There aren't too many transportation-related green displays at the WIRED NextFest going on in Chicago this month, but it's hard to miss the ones that are present. While the back of the tent is taken over by Toyota's plug-in Prius and 1/x, right in the middle of the floor is the ridiculously stretched out Imagine PS Roadster from HumanCar. We've heard about this vehicle since 2006, and it's still in pretty basic form. The bright orange chassis and the rowing-powered powerplant (which will be combined with an electric motor in the final version) sat next to each other and you can see both in the photo gallery below. What struck me was just how low and long this vehicle is. I still can't quite imagine how you steer the car, especially at low speeds, as the "BodySteer™" technology isn't something I get quite yet. Perhaps I will if we can take the Imagine out for a spin sometime next year - it's due in Spring 2009.

WIRED Magazine is setting up a custom house celebrating all things modern and high-tech and they've chosen the BMW Hydrogen 7 to occupy the garage. The WIRED LivingHome is supposed to 'serve as an example of how people can effectively balance green living with high technology and high design." How you go about reconciling green living with a 4,057 square foot house is questionable. Even with a Gold rating from United States Green Building Council's (USGBC) LEED® for Homes Program, a house that big filled with all the latest gadgetry is going to consume a lot of energy. If WIRED really wanted to set an example for green living they would start with a much smaller building and make it as efficient as possible. And the garage would be occupied by something much more practical and efficient than the Hydrogen 7. If they wanted to demonstrate sustainability they would choose a vehicle that doesn't use liquid hydrogen which must be vented as it boils in the fuel tank, eventually running dry as it sits parked.

[Source: BMW]

(Editor's note: to read the rest of Derrick's NextFest coverage, click here)



Overall, Wired's NextFest certainly wasn't the Paris Motor Show, nor was it meant to be. Instead, it was a gathering of new technologies in many different fields. On the positive side, I'd say that if there was any underlying theme other than new technologies, it would had to have been environmental reponsibility or sustainable green culture. Not every exhibit was focused on eco-friendliness, but a large portion of them were. I'd say close to one-third of the exhibits had something environmentally friendly to show which involved nearly half of the floor space (primarily due to the sheer size of GM's and GE's exhibits). What was great to see was that automotive and energy exhibits seemed to lead the way in environmental research and development.

Earlier, I gave focus to GM's portfolio of green machines, the fastest electric car in the world (which was built by Ohio State), Virginia Tech's Challenge X-leading E85-electric hybrid Equinox, Xof1's solar car aimed at breaking the world distance record, Carl Vogel's electric Harley, and Wheelsurf's mono-wheel, cycle-like recreational contraption. However, in this wrap-up, I'd like to at least mention a handful of other advanced vehicles that were present at NextFest: Noland's Bionic Dolphin, Newtsub's Deepworker 2000, General Electric's clean diesel train, AdRide bicycles and last but not least Paul Allen's SpaceShipOne.

Make the jump to keep reading. There are more pictures back there, too.

The commute from Rhode Island to Manhattan for NextFest was a short trip for Carl Vogel and his electric Harley-Davidson. His was certainly one of the smaller exhibits in size, but he certainly got a lot of attention. At one point in the afternoon, attendees were 5 rows deep trying to get a look at the electric blue cruiser and sidecar.

The wide rectangular frame of the bike houses 560 pounds of lead-acid batteries that will take the bike about 60 miles at 55 mph while the top speed is roughly 85 mph. Oh, and that isn't just any sidecar. It houses a diesel engine that's filled up with biodiesel fuel, though, it doesn't directly power any of the wheels. Instead, it acts as a generator that can charge the batteries while the bike is in motion.

Carl didn't fire the bike up for us, but said that it basically sounds like a golf cart. He admits that the silence can take a bit away from the Hog mystique for some, but says he enjoys being able to cruise just hearing the wind and ground beneath your feet.

Related:

• 115 mpg Biodiesel Harley? An electric Harley with biodiesel sidecar generator? How cool is that?

More pics after the jump.

Ohio State wasn't the only school exhibiting an impressive alternative-powered car at NextFest. The Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team (HEVT) from Virginia Tech brought along their Challenge X-winning Equinox.

Challenge X is a 3-phase competition in which 17 teams were chosen to re-engineer an Equinox with the goal of minimizing energy consumption, emissions and greenhouse gases while maintaining performance and utilization.

Virginia Tech's 30 mechanical engineering students took an E85-electric hybrid approach. The car mates a 67 kW Ballard AC induction motor to a Saab 2.0 liter turbo. Kurt Johnson, Virginia Tech graduate student and HEVT's team leader, said they achieved 19.6 mpg during the competition which involved many rigorous stops and starts.

The competition is currently in the 3rd phase in which involves vehicle refinement aiming to deliver a "showroom model" with consumers in mind. Having won phase 2 and owning the overall lead in Challenge X, Kurt expressed a quiet confidence in HEVT's performance over the final stage which will be judged at the end of the academic year in 2007.

To find out more about the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team (HEVT) at Virginia Tech, visit www.hevt.me.vt.edu.

To read more about Challenge X, go to www.challengex.org.

More pics after the jump.

(Editor's note: to read the rest of Derrick's NextFest coverage, click here)



When I heard that GM was showcasing their "portfolio of green advanced propulsion technologies" at NextFest, the first thing that came to mind was that this is finally my chance to get a first-hand look at the fuel cell-powered Chevrolet Sequel. No, I didn't get to jump in the car and cruise along the Hudson down the West Side Highway, but I did manage to shoot a few good pics. The car looks great in person especially with its monstrous 22-inch wheels.

The Sequel was highlight of GM's exhibit, but it wasn't the only concept to make an appearance. GM brought the 2002 Hy-wire fuel cell concept, the 2005 GMC Graphyte hybrid concept SUV, the Saturn Vue Greenline, the Saturn Aura hybrid and the flex-fuel capable Chevy Avalanche. Unfortunately, the Chevrolet Equinox fuel cell car wasn't on-hand, but there's still lots more after the jump.

Just got back from NextFest. Dubbed Wired's version of a new world's fair, NextFest brought together more than 130 exhibitors bearing new technologies in a plethora of fields from all over the globe. Given that it's being held just 3 short subway stops from my apartment, I couldn't quite think of a reason to miss it.

I have to admit, it wasn't quite as big as I thought it would be, but there was still a lot going on. There were a number of worthy exhibits - some green, some interactive and some just plain cool. Our focus here, however, is green land transportation, so I'll try to stay on topic as best I can in the subsequent posts.

As Sam mentioned earlier, GM brought a "portfolio of green advanced propulsion technologies" under their Chevrolet, GMC and Saturn badges. They were the only major auto manufacturer to show up which, of course, is understandable as I imagine everyone else is busy flexing their muscles in Paris. There were, however, a handful of other interesting green vehicles including the Buckeye Bullet (Ohio State's claim to having built "the fastest electric car in the world"), an E85-electric hybrid Chevy Equinox built by Virginia Tech, Xof1's (pronounced "power of one") solar project car aimed at setting a world distance record, Carl Vogel's electric Harley-Davidson and Wheelsurf's recreational disk-shaped motorcycle (trust me, you'll love this one).

More to come soon...