There seems to be no middle ground, at least if you live in NYC: You either love cars, or you love cycling. Biking has grown from a way to commute into a lifestyle for many. To others, it is merely a passing trend, of which they want in on while city or single speed / fixed gear biking is “hot.”

Only in Brooklyn will you find someone who is probably classified as a ‘Yuppie,’ and will try desperately to fit into both:

If this image, which is from Bike Snob NYC, makes you say “ugh,” join the club. For the record, this blogger is an avid cyclist, and is constantly tormented due to a fondness for both two wheels and four.

We recently informed readers of a rail concept, which connects high speed trains together while in motion, called Moving Platforms. This insane idea might take off in Japan or China, but you won’t see it on US-soil anytime soon.

Not because it’s far too dangerous and still in R&D stages, but because it seems like America is not getting a high speed rail system.

President Obama was spearheading a move towards high speed rail roads. In fact, workers under the Commander in Chief planned out full routes for the $8 billion dollar HSR to take (see photo below).

“Two weeks ago,” as Treehugger tells us, “Congress voted to strip most of that funding from the budget, leaving only a few projects to continue.”

“Rather than focus on the few corridors that need high-speed rail lines the most,” Salon.com writes, “the Obama administration doled out half a billion here and half a billion there, a strategy better-suited to currying political support than to addressing real infrastructure problems.”

$8 billion dollars seems like a lot of money (it is), however, it probably wasn’t enough to get all the routes underway. But it was a start. Rail lines would connect people and businesses to the far reaches of the south – in states like Florida, where the economy is suffering greatly. Another line would launch money to The Rust Belt for the first time in decades. Basically, connecting these places would only help bring improvement to areas that are currently, in simple terms, a pain to get to.

Why didn’t the HSR in America work out? “It comes down to politics,” adds Treehugger. “The Obama whose administration that devised the scheme for the initial rail corridors–which run primarily through red and swing states–was the Obama who still genuinely believed that he could usher in an era of bipartisan cooperation.”

“With the help of the Tea Party, they adopted the message that government spending should be our primary concern, not economic recovery.”

Source: Treehugger

Although they contain smaller engines, motorcycles get an impressive amount of Miles Per Gallon. One Yamaha concept has the ability to out-fuel them all. The cycle maker’s Y125 concept was shown off at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, and if you’re into green riding, this is the bike for you.

Equipped with a 125cc powerplant, (hence its name) this bike is a retro twist on Yamaha’s original YA-1. But Y125 only mimics its predecessor in design. This futuristic bike includes state of the art fuel saving technologies.

LED lights illuminate the cycle, and its rear wheel is driven by belt, rather than by chain. Its sleek angles make this two-wheeler look as if it should be placed along the corridors at MoMA.

Y125 is powered by a “world” motor, which Yamaha claims can produces double the horsepower of YA-1. The 80kg-weight motorcycle averages fuel consumption of 80 km/l – translating to around 220 mpg ‘Imperial’ – or 188 US miles per gallon. Whether or not Yamaha will ever produce it is still a mystery.

Source | Images: Gizmag

2012 has seen the emergence of many small vehicles. The cars of tomorrow are here today, so long as you live in cities like New York City or Chicago. But fear not! We’ll help you decide what city car to choose with help from the Urban Vehicle of the Year – as 2012′s winners have been officially announced.

Decisive Magazine chose these vehicles after a panel of automotive journalists spent “several months selecting the most stylish, practical and attainable vehicles,” while driving them around North American cities. Which did they choose? Check it out below:

Urban Car of the Year | 2012 Hyundai Veloster

According to Decisive Magazine’s editor-in-chief Lyndon Conrad Bell: “The Hyundai Veloster’s is a combination of a hip and edgy image, along with exceptional value to price and outstanding fuel economy that is perfectly suited for urban drivers.”

Urban Truck of the Year | 2012 Range Rover Evoque

“The Range Rover Evoque’s is a compelling blend of a long and deeply respected heritage; sinfully indulgent luxury; outstanding capability both on the road and off; all married to pure, unadulterated sex appeal made this award a slam-dunk for Land Rover. Evoque’s small size and exceptional fuel efficiency makes it a superlative match for urban environments.”

Urban Green Vehicle of the Year | 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in

“This is the Prius everyone has been waiting for. Endowing the world’s favorite hybrid with the ability to run purely on electric power for significant distances and recharge itself from an AC outlet remade an exceptional urban green car into the ideal urban green car. Thanks to the extended range afforded the Prius Plug-in, in many cases the car will consume no gasoline at all in city driving.”

Runners up included: Chevrolet Sonic and MINI Coupe, Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 and the Mercedes-Benz M Class, and Infiniti M35h and Mitsubishi i-MiEV.

