Free Republic

If you think that the world's greatest inventions came from the fevered minds of solitary geniuses, think again. As you scan this list of the 10 inventions that changed the world, note how many of them perfected workable designs. 10. Plow Compared to some of the gleaming, electronic inventions that fill our lives today, the plow doesn't seem very exciting. It's a simple cutting tool used to carve a furrow into the soil, churning it up to expose nutrients and prepare it for planting. Yet the plow is probably the one invention that made all others possible. No one knows...

The idea of a flying car might seem like something out of a science fiction novel, but it may soon become a reality. All it'll take is about $30 million in funding and some patience. Terrafugia, a Woburn manufacturer of flying cars has been working on its vehicles for almost eight years. The MIT-born company has been working on two kinds of cars: the Transition, which is scheduled to be released in mid-2016 and can fly at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour at up to 10,000 feet in the air; and the TF-X, a semi-autonomous plug-in hybrid...

In the past several years, one of the topics covered in detail on these pages has been the surge in such gimmicks designed to disguise lack of demand and end customer sales, used extensively by US automotive manufacturers, better known as “channel stuffing”, of which General Motors is particularly guilty and whose inventory at dealer lots just hit a new record high. But did you know that when it comes to flat or declining sales and stagnant end demand, channel stuffing is merely the beginning? Presenting… Where the World’s Unsold Cars Go To Die Above is just a few of...

Unlike the average Beltway insider, a report by Interest.com claims the majority of medium-income American households in 24 of 25 cities studied cannot afford the average new-car price of $32,086. AOL Autos reports the study focused on each city’s median income in relation to the new-car price average as pegged by Kelley Blue Book. Said price was broken down to monthly payments of $633 per month for 48 months with 20 percent down while interest, insurance and principal exceeded no more than 10 percent of the household’s gross income. The only city out of 25 to pull off the feat?...

The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission passed a ruling today that will block the sale of Tesla Motors Inc. vehicles in the state, according to Bloomberg, which could ding the company's growth plans. The rule would require an auto dealers franchise agreement in order to legally sell new cars in the state. But Tesla sells its cars through direct sales – from the manufacturer straight to the consumer. Tesla may have to close its two showrooms in the state, Bloomberg noted.

Are you thinking about buying a new fuel efficient car but are wary of hybrid technology? Fear not! There are dozens of cars on the market today that deliver great fuel economy without resorting to heavy and expensive battery packs. While most of these vehicles are designed to run on petroleum products (either conventional gasoline or diesel fuel), the Ford Focus SFE is a FlexFuel vehicle that can run on 100% domestic E85 ethanol fuel as well as conventional unleaded gasoline. 2014 Ford Focus five-door E85 holds a significant price advantage over regular unleaded gas in some parts of the...

One of the main criticisms of Generation Why is the lack of hard data to support this column’s ongoing thesis: that the lack of interest in car ownership among millenials is related to economics, rather than any sort of anti-car/pro-environment/pro-urban ideological shift among young people. Now, a key study from Deloitte confirms our initial hunch: young people want cars, but cannot afford them, and the notion of a car-free future, with walking, cycling and transit replacing the automobile (whether privately owned or shared via a service like Zipcar) is an unrealistic fantasy that somehow continues to have currency. Deloitte’s annual...

Chinese automakers have been making noise about entering the North American market for years, stretching back a decade or more. A combination of factors – from the disjointed nature of the Chinese auto industry to lingering quality issues – have kept that from happening, but the day when Chinese cars roam the Great American Road may finally be upon us. Following aborted efforts by such automakers as Geely and Great Wall, it's BYD that appears to be leading the charge this time. The company backed by investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate is now targeting 2015 – just a year...

It’s the kind of thing that makes you want to join the dark (blue) side. Every year, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department runs the newest crop of donut-holders around Fontana Speedway. With no significantly new entries available, it’s no surprise that the results are fundamentally the same as they were last year. I’m not exactly sure what the justification is for using lap times to rank police vehicles, but we live in an era where police get to do pretty much whatever they want. Why not run ‘em around a track? Some of the significant laptimes: Ford (Taurus) Police Interceptor:...

