There are a lot of ways to curb global warming. An example would be the use of electric cars which produce virtually zero pollution. Since there aren't a lot of these cars in the market, Andrew Angelloti built his own electric pickup truck with only US$ 6000.

Details of his truck after the jump!

It's a known fact: GPS trackers are now fast becoming invaluable tools in this day and age. The use of tracking devices for any and all things that people want to keep their eye on is fairly widespread, with GPS trackers attached to many things ranging from laptops, cars, and even wayward children that parents don't want to leave alone.

However, some people are finding new uses in how to use GPS devices. In an effort to keep track whether his stepson is going over the speed limit (again), Roger Rude, a retired deputy, installed a GPS tracker on his son Shaun Malone's Toyota Celica. The GPS tracker was then used to monitor his speed by checking the time logs generated  by the device.

Malone at first hated the GPS tracker, but it soon proved to work for him when he was pulled over for a speeding ticket that Malone believes was unjustly issued to him. Rude encouraged his stepson to contest the ticket in court, using the GPS tracker's time logs as proof that he didn't go over the speed limit. Said Rude:

I'm not trying to get a guilty kid off. I've always had faith in our justice system. I would like to see the truth prevail and I would like Shaun to see that the system works.

The decision whether to dismiss the speeding ticket issued to Malone or not will be handed by a Sonoma traffic commissioner within two weeks.

While most people in the U.S. would try to sell old, beat-up cars or give them up to scrap heaps just to get rid of them, one man in Nigeria thinks old clunkers can still fly- literally. Mubarak Abdullahi has successfully created a working helicopter made of used car parts and it has made six successful flights so far.

Powered by a Honda Civic engine, a body fashioned from a Boeing 747 carcass from a nearby crash site and fitted with seats from an old Toyota saloon, Abdullahi's helicopter has all the basic functions for it to qualify as a basic mode of aviation.

This four-seater helicopter is a pretty large model measuring 29 feet in length, about 22 feet tall, and about 16 feet wide. It has never exceeded an altitude of seven feet, but hey, it still works.

Abdullahi says he got most of the know-how from the Internet. From the building process to the flying techniques, everything was built with customization and improvisation on the core design of modern choppers.

"I watched action movies a lot and I was fascinated by the way choppers fly," recalls Abdullahi. "I decided it would be easier to build one than to build a car."

Abdullahi is currently trying to convince the Nigerian government and his wealthy countrymen to sponsor his project for further development. Sadly, the response has been underwhelming so far as nobody seems to show interest. "No one from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has come to see what I've done. We don't reward talent in this country," he concludes.

The Tokyo Auto Show 2007 is still driving gearheads crazy over in the far East. Today Toyota unveiled its unique i-REAL Personal Mobility concept car and it had some very interesting ideas to it.

The i-REAL is one of a series of Personal Mobility products that the Japanese automotive giants is considering to put into production. It has three wheels and a short wheelbase for low-speed cruises and heightens the same wheelbase for better leverage when speeding up.

We won't see anyone strolling down the streets, much less the freeways, in an i-REAL anytime soon, but we're looking forward to it. These little toys just look so darn cute, and it would probably feel like being a kid and riding a go-kart again.

A few of years back people were doubtful about the popularity of alternative fuel automobiles. Critics say that it will never match traditional gasoline-powered automobiles in both popularity and power. Well, those critics may just have to eat their own words as ten of the fastest "green" cars show just how fast they can get on the road without an ounce of gasoline in their tanks.

The image on top speaks for itself. Nothing says "powerful" better than a Dodge Viper. Especially now that this ethanol-powered vehicle was able to break the standing-mile speed record, which coincidentally belonged to a modified gas-powered Viper coupe.

Here's a short list of the other vehicles that have pushed themselves into the list of the world's fastest alternative-fuel based automobiles:

1. E85 Viper - ethanol-powered with a top speed of 2320.7 mph
2. British Steam Car Inspiration - steam-powered (via liquid propane) with a top speed of 215
3. Ford Fusion Hydrogen 999 - hydrogen fuel cell with a top speed of 207.3 mph
4. Audi R10 TDI - biodiesel-powered with a top speed of 204.5 mph
5. Toyota Landspeed Prius - gasoline-electric hybrid with a top speed of 130.8 mph
6. Tesla Roadster - plug-in electric-powered with a top speed of 130 mph
7. Nuon Solar Team "Nuna4" - solar-powered with a top speed of 80 mph
8. Volvo Aria - gravity-powered with a top speed of 54 mph
9. FM-4 HumanCar - human-powered with a top speed of 30 mph cruising and 50 mph downhill
10. Venturi Eclectic - wind and solar combination with a top speed of 31 mph

More pictures of environment-friendly cars after the jump!

