Range Rover Black Tear Drop Metal Key Ring on 2040-parts.com

The new Honda Insight hybrid is shown at the Detroit auto show

The new Honda Insight was unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show To hear Honda tell it, the new 2010 Insight coming to market this April is all about making hybrid technology available to Gen-Y. That's because it's smaller and less expensive than the class-leading Toyota Prius or Honda's own Civic Hybrid. We drove the Insight in Arizona recently and found it also more fun to drive than most hybrids, another attribute that ranks high among young buyers.

SAE approves new fast-charging standard for EVs, plug-ins

SAE International said it has approved a new technical standard that will dramatically reduce charging times for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles. The global engineering group said the new charging standard, developed with the cooperation of more than 190 automakers, utilities and equipment builders, will allow charging times to be reduced from as long as eight hours to as short as 20 minutes. Automakers want DC direct charging to take less than 10 minutes, or roughly the time it takes to fill a tank with gasoline.The goal is to accommodate currents as high as 500 volts distributed from public charging stations.

Reproducing reality – X-Rite’s Total Appearance Capture

Total Appearance Capture isn't some sinister new form of identity theft but a revolutionary method of digitizing physical models using a new scanning technology, with the ability to capture extraordinary detail and all input and output light. The system, from coatings color measurement experts X-Rite, combines color, texture, gloss and other surface characteristics into a digital material ‘description' that can be imported directly to computer-aided design programs. What sets it apart from previously available methods is its ability to collect information on complex materials such as textiles, leather, basketwork, stone, coatings and plated finishes, in a 3D scene lit by a virtual studio environment.