Toyota Prius with added noise: The Prius Vehicle Proximity Notification

Prius Vehicle Proximity Notification We’d much rather see a hybrid car than an electric one, but with plug-in hybrids starting to proliferate more car makers are having to address the issue of silent running endangering blind – and distracted - pedestrians. Step forward the Toyota Prius Vehicle Proximity Notification System. The US Senate signed off the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act at the end of 2010, which requires the makers of cars with the ability to run silently to make them run noisily instead, completely negating about the only benefit there is for electric cars.

Better Place Electric Car visitor centre opens

Better Place have opened a visitor centre in Israel to demonstrate their battery swap technology for electric cars Last October we wrote about a start-up company in Israel – Better Place – that had a new way forward for electric cars by taking the purchase of battery packs out of the equation, and was developing a system for ‘Battery Swap’ stations where electric car owners could drive in and swap their battery pack for a fully-charged one in a few minutes. That story first brought to our attention our favourite quote of last year – by Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn – who said “A hybrid is like a mermaid: if you want a fish, you get a woman; if you want a woman, you get a fish.” Which probably explained why Nissan – and its partner Renault – got involved with Better Place. Better Place aims to address the main concerns of electric car drivers by making the battery packs in electric cars ‘swappable’.

Hyundai to tone down ‘Fluidic Design’ for ‘Fluidic Precision’

Hyundai’s US boss, John Krafcik, has said that Hyundai will refine their ‘Fluidic Design’ in to something they’re calling ‘Fludic Precision’. The Hyundai Fluidic Design language was really the start of Hyundai’s move from Halford’s special to mainstream car maker. But the design language is starting to look a bit fussy and Hyundai are reacting to that by moving towards what they call ‘Fluidic Precision’ (there’s already a less fussy look about the new Santa Fe).