In an attempt to build a robotic single-seat automobile, Toyota and Sony have joined forces to commence their plan in revolutionizing the automobile scene.

Toyota's i-swing, which was introduced in 2005, will be incorporated with Sony's robotic technology in order to produce what the two companies dub as the "transporter". Not much is known about this partnership between the two major companies, but it was reported that Sony had passed on some of its robotic technology patents to the automobile mogul in a "technology sale".

In other related news, Toyota has also developed TPR-Robina, a female-looking robot-on-wheels. TPR-Robina can move about freely and avoid obstacles as it goes along. The robot can also communicate through simple conversations in Japanese as well as sign its name. TPR-Robina can also give information using its electronic voice.

But what about Sony's beloved robotic pet dog? It's still in its doggie heaven, and Sony appears to have no plans of resurrecting it.

Toyota's newest plug-in hybrid car isn't quite ready to make it to the market yet, but it will able to test out its wheels on the roads of Japan first.

The hybrid is designed to go on short trips and, like any other appliance, recharged through the wall socket. It can go for 8 miles on one charge cycle, and can speed up to 62 miles an hour. Charging requires about an hour and a half from a 200 volt socket and three to four hours on a 100 volt socket.

The major problem facing the hybrid right now is the make of its batteries. Lithium-ion batteries are typically the better match for an electric car but this model is of a nickel metal hydride type - the same as the previous Prius model. This is believed to be the cause of why Toyota has no plans to put the car into production yet.

 

Toyota's next line of the Prius model will have to take on the road without a lithium-ion battery on board. Local Japan newspaper Nikkan Kogyo has reported that Toyota is taking innovation to the backseat for this project, in light of safety concerns.

Lithium-ion batteries, while they are renowned for being compact, light, and with a massive storage capacity, also bring about certain dangers that Toyota would much rather endanger their customers' limbs and life for. If you think about it, it does make sense. If they can explode on laptops, what more on automobiles, right?

So maybe there will be some room for lithium-ion batteries aboard Toyota cars later on, when they've become much safer. After all, who can say no to a battery that gets your car running at 150 miles per gallon?

The latest technology in home entertainment and displays is almost here. Sony has just announced that they are planning to start shipping the uber-thin OLED TV sets this year. The TV sets Sony is planning to release will be made by ST Liquid Crystal Display Corp., a joint venture of Sony with Toyota. As of now though, any specifics - pricing, dates, etc - weren't revealed, however, the company will start by mass-producing a thousand units per month upon its release.

This announcement was made at a display forum in Tokyo, where Sony caught the eyes of the many visitors with their 11-inch OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screens. A Sony representative had explained that: "OLED sets are very expensive, and we mean to begin first by marketing the TVs as a status symbol. We will see where the business goes from there." Maybe this says something about its price?

Despite it all, OLED technology might take a while before it replaces LCD completely (if at all). However, people remain hopeful that they could turn it into a big business. The OLED technology is superior to LCD, after all, in that it allows brighter colors and energy saving.

Japanese Hybrid leaders, Toyota and Honda, better watch out. Aside from German and American car makers, Korean automobile manufacturers are also trying to come up with heir own hybrid vehicles. One of those Korean car makers is Hyundai and they recently divulged that they are expecting to ship their very own hybrid cars in 2009.

The Hyundai folks are so proud of their hybrid contraption that they said it's going to be miles better than that of Honda's. For now, the Korean car makers said that the main issue for them is the high cost of producing hybrid vehicles. They also clarified that the technology is not an issue but they did admit that they still need to work on the cost of the necessary parts like the batteries.

Well, there's nothing wrong with some healthy competition. And besides, if more fuel-efficient cars roll out in the future, then maybe our dependence on oil is nearing its end.