Terrafugia Transition Could be First Mass-Produced Car-Plane by 2011
Terrafugia has cleared a major FAA hurdle to producing its $194K Transition car-plane by 2011 to over 70 waiting customers. Transition is being marketed as the next "wow" vehicle to private pilots who want a plane without the added cost of storing it at a hangar and having to find ground transportation on both ends of a trip.
Affordable TRW Collision Mitigation Braking Alerts Drivers to Potential Collisions
Luxury car safety features using radar to sense up-coming crashes and cruise control that adjusts to traffic ahead are now more affordable with TRW's 24GHz sensor. These features could find themselves in more vehicles providing all-weather safety improvements.
Fuel Management for Emergency Situations Requires Advanced Planning
Fleet managers need to plan for emergency situations well in advance. This includes planning to provide fuel under all conditions from bulk tanks, mobile refueling trucks/sites, and commercial cards.
Edmunds: GM Outpacing Field in Used-Car Pricing Strength
Edmunds.com says on average a 3-year-old car is worth 11.1% more than it was last year. All used cars are up 5.5% this year, compared to the normal trend of 3.5%. GM vehicles are outpacing other brands, mainly from strength of full-size trucks.
Vehicle Alcohol Interlock Under Joint Government, Automaker Development
The Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010 now includes an additional $60M to develop an in-vehicle alcohol detection system which would disable the vehicle for those with illegal blood alcohol levels. The development has already been funded at $10M with half coming from automakers hoping to use the technology.
