboard, and--if you look closely at the blurry background--the bi-gauge instrument cluster that seems to mimic the instrumentation of the Chevrolet Camaro. Button labels appear to feature a very Buick-like cool blue glow, and an odd, large physical switch below the touch screen has us scratching our heads.

A second shot, revealed last week, shows that the instruments aren't the only part of the next Malibu that will be capitalizing on the Camaro's design language. The tail lamps feature a … Read more

WASHINGTON--A federal plan to require automakers to standardize keyless ignition systems in the wake of Toyota's unintended acceleration problems is likely to mirror industry guidelines issued in January, an automaker group said.

Large automakers except Toyota said they already comply with the guidelines crafted by SAE International or plan to do so.

These "recommended practices'' seek to counter the variation, driver confusion, and safety problems that have ensued since automakers started installing push-button ignition in luxury models.

The number of models offering keyless ignition has more than quadrupled to 189 in the 2011 model year--including the Hyundai Elantra … Read more

Researchers around the world have been studying whether interactive video games can improve motor skills since, well, the advent of video games. (For instance, this study on the effects of video games on hand-eye coordination in the elderly was published in 1985.)

But a team out of St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto finds that after analyzing 12 studies looking at the effects of these games on upper arm strength and mobility, stroke patients who game are up to five times as likely to improve arm motor function than those undergoing standard physical therapy.

The meta analysis, published in the April issue of Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, suggests that video games on systems such as the Wii and PlayStation help the brains of stroke victims recover by improving neuroplasticity--which is the brain's ability to create new nerve cell connections.

"Recovery of motor skill depends on neurological recovery, adaptation, and learning new strategies," said Gustavo Saposnik, the lead author of the study and the director of the Stroke Outcomes Research Unit at the hospital, in a news release. "Virtual-reality systems drive neuroplasticity and lead to benefits in motor function improvement after stroke."

Seven of the dozen studies monitored patient improvement before and after playing the games, and found a 14.7 percent improvement in patients' grip strength and a 20 percent improvement in standard task performance.

Because most of the studies had small sample sizes, Saposnik says the next step is to conduct a far larger trial; he hopes to randomly assign some 140 patients to either play virtual reality games or undergo standard therapy and dig even further into the results.… Read more

After being pummeled so long for ignoring fuel economy in favor of performance, some automakers deserve kudos for developing cars that coax more than 40 mpg on the highway from gasoline engines--not gasoline-electric hybrids but regular, internal-combustion gasoline engines.

General Motors, Ford, Hyundai, and Smart already are selling 40-mpg gasoline cars in the United States, and later this year Honda, Kia and Mazda plan to join the parade.

The timing couldn't be better. With gasoline prices rising, the result of political uncertainty in the Middle East, some Americans are eager to buy higher-mileage vehicles but cannot afford the higher … Read more

General Motors is investing more than $30 million of investment in its Pontiac Stamping plant to retool and enhance manufacturing equipment, and 290 hourly and salaried jobs at the 79-year-old plant.

The enhancements will include upgrading three conventional press lines already operating at the plant and the installation of two additional presses that are part of the company's stamping consolidation project, GM said today in a press release.

Pontiac Stamping provides parts to the new Chevrolet Sonic and the new Buick Verano, among other products.

"GM continues to invest in our manufacturing operations to ensure we have the … Read more

Chevrolet rolled out its latest midsize pickup truck last week at the Bangkok International Motor Show. The Colorado Show Truck features a body-on-frame, extended-cab body, leather-trimmed seats, and a 2.8-liter turbo-diesel engine. The AWD chassis rides on 20-inch wheels and off-road tires.

The current Colorado is sold in the United States and Asia, and is marketed as the Holden Colorado in Australia. The truck's sporty dual-port grille features a gold bowtie in the center and large headlights on the sides. The exterior is painted Pepperdust Metallic and includes polished aluminum details in the fascias and the integrated side … Read more