Source: PR.com

This is heavy! DeLorean Motor Company (better known as DMC) has plans to not only refresh its classic DMC-12, but to also make the car all electric! We’re hoping you don’t need 1.21 Jigawatts to charge its lithium-ion batteries.

Coming soon, the vehicle best known as Doc Brown’s stainless steel time machine in Back To The Future (as well as Part II, and that awkward western/steam powered time traveling train Part III film) – DMC announced plans at their Texas Open House earlier this week. They are working along side start-up Epic EV to have an all-electric DMC-12 by 2013, two years before the Cubs win the World Series.

Early reports state DeLorean EV will have a top speed of 125 mph, and offer upwards of 260 horsepower. DMC is claiming a price tag of $90,000 – 100,000, meaning this Electric Delorean will be even more of a niche vehicle than its predecessor. The original Delorean included a rear-mounted engine, so we’re assuming this yet to be produced electric motor will also have a home in the rear, along with battery packs and Mr. Fusion. The signature gullwing doors will remain, it wouldn’t be a DeLorean with ‘em!

Source: Autoblog

Strange things have been known to happen: Dogs and cats living together, Republicans and Democrats agreeing on the same solution to an issue, and auto makers joining forces. Typically, when seven large automotive corporations are in one place, it’s either for a car show, class action lawsuit, or buy-out. This time, it’s actually to agree on something.

“Seven large automakers have reached an agreement on a common system for charging electric vehicles in North America and Europe,” according to World Car Fans.

Who is involved? Audi, BMW, Ford, GM, Porsche, VW and Germany’s Daimler.

What system did these automotive giants agree on? One that integrates all charging devices into a single inlet connector, so no need for adapters! This future station also uses an identical communication system, which connects any vehicle and charger in a protocol called HomePlug Green Phy.

Welcome to the future.

If you’re a fan of the Ümläut, and green driving, then you are going to LOVE Ë-Auto’s (pronounced Yo-Auto) new Ë-Concept, coming to the Frankfurt Motor Show.

Information on the Ë-Concept is currently limited, but the vehicle’s design is by Andrey Trofimchuk, the man behind Maserati’s Kuba concept. The “egg-shaped” car features a panoramic windscreen, LED headlights, unique doors (that retract backwards to gain access to the four-seater), and a gas-electric hybrid drivetrain.

Here’s a video from the auto maker, which also features some Ümläut action:

Source: WCF

Starting in the Spring of 2013, all automobiles for sale will be labeled with a new sticker from the EPA.

Starting with all 2013 model year vehicles, shoppers will see a more informative gas-mileage sticker on the windows of cars for sale. Major, more noticeable info will include estimated cost of fuel over a 5+ year period, and a “combined mileage” number, showing realistic estimates of the overall gas mileage over time depending on mixed use (aka – city / highway travel).

These changes, both graphic and informational, are meant to provide consumers with more information in order to make better choices between new-car alternatives.

Some institutions of higher learning, such as The University of South Florida, have begun their own car share programs. Vehicles donated to the college for this sharing program include the hip and fuel efficient Nissan Cube, and hybrid Ford Focus.

The USF “WeCar” carsharing program, (I guess it’s supposed to be pronounced “we care”) seems like a great way for students to save a few bucks over renting vehicles. Here’s the official pricing for USF students:

One Time Application Fee – Waived
Annual Membership Fee – $35
$8.50 per hour or $70 per day for the Nissan Cubes and Ford Focus.
$9.50 per hour or $84 per day for the Ford Escape.
$30.00 overnight (8 pm to 8 am)
$0.25/mile over 200 miles

The biggest drawn this car share program will have for students is the fact that you only need to be 18 to participate. If you are under 21 years old, you cannot rent a car from anyone. And like other programs, insurance and fuel pricing is covered by the organization that maintains these cars.

What I’m wondering is, how long before frat boys drive a WeCar Nissan Cube into the Gulf of Mexico?

Source / Image: carsharing.usf

The future is now! Not only do we have driverless cars, we have driverless car crashes! We’ll give Google credit, at least the search engine and online marketing giant is trying to make the world a better place by testing out self-driving software on a Toyota Prius. But earlier this week, the first ever driverless car crash took place on Google’s testing grounds.

Image: inhabitat.com

At least, that is what the web has led us to believe. Photos were supplied from Google’s Mountain View, Calif., headquarters – showing the Prius apparently sitting in the aftermath of a rear-end collision with another Prius. However, Business Insider received the following quote from a Google spokesperson about the incident: “Safety is our top priority. One of our goals is to prevent fender-benders like this one, which occurred while a person was manually driving the car.” Take THAT internet speculation!

The Toyota Prius is highly recognizable around the Google compound. That model is used in many locations across the nation as the Google Maps Street View recording vehicle. The driverless Google car implements millions of dollars worth of sensors, combined with the expertise mapping capability of Google Maps.

Source – Jalopnik