I New Idea Homepage

Who knows what the best way to help people realize the potential beauty and utility local natural resources in Filipino is? Nobody. But designer Clayton Tugonon thought that a car crafted from natural and recycled materials would possibly work and therefore he completed this unique car and showed it at Fame Exhibit in Manila. The car’s dashboard is fashioned from a blend of sea shells, and its spiraling exterior is crafted from the stalks of coconut flowers.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

A car installed with a wood-burning stove inside?? That sounds really crazy, but that’s innovative as well, indeed. Designed to fight against the cold weather in Swiss, Pascal Prokop has built a stove in his 1990 Volvo 240 station wagon and even got an operating permit from the Swiss technical inspection authority.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

Redesigned from a modern Volkswagen T5 Transporter van by a UK company, the Doubleback camper van is both appearance-attractive and function-impressive. Simply by pressing a button, you will then see the Doubleback extend to offer an extra room that adds six and a half feet of living space inside. The interior of the extended pod is equipped with a large bed too, which can fold down to provide space for other activities.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

The further the world steps forward, the farther we’re kept away from the nature. But fortunately there’re still many designers who are devoted to come up with natural, eco-friendly things, like Jarbas Lopes’ “Natural Fiber Bicycle”. It’s an organic-seeming mode of transportation, with woven fiber coating around the body of a bike. Named as “Cicloviaérea”, the series includes bicycles of different shapes, which are both enjoyable and usable as well.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

Although I’ve known of many people going to climb a mountain as they might try to live away from the city, I seldom heard of any people climbing up and down a mountain with trains. Why do we need a train going through the mountain, since commonly a mountain is deemed as places for exercise or fitness? Probably it’s simply because “some people need it”! In Haifa, Israel, the Carmel Mountain is rightly built with a 1.8 km long train track, which allows two trains to run up and down for people to enjoy a comfortable “climbing”.  With only six stations, the Carmel Mountain subway is nearly one of the shortest subway systems in the world.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a driver’s inattention is one of the main factors that may lead to a car collision. So while you’re with your airbag to offer protection, you still need something more efficient, like the new Mobileye 5-Series. It comprises a camera and proprietary algorithms and microprocessor that will function in unison, intending to alert the drivers to regain full attention whenever there are unintended lane departures, imminent collisions or something else. The system is compatible with many kinds of cars, trucks, buses and RVs, and it will work perfectly in both days and the nights.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

Using discarded car and bicycle parts he collected everywhere, Bangkok-based artist Roongrojna Sangwongprisarn has created a perfectly-detailed Predator-inspired motorcycles that are drivable too. Have a close look at its stunning details and florid exterior coating – who would ever believe the vehicle is made with old bike parts? Though there’s no information about its speed, we’re still quite interested in the motorcycle: when riding such a cool vehicle, who would need speed, right? Let’s just ride it slowly, and attracting everybody in the street.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

Texting or emailing with your cellphones during your driving is actually a very dangerous thing which may kill thousands of people every year. Although everyone knows that truth, they just couldn’t stop themselves using cellphones when they’re driving, thus Scosche produces a product that can control your cellphones. It’s mainly a trigger adapter that connects to any car’s OBD-II port – when switched on and detecting that you’re in motion, the adapter then sends out signals to make anything but hands-free calling disabled. Now, you might want to know what would happen if you unplug the trigger? Well, as the device is destined for mostly young drivers and fleet drivers, it will send an email of text to their parents or managers to inform them of your behavior.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

We’re always trying to park as more cars as possible in one place— but since the space is limited, why not park your cars in a different way, such as fold your car up for parking/storage? Originally dreamt up by Boston’s MIT-Media lab, the collapsible vehicle is now developed by a consortium of seven small Basque firms under the name Hiriko Driving Mobility (Hiriko is the Basque word for ‘urban’) and is hoped to hit the market by mid-2013. The EV is quite small, coming with only two seats, and it will collapse into a much smaller one when parks vertically. And it’s durable too, capable of running for 75 miles without needing a recharge. When the EV finally comes into production, there’re two ways for people to use it: either purchase one for 12,500 Euros (just over $16,000) or rent one for the day.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

RydeSafe Reflective Bike Decals is a project launched by Anthony Clune via the funding website Kickstarter recently. Similar to other common bike stickers, the RydeSafe Decals will give out attractive light in the night to alert passengers, car drivers or other bike riders of the existence of your bike. Besides, the decals also come as a DIY kit and hence it would let you personalize your bike and accessories based on your own interest and desire.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

Named after the famous Italian medieval traveler Odoric of Pordenone, the “Odorico” expandable caravan looks good, functions good, and announced especially ideal for travel use. Its unique expandable architecture makes it transformable too, so it may change its shape and function in different ways according to its user’s needs. But pity it’s not real yet, still waiting for some company to license it and put it into production.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

You drive a car in the front, with another same (but smaller) car following behind… Do you love that experience? You should, honestly. Priced at $3,695 (so much!!), each trailer made by ACT looks likes small replicas of real cars, while they won’t cost you any fuel at all, but simply draw more attention to you…and your cars and trailers.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

A car, also a moving office, the transformed Mercedes-Benz is deemed as one the most extravagant offices around the world. Apart from its elegantly-decorated interior, the car is equipped with Mac mini, Sony 3D TV, Apple iPads, refrigerator, coffee maker, high quality sound system, PS3, iPod touch and other appliances as well, making it the No. 1 luxury combination of high-tech products nowadays. So what should we do on the car, to rest or to work? After all, the car is too comfortable to work in…

[Read the rest of this entry...]

My only reason to reject a motorcycle that it is completely exposed to wind, rain, snow, sunshine, is no more tenable after Lit Motors has launched its C-1 fully-enclosed two-passenger motorbike. Yaps, the weather will never threaten the riders! And that’s not all, because the C-1 is self-balancing too, using an electronically-controlled gyroscopic stabilizing system to stay upright when stopped. With all those outstanding features, the Lit Motors’ C-1 will be available at a really high price of about US$24,000 by late 2013, which may go down to $16,000 once full production gets under way in 2014.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

A trailer that can accommodate up to 20 kg of articles, a booster that makes bicycles zoom off with a speed of up to 19 miles per hour, all those are brief descriptions about  the Ridekick. It can easily attach to most bikes, with a 500 watt battery that could get reenergized in four to six hours. On a single charge, the Ridekick can get the riders to any places within 12 miles, which is basically enough for a short trip.

[Read the rest of this entry...]