Solar car

A solar car is an electric vehicle powered by solar energy obtained from solar panels on the car. Solar cars are not currently a practical form of transportation as they can only operate during the day and can only carry one or two passengers. However, they are raced in competitions such as the World Solar Challenge and the American Solar Challenge. These events are often sponsored by Government agencies such as the United States Department of Energy keen to promote the development of alternative energy technology such as solar cells.

Tesla to supply drive system for Electric Smart

Tesla founder and chairman Elon Musk took the occasion of his company’s first Detroit show appearance to announce that the green car maker will provide components for the Smart Electric.Musk said Daimler gave him permission to reveal Jan. 13 that the German automaker has been working with his firm for the nearly a year and half. Tesla will provide the battery pack and charging systems, initially for 1,000 units. “This will allow us to accelerate the advent of an affordable electric car,” said Musk, who also said his company is seeking to develop other, similar partnerships with major automakers.

Infiniti's new G37

We're cruising through Beverly Hills, Calif., in the new 2009 Infiniti G37 convertible, top down, sunny day, following a beautiful Ferrari 360 Modena. Up next to us pulls a 40-ish woman with hair so orange it could be on a traffic cone. She is driving a ratty '90s Celica GT convertible, also with the top down. Does she even look at the Ferrari? No. Instead, Carrot Top's sister yells out, "Beautiful car!" and gives a thumbs-up to the Infiniti. She didn't even see the Ferrari. Now, the G37 convertible is no slouch in the performance department. It shares a drivetrain and a rear-wheel-drive platform with the magnificent Nissan 370Z. It's powered by a 325-hp, 3.7-liter V6 driving the rear wheels through your choice of a six-speed manual or a seven-speed automatic.

The 2009 Suzuki Equator

There are a few holes in the Suzuki lineup, and while we know that the company is busy working to fill the midsize-sedan void with whatever the Kizashi becomes, it opted for a quicker and surely cheaper solution for a pickup truck. Enter Nissan, which has plenty of production capacity in Tennessee, where it’s churning out the Frontier--and from which the Equator is born. The final product is a truck that has proven underpinnings but wears a better-looking front-end treatment.

Next Porsche 911 GT3

Engineers who developed the 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 call it “the best of all worlds” in the current 911 lineup: an unsurpassed mix of race, track-grade performance and acceptable street comfort. We’d call the GT3 the coolest and the absolute most engaging 911 to drive, and we’re not suggesting the others are anything close to dull. The irony might be that the next GT3 has neither of two key characteristics that have defined the latest generation of 911s.

Honda FCX Clarity

We just spent the better part of a week in the fabulous Honda FCX Clarity hydrogen-fuel-cell vehicle. It is leaps and bounds beyond the science experiments that represented the first few rounds of fuel cells we remember from 20 or so years ago. Those were huge, ungainly laboratory things that wheezed and whirred, their insides packed to the glass with tubes, hoses, industrial-strength blowers and engineers with laptops on their laps telling you not to touch anything.

2010 Hyundai Genesis coupe

OK, this isn’t really a first drive. Or even a second one. In fact, car people have been flogging the 2010 Hyundai Genesis coupe all over the world for a while now. Korea, California, even Las Vegas have played host to intrepid journalists getting a look at the small sports car that in many ways is creating its own niche.But if the Genesis coupe is on your shopping list of potential summer pick-ups, you probably can't get enough of this car. So here is yet another take. And it’s a realistic one. We drove the sporty two-door over winding rural roads in Michigan, in the open areas about 30 miles west of Detroit.