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It was a concept car in 2009, and now it is a real car being manufactured in California. It’s called the Fisker Karma and it is a plug-in hybrid that should be able to compete with cars like the Chevy Volt and Tesla Roadster. Here’s a look: More info: First Drive: 2012 Fisker Karma And […]
The Spark Plugs used in an internal combustion engine have been nearly unchanged since the beginning. The design is very simple – a high-voltage spark jumps a tiny gap and this spark ignites gasoline. Spark plugs are a relatively cheap, reliable way to get the job done. But spark plugs are not perfect, so now […]
Anyone who has ever played with Hot Wheel cars knows that there are two staples in the track layout arena: There is the loop, and there is the jump. At the Indy 500 this year, they are scaling the jump up to real life: World-Record Jump Attempt Set for Indianapolis 500 A dedicated crew of […]
Baja SAE is a competition for college students – the goal is to design, build and race a Baja-style car, as shown here: Power comes from a 10 HP overhead valve Briggs&Stratton engine Building a typical Baja SAE car from the frame up: Why is Baja SAE important? This video is a long explanation of […]
The video is funny because of the events and the outcomes… But it also makes you ask – what can you do with a rental car? For example, if you do burnouts for two days and return the car with bald tires, what happens? If you enter a rental car in a 24-hour race, what […]
We have talked about Google’s self driving cars on a couple of previous occasions: – How self-driving cars work – Google’s self-driving cars Now Google has a version that can drive like a bat out of hell (in case you are wondering where that expression originated, this page can help): This does look impressive, but […]
Supercar – The Priapism – Featuring two 450 HP V8 engines
by Marshall Brain | March 2, 2011
What if you can’t get all the horsepower you want from a single v8 engine? One option is to combine two V8s in a single car. That is the design idea behind the Priapism from Sire Custom Performance. You can see the car and hear about its design philosophy here: These videos show the car […]
Our modern world would not be possible without aluminum. It is a metal that is both lightweight and strong. Aluminum is the primary metal used in all modern passenger jets in the air today. The same is true of the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station – they would not be possible without aluminum. […]
How Formula SAE Racing Works – Students build and race 100+ MPH cars
by Marshall Brain | February 24, 2011
Imagine that you are a mechanical engineering student in college. Being a MechE, you would probably want to get your hands dirty making something mechanical. And what better thing to make than a car? Cars are the most complicated mechanical objects that people come into contact with on a daily basis. To ratchet it up […]
Why are there dots around the edges of some car windshields?
by Marshall Brain | February 18, 2011
You Asked:
Why are there dots around the edges of some car windshields? — Jim, Annandale, Va.
Marshall Brain Answers…
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