It seems Australia is really stepping up to the plate when it comes to advancing alternative fuel technology. In fact, it was revealed yesterday that a US firm will be building an electric car charging network for them.

It seems Australia is really stepping up to the plate when it comes to advancing alternative fuel technology. In fact, it was revealed yesterday that a US firm will be building an electric car charging network for them.

Here’s clever for you: if you’re a city designer of the future, how do you balance residents’ desires to have their own private vehicles, which they can drive themselves, with your own desire for the sweeping cable-car and monorail tracks that no 22nd Century urban metropolis should be without? The answer could be Roberto Vackflores’ LIFT concept, individual autopods that can selectively hook onto overhead tracks.

BMW and NXP Semiconducters have announced what they’re calling the world’s first multi-functional car key. Currently in prototype form, the key features contactless payment, personalized access control and public transport e-ticketing for when you’ve left your 7-Series in the parking lot. Future functionality could include general shopping, paying for gas, parking fees and road tolls. Using the same credit-card form-factor as other contactless car keys, the BMW prototype aims to replace not only your keys but your cash.
It seems not all is well with the Tesla Roadster. According to Martin Eberhard, the former CEO and co-founder of Tesla Motors, the car apparently wastes a lot of energy when just sitting parked.

Well, we may be one step closer to the ever-elusive flying car. But make no mistake, the Terrafugia Transition is still not exactly the “future” set forth in the 1950’s that we’ve all come to expect.

Saab have partnered with Sony Ericsson to bring remote control of its latest vehicle to the touchscreen of the XPERIA X1. Demonstrated at the launch of the Saab 9-X Air concept at the Paris Motor Show last week, the system would allow XPERIA X1 owners to remotely control ambient lighting, lock the car, control seating, switch the lights on and off, and open the rear compartment, all via Bluetooth.

Video demo after the cut
Say what you like about the Lamborghini Estoque concept – and some will love it, some will hate it - but it certainly sticks in your head. Lamborghini’s four-door 170mph saloon has been wowing crowds at the Paris autoshow, and Autoblog stopped by to grab some photos. In the metal, the Estoque apparently works as a more coherent design, although they do suggest that it might have been rushed together to meet the deadline and could do with “a couple more drafts”.

Videos and more photos of the Lamborghini Estoque after the cut
When Porsche do it, I can cope. Aston Martin I can deal with. But a four-door saloon from Lamborghini? That just sounds blasphemous. However crippling economic climates demand stranger things, and so feast your eyes on the Lamborghini Estoque concept: a four-door, five meter long, V8-powered monster of a vehicle, predicted to hit showrooms in 2011 with a price-tag around $130,000.

When I first set eyes on the Lego V8 Engine, I had the same reaction many have. It starts as surprised wonder, then a curiosity as to whether or not an engine made of Legos could actually work and then a realization that that’s quite possibly the dumbest thought I’ve ever had. Even so, you have to admit, this Lego creation is pretty cool.

Nissan wants to cut the rate of accidents by 50% by the year 2015. And in order to do that, they have developed an accident-avoiding robot called the BR23C, which stands for Biomimetic Car Robot Drive. And the company’s inspiration for the bots? Bees.
