Tokyo electric taxis to test battery-swapping service

Better Place will test its battery-swapping service with electric cars used as taxis in Tokyo.

The project, funded by Japanese government agencies, will use as many as four cars converted to run on batteries. The taxis will be able to swap in fresh batteries at an existing station in Tokyo.

Better Place is developing a service that will allow drivers to charge electric car batteries and to change out batteries at a network of swapping stations. It has signed partnerships to develop a number of networks, with the first expected in Israel.

The trial in Tokyo, scheduled to begin in January, will gather data on driving range and battery durability under urban driving conditions.
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Watch iPod video in your car with Alpine iXA-W407BT Digital Media Station

Envious of the futuristic entertainment systems found in modern cars? Want a piece of the action? Don't fret -- Alpine has just unveiled a touchscreen head unit that'll drag your old banger kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

The iXA-W407BT Digital Media Station lets you play music and video stored on your iPod and is controlled via a swanky 7-inch touchscreen display. As well as poking at the full-color menus with nature's stylus to select options, Alpine says you can swipe across its surface with gesture controls to navigate menus, just like on the iPod touch or iPhone. Brap.
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Singapore F1 2009 trivia

Night will turn into day once again for the second Formula One night race on September 27 in Singapore. Before that happens, arm yourself with these information, from the number of light projectors to the length of cables used for the race, to impress anyone at the Grand Prix on the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
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Steam Car team claims record-breaking run

The Stanley Steamer may have finally been dethroned. After holding onto its land speed record for 103 years, the homegrown Stanley automobile from the early days of motoring has been overtaken by a late model import. The British Steam Car team said Tuesday that, earlier in the day, in the two runs required to be considered for the record, the Steam Car averaged 225kmh over a measured mile.
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From China, with love: Its electric cars will head West in 2010

Chinese auto company BYD plans to bring an all-electric sedan in small numbers to the US next year.

The company chairman Wang Chuanfu told the Wall Street Journal that the company, which is part-owned by investor Warren Buffet, is now gearing up for a US push. It plans to raise money by offering shares in the company in China to help finance the expansion.

BYD plans to offer a few hundred of one of its most advanced cars in the US, the five-seat e6, which takes seven to 9 hours to fully charge and has a 250-mile range.

Initially, it will make the US$40,000 car available to "government agencies, utilities and maybe some celebrities" in a specific region, Wang told the Journal during a factory tour of the BYD's lithium-ion battery factory.
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