FLYING SAUCERS GO INTO PRODUCTION

While everyone else is stuck in traffic, you get to fly right over them. Here’s a vehicle to put you one step closer to making that a reality. So, get your spacesuit ready because aliens will not be the only ones who owns UFO. Not anymore.

The M200G Jetson designed and manufactured by Moller International, is engineered to take off and land vertically, and fly to a maximum altitude of 3 meters. The altitude has been restricted so drivers won’t need a pilot’s license. The vehicle is controlled by the fly-by-wire computer which responds to the driver’s input via a joystick. The maker claims operation is easy and takes little time to learn.

The altitude was also set to where it benefits from extra lift created by a cushion of air - known as ground effect. This allows the M200G to glide over terrain at 50mph, powered by eight of the Company's Rotapower rotary engines. Moller International has not arranged for training or licensing requirements to operate the vehicle. But it is prepared to offer demonstration sessions at its California base once the vehicle is ready for market.

The vehicle can be purchased only by way of an international auction that the company plans to conduct next year. Interested individuals can take part in the auction by proving that they can pay $150,000. Moller has been promising the world a flying car for over a decade, could it finally be making good on its pledge? Or a better question is, you already know the world is full of crazy drivers, do you really want to see them try to fly?

*source: Moller website

2009 HONDA OSM

Honda’s low-emission sportscar study model has been revealed at the British International Motor Show, at ExCel, London.The lightweight roadster design study displays one of Honda’s core engineering principles – to design stylish and exciting cars that are also environmentally responsible. Named the OSM (for Open Study Model), the two-seater joins the confirmed-for-production CR-Z sports hybrid and FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell car on the Honda stand at the show. “We’re trying to show that low emission cars can be attractive,” says Andreas Sittel, Project Leader for OSM. “There is no reason why a car that’s more environmentally friendly can’t look great too – and be sporty and fun to drive.”

The concept for the project was ‘Clean and Dynamic’ – and this direction was followed for both the exterior and interior design, ensuring a joined-up, consistent ‘language’ between the two. One example of this can be seen at the rear of the car, where the body actually extends into the cabin between the seats. The exterior design is a balance of smooth, rounded curves and sharp lines to provide definition in key areas. The headlights are cleverly integrated into the front end, stretching from the nose to the top of the wheel arches to look more like a part of the original body.

Inside, this uninterrupted, fluid approach is continued, with long sweeping curves extending from both door panels to form a frame for the instrument display. The concept for the dashboard was to avoid creating the traditional block of ‘heavy’ color and material in front of the driver; in keeping with the clean and lightweight theme. For that reason, the dash is broken into sections, with the most important instruments in direct line-of-sight of the driver.

Key information is displayed in a rounded, enclosed central binnacle, with levels and figures in bright blue on a black background. This matches the trim inside the car, with the seats and door furniture trimmed in a new, gloss-effect blue leather, accompanied by white leather sections, in line with the exterior body color, a one-off paint called Mystic Pearl. The driver’s main controls and functions are distributed in an intuitive layout, close at hand on a panel that curves downwards to the right of the driver. A centrally-mounted semi-sequential gear-shift points towards a fun-to-drive transmission, along with paddle shifts either side of the steering wheel. Integrated into the gearshifter itself is a red ignition ‘start’ button, which reinforces