Aerofex, a Californian company, chose the desert to unveil their 2-seater 2 wheeled Aero-X prototype. This « utility vehicle » flies 3.7 meters above ground and can reach a maximum speed of 72 km/h. The Aero-X could be available as early as 2017 for a price hovering around 65,000 euros (about $95,000).
« We imagined it as a useful tool for farmers, ranchers, rangers or boarder patrol officers. » explained Mark De Roche in an interview for Le Parisien magazine. The Aero-X could also be useful for pipeline inspections or for recovery operations after a natural disaster. A fleet of flying motorcycles could easily be transported from place to another in a commercial plane.
The first generation Aero-X has yet to launch and already Aerofex is talking about the next generation Aero-X is already being developed. It will be motivated by hydrogen electric or plasma powered engine. Therefore, the next Aero-X will not produce any CO2 emissions. In the meantime and once available, buyers will have to make due with a noisy gas powered version.
Will traffic congestion be a thing of the past with the next few decades? Possibly but let's take it one step at a time.
Bernie Ecclestone remains at legal loggerheads with the Munich state bank BayernLB.
When the sport's supremo controversially yet successfully settled with German prosecutors for $100 million, he had at the time also made an offer of $25 million to the aggrieved bank and former F1 shareholder BayernLB.
The offer was turned down because it was not high enough.
But "If the overall package is right, we wouldn't be closed to it," BayernLB chief executive Johannes-Joerg Riegler said last week.
Earlier, BayernLB had been seeking $400 million, but F1 business journalist Christian Sylt said a spokesman confirmed the bank wants an amount similar to the $100m criminal suit settlement.
"Perhaps the $25m doesn't match with this settlement structure and perhaps somebody has to think about it because the state prosecutors in Germany got $100m," said the bank spokesman.
Bernie Ecclestone's lawyer says no.
"We are not prepared to make a new offer," Sven Thomas, describing the original proposal as "sensible", told Sylt and the Telegraph newspaper.
"BayernLB have rejected the offer, as expected. At the moment we don't do anything. We wait to see what they are going to do. If they try to sue, they shall have no chance at all. I don't think they will try to sue," Ecclestone's lawyer added.
Ford had just revealed the F-150's trick rear sliding window. Sliding windows are nothing new for the average pickup truck but in the new F-150's case, it's how it all happens that is quite special. You see, the rear window is not composed of 2 or 3 panes of glass; it's actually 1 piece with a central internal sliding component.
The innovative rear sliding window was developed by Magna International and offers up the advantage that it is composed of fewer components and reducing weight.
“Delivering the latest in innovation and technology to our customer is a top priority for Ford,” said Noah Mass, Ford body mechanisms manager. “The seamless sliding rear window is another great example of the intricate detail that goes into producing the next-generation F-150, setting it apart from any pickup on the market today.”
Audi driver Andre Lotterer drove for Caterham in Belgium, replacing Kamui Kobayashi. Will the German be back behind the wheel of the CT05-Renault soon?
After Andre Lotterer's surprise Belgian GP debut, it seems likely that neither the reigning Le Mans winner nor Kamui Kobayashi will be in the Caterham next weekend at Monza.
"As a driver," Japanese Kobayashi told Speed Week, "I do not understand or accept the decision. But I do have some understanding of the situation of the team."
Caterham said Kobayashi remains part of the team for now, but Kobayashi commented: "We are talking, but there is still nothing certain yet.
"The decisions are not in my hands."
Specialist Spanish reports claim the two leading candidates to drive Kobayashi's car at Monza are the Red Bull-backed Carlos Sainz Jr, and fellow Spaniard Roberto Merhi.
Ford has begun an eight-week closure of its F-150 pickup plant near Detroit to overhaul it for a new, aluminum- bodied version of the top-selling vehicle line in the United States.
About 300 unionized workers at a Johnson Controls interiors plant in Ontario ratified a new three-year contract, heading off a potential strike at the factory and work stoppage at General Motors' Oshawa assembly complex.
Subaru today christened a glistening new global headquarters more befitting of the hot brand's bigger international profile. The glass-and-steel digs, in Tokyo's trendy Ebisu district, replaces a cramped, gloomy 48-year-old monolith it sold in 2010.
Two years out of high school, Evan Fischbach is earning $40,000 a year. His secret: shop class. Fischbach, 19, has known he wanted to work on cars ever since he took an automotive class in his junior year of high school in Saline, Mich.
Hyundai Motor's management is meeting workers today to resolve differences over wage demands after losing two days of extra weekend shifts to a boycott.
Suppliers who have colluded for years to inflate parts prices for automakers, dealers and repair shops in a global market with annual sales of more than 80 million vehicles, are now being exposed in a worldwide sweep by regulators.
Russia's AvtoVAZ said it plans to cut production of its Lada cars in the next three months by 25,000 because of rapidly declining demand for new vehicles in the country.
China has told three German suppliers they can no longer manage their Chinese units independently but need to form partnerships with local peers, the CEO of auto parts maker ElringKlinger told a German newspaper.
As German premium brands lose their exclusivity in a chase for volume, revived premium brands such as Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo and Maserati are challenging the luxury-car market dominance of BMW, Audi and Mercedes.
U.S. prosecutors have learned that lawyers for General Motors were present at key meetings during which information about problems with some of its vehicles were discussed, a source close to the investigation told Reuters.
Subaru is riding on the success of its strategy to redesign all of its vehicles primarily for the United States and equip them with competitive features.
The rivalry between Ford's venerable F series and Chrysler's hard-charging Ram truck brand is heating up again. Chrysler today was expected to announce that it will offer a 2015 diesel-powered Ram Heavy Duty pickup with 865 pounds-feet of torque.
Volkswagen plans to launch the eighth generation of its best-selling Golf hatchback in 2017, just five years after launching the current model, a German magazine reported.
Volkswagen plans to launch the eighth generation of its best-selling Golf hatchback in 2017, just five years after launching the current model, a German magazine reported.
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