(BMW)
BMW debuts sketch of its electric city car
BMW offered a glimpse last week of its Mega City Vehicle, or MCV, an urban electric car that is set to arrive in 2013. Earlier this month, the company broke ground on a factory in Moses Lake, which will produce carbon fiber for the car's lightweight passenger compartment. A substantial amount of the car will be made from carbon fiber hardened with epoxy and molded into components, which BMW says will offset the additional weight that batteries add to the car and increase its range. The automaker also plans to build its own electric motors, betting it can imbue the power plants with BMW-like performance and feel.
--New York Times News Service
(Thinkstock)
Older people driving more, crashing less
Older people are driving more, crashing less and their fatal accident rate has dropped by 37 percent, a recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has found. The biggest drop of all in fatal accident rates -- 47 percent -- came among drivers over the age of 80. The experts who compiled the statistics lacked solid explanations for the results. "Issues relating to health must have a role in it, but it's hard to know just how yet," says Anne McCartt, co-author of the report. "We believe that there's been more self-restricting now that there's a lot more information out there on the subject."
--The Washington Post
The Terrafugia Transition shortly after takeoff during a test flight last year. (Terrafugia)
Flying car maker expects 2011 launch
Terrafugia says it plans to deliver its car-plane, the Transition, to customers by the end of 2011. It recently cleared a major hurdle when the Federal Aviation Administration granted a special weight limit exemption to the Transition. The car-plane has wings that unfold for flying and fold back up for driving. A runway is still required to take off and land. The company says it has more than 70 orders with deposits for the $194,000 vehicle.
--The Associated Press
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