NASA crowns winner in $250k "flying car" contest

Flying cars come pretty high up the average gadget geek's wishlist, so it's pretty encouraging to see NASA funding a $250,000 contest that could eventually produce a pioneering vehicle that can fly and drive. Although none of the winners this time around can actually achieve the two feats, they all have features that tend towards the PAV (or Personal Aircraft Vehicle) area of the General Aviation spectrum.

The winner was the Pipistrel Virus, a $70,000 aircraft that can do 50 MPG and take off on short runways, whilst having a top speed of 170 MPH. The industry still seems to have a while to go yet, seeing as NASA awarded a prize to the Cessna 172, which has been flying in one form or another for practically half a century.


Source Engadget

Share this Post with other

Ford offers $78 million for Romanian auto maker

Originally uploaded by Noah Bulgaria

When the Romanian government put a 72-percent stake in Automobile Craiova SA on the block, it got one bidder: Ford. The Blue Oval first offered fifty-five million euros in July, then upped it to fifty-seven million euros, which equals $78 million dollars.

Before the government stepped in, Craiova was owned by Daewoo Motors' Romania, which was separate from the GM-owned Daewoo. The Romanian arm went bankrupt in 2006. The state bailout came to the tune of $61 million dollars, which paid for assets and debts. The last year of its operation under Daewoo, the plant put out 24,000 cars. Ford, after a planned $675 million investment in the plant, wants to up that production to 300,000 cars. Conjecture is that Ford will make the Festiva there.

The deal is expected to close on September 12, during the Frankfurt Auto Show. Yet more evidence that in spite of troubles at home, Ford is raging bullish on its overseas operations.

Source Autoblog

Share this Post with other