Posts in Cars

Toyota Porte

Juniper Foo | Jul 29, 2004

More copycat styling from the Japanese, this time borrowing an idea from the Europeans (namely Peugeot), even down to the name (Porte in French means "door"). Toyota's Porte transplants the sliding door concept of passenger vans into a subcompact town car, making it possible for all occupants to enter and exit the vehicle through the same door. Unlike the two-sided Peugeot 1007 , the Japan-only Porte features a single door on the passenger side that's wirelessly controlled by remote. Now that there's only one entry, one wonders what the etiquette is on who gets to the door first. After you, my good fella. No, after you. No, no, I insist...

Price: ¥1,386,000 to ¥1,575,000 (US$12,640 to US$14,480)
Availability: Only in Japan
Device: Subcompact car with electric sliding doors
Basic specs: In 1.3-liter or 1.5-liter engine capacity, four-speed automatic, ionized climate control; silk-derived natural fabric seats, column-mounted transmission, flat-folding front seat, 99m long by 69m wide by 1.72m tall

Filed under: Cars
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Stanford/Reuters Digital Dirt Bike

Juniper Foo | Jul 21, 2004

Developed more for remote villages with little access to the World Wide Web, the Digital Dirt Bike is still one very cool machine. No surprise it picked up the Chicago Athenaeum Good Design Award for 2003. The handiwork of US-based Whipsaw, a company dedicated to creating innovative products, the Bike is a solar-powered information and communication center on wheels. In rural outskirts where two-wheel chariots are a more practical mode of transportation, the Digital Dirt Bike is the perfect marriage to deliver all the villagers need as a life line to the modern world. Onboard is a notebook computer, printer, camera and satellite phone. The double lid of the weather- and shock-proof box contains solar panels for powering and recharging the equipment. There's even a portable tent for impromptu meetings in open fields. Nice!

Price: N.A.
Availability: On trial in Andra Pradesh, India
Device: Modified computer-on-wheels
Basic specs: Dirt bike, solar panels, notebook, printer, camera, satellite phone, sunshade

Filed under: Cars, Green Tech
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