Textiles are so much more sophisticated as a surface than the metals and plastics we normally work with. Their micro structures (knit, weave, etc) allow for all kinds of changes in fit and drape, while the macro structure (patterns) give you all kinds of customization and optimization for fit. So when I look at this wrinkly BMW Gina- I see a cool idea- but one designed with hardware thinking – not textile thinking. C’mon Chris Bangle: get a fashion designer to do this right!

The City of Raleigh currently is updating its Comprehensive Plan for the first time since 1989. Over the next 20 years, the city is expected to grow by 70 percent and reach a population of 700,000. Kids City is one element of the City’s strategy to educate people on the issues and engage them in envisioning Raleigh’s future.

Emma Farquhar sees the future clearly, complete with flying cars, the river all Raleighites long for, and her house in the trees.

Kids have eco-visions too! Check out “The Solar Hotel!”

The Mudcats stadium moves downtown, and all the important people of Raleigh are there enjoying the game.

Industry moves downtown too. Shown here is a Gatorade factory…and right beside it, there’s a chocolate factory. Chocolate and Gatorade…new energy for the downtown core!

You can always count on kids for the big ideas, the creative avenues we all wish for but are afraid to develop. Kids Day 2030 brought a little fun into the idea of planning – and maybe to the future reality of Raleigh.

but then I spotted my old favorite from kindergarten – the Fire Chief!

with an air of prehistory I stumbled upon a relic of a three wheeler with up-and down pogo action

but a highly innovative lean-steer three wheeler was waiting around the corner.

The micro Vespa was precious – and pedal powered.

Now the prize of the room was told to be an Aston Martin buggy actually made by the car manufacturer. It was only $5000.

However my favorite was the Unicycle trainer. This is an invention that needs to come back. I envision a hundred of them in formation at the next Kirby Derby Day

What is the big deal? Looking at the companies product line, I find Tata a more interesting brand. Practical with style meets old money. Jaguar has been a tired line for years. Maybe Tata will bring some needed color.

Ford was certainly doing nothing interesting with these cars. East takes west! It is about time. I’m sure Indians have had enough of boring ol’ stiff upper lipped Range Rovers trashing their back country…

The specs were quite impressive, including 80 MPG. I remember turns that could be handled at more than 1 g of force.

The idea has had some kind of staying power, since BMW seemed to copy it directly with their low emissions CLEVER car:

The turning mechanism looks identical:

Then there is the lovely Sparrow by Myers Motors – an all-electric 3 wheeler that might be the non-performance runt of the family, but is the one that made it to production.

They eventually bankrupted, but I see that you can get one at Hammacher Schlemmer now for $25k.

Kelly’s post on the Tata made me think about the Smart Car. I first saw one in Europe in 1999 and have been wanting one ever since. The car is supposedly made in an eco-friendly way (at least in Europe). It’s super cute, and I love that there is at least some chance that I can parallel park (I’m a little challenged in that skill). We’ve got a Prius for longer trips and commutes, so our second car doesn’t need much space…again, a plus in selling me the Smart Car as our second vehicle.

I have watched the difficulties of getting this car approved for introduction into the US market and now, I can finally get one. But I’m not going to. Why? Because to me, in this era of hybrids, electric cars and a quest for overall fuel efficiency, the Smart Car has entirely missed the boat. How can they design a car that small to only get 40mpg? And why? It’s downright irresponsible. My Beetle gets 35mpg. It’s already got the cute-factor. It’s got incredible convenience with the hatchback and foldown seats. I can fit 4 people and my dog into it without a problem.

So what are they selling me that I don’t already have? The eco-friendly approach to building the car in the first place (yes, that’s cool). The supposedly easy approach to recycling the pieces of the car (nice words, but I have little faith that Daimler will have recycling processes in place). The novelty of a new car body shape…and the cool factor of driving around something unique. That kind of cache doesn’t usually last long, and at a price and mpg rate that’s average at best, it’s not enough for me.

The Tata Nano by Tata Motors recently flexed it’s 2-cylinder, 623 cc engine at the New Delhi auto expo. It is currently named the world’s cheapest new car at approximately $2500 (100,000 rupees). Touting low emissions and about 54 miles per gallon the new ‘People’s Car’ will go on the market later this year. (No, not in the US.) Will this little gem be an environmental savior or flood crowded highways?

• Use carpools or public transit to extend the wear of cars and tires and reduce car maintenance wastes such as used oil.

Automotive:

www.donateyourcar.com For a substantial tax write-off, consider donating instead of selling or trading in your old car. The IRS allows you to deduct the retail value quoted in any widely used guidebook, as long as it’s under $5000. (If it’s over $5000, you’ll need an independent appraisal.) Your write-off value will probably be much greater than the trade-in-value, and you won’t need to waste money on repairs or time haggling with dealers or buyers.

www.guidestar.org You can also donate your car to a shelter, church, or theater group. These groups often need cars to pick up clients or transport supplies. Make sure the group you choose is qualified to receive tax-deductible contributions before making the donation, and ask them to provide a written acknowledgment that includes a description of the car. Guidestar offers a list of 850,000 IRS-recognized nonprofit organizations.

www.recycleoil.org Recycling the motor oil from one oil change protects a million gallons of drinking water, according to the American Petroleum Institute. Most service stations that change oil will also take and sagely dispose of used motor oil free of charge.

http://www.burlingtonbiodiesel.org/ Why burn gas when you can burn leftover cooking oil?! Read more about biodiesel benefits and uses.

Bicycles:

www.ibike.org/youth.htm, www.ibike.org/freebike.htm, www.scn.org/bikeworks No matter how old or beat up, there are lots of organizations that want your old bike. Most community bike shops across the country host Recycle-a-Bicycle or Earn-a-Bike programs that try to get kids off the street by teaching them to restore bikes and eventually giving them one to fix up for themselves. In Seattle, the International Bicycle Fund (IBF) sponsors the Village Bicycle Project, which will take your old bicycle, repair it, and send it to Africa, where people are in desperate need of reliable transportation. The IBF also provides links to “bike libraries” (which lend bikes in cities like Denver; Portland, Oregon; and Olympia, Washington) and youth bike programs around the country that are looking for donations. In addition, most Kiwanis Clubs collect and give bikes to disadvantaged children as Christmas gifts.

Woke up this morning and went to our neighbor’s to buy some eggs from their chicken coup, but got distracted by an amazing sight – an incredible, straight out of 1978, mega custom van. It woke me up like no cup of coffee ever could. I wanted to “breaker 1-9″ on a CB radio share the moment, but this blog is the closest I could get.

Seein’ that beauty made me wonder what 2007 has to offer in custom vannage. I don’t know what’s happening here in the U.S., but Japan’s all over it. Check out Pink Tentacle to see some truly imaginative vehicles like the one below.