Ford Motor Co. is coming a little late to the race to design an ultra-low cost car for first-time car buyers in developing markets, but company executives have learned a lesson from rivals that moved first. Affordable, yes; cheap, no. Ford is unveiling in Brazil on Wednesday a prototype for a new tiny subcompact car called the Ka that aims to tackle the entry-level buyer in countries where being middle class means you can just afford a car that costs about $10,000, or a third the average price of a vehicle sold in the U.S. With a car like the...

About two years from now, Cody and Tyler Kor, now 20 and 22 years old, respectively, will drive coast-to-coast in the lozenge-shaped Urbee 2, a car made mostly by 3D printing. Like Jackson and Crocker, the young men will take a dog along for the ride—Cupid, their collie and blue heeler mix. Unlike Jackson and Crocker, they will spend just 10 gallons of fuel to complete the trip from New York to San Francisco. Then they will refuel, turn around, and follow the same west-to-east route taken by Jackson, Crocker, and Bud.

Although CO2 is considered a "greenhouse gas" that contributes to climate change, if the Energy Department (DOE) finds partners to capitalize on the research of one of its laboratories, someday cars might run on sunshine. Technically, cars would run on the product of sunlight, CO2, and water using a "two-step solar thermochemical cycle" developed by the Albuquerque, New Mexico government lab. The DOE posted the special notice seeking interested companies on the Federal Business Opportunities website on Tuesday: Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) is conducting ongoing research and development into solar fuels, the conversion of sunlight, CO2, and H2O into high...

This clip is from Västerås, Sweden. Each year, a festival celebrating classic American cars is held in this Nordic city. See link below.

German carmaker BMW is recalling 176,000 vehicles from the model years 2012 to 2014 over a problem with the power brake system. The company says in rare cases an interruption in the oil supply to a part can mean the loss of power braking assist. The brakes will still work, but the driver would have to press harder on the pedal. The recall covers 76,200 vehicles sold in the U.S.

Seventeen years have passed since Ray Lambrecht closed his Chevrolet dealership, a small-town operation in northeast Nebraska with a big and valuable secret. For decades, the owner of the Lambrecht Chevrolet Co. in Pierce held on to new cars and trucks that didn't sell right away. He stashed them in warehouses, at his farm and in other spots around the town he worked in for 50 years. Now, his automotive nest egg — about 500 vintage cars and trucks — will go on the auction block. Next month, visitors from at least a dozen countries and throughout the U.S. will...

As demand climbs for more fuel-efficient vehicles, knowledge compiled over several years about diesel engines and a new strategy known as "low-temperature combustion" (LTC) might soon lead auto manufacturers and consumers to broader use of cleaner diesel engines in the United States. The journal Progress in Energy and Combustion Science published a summary of recent research on diesel LTC in a review article titled "Conceptual models for partially premixed low-temperature diesel combustion." The article, prepared by researchers at Sandia National Laboratories, provides what the authors say is a necessary science base for auto and engine manufacturers to build the next...

An amazing video of American industrial prowess, prior to WWII.

Click on a question to get the answer. Q. Is the Elio available for international customers? Q. Who makes the engine/drive train/brakes etc.? Q. How will it do in the snow/bad weather? Q. Will I fit in the vehicle? Q. Where can I buy an Elio? Q. What options will be available on my Elio? Q. Can I be a distributor or a service outlet for the Elio? Q. Once I make a reservation, how long before I get my Elio? Q. What kind of gas does Elio take? Q. Are test drives available? Q. Is Elio a car or...

Tesla Motors said Thursday it would demonstrate a way to quickly recharge electric cars by swapping drained batteries for fresh power cells. Tesla chief executive and founder Elon Musk used popular the messaging service Twitter to put out word that a "live pack swap demo" was taking place at the company's design studio in the Southern California city of Hawthorne. Video from the event was to be posted on the Tesla website about 0430 GMT on Friday, according to Musk. Making it fast and easy to restore full power to electric car batteries is seen as a big step in...

India's Apollo Tyres Ltd (APLO.NS) agreed to buy U.S.-based Cooper Tire & Rubber Co (CTB.N) for about $2.5 billion in a deal that would make it the world's seventh-largest tire maker and reduce its dependence on a slowing Indian auto market. Apollo, which currently gets two-thirds of its revenue from India, will pay $35 per share, representing a premium of about 43 percent to Cooper's Tuesday close. The acquisition of Cooper, the world's 11th biggest tire company with annual sales of $4.2 billion, will give Apollo access to the U.S. market for replacement tires for cars and light and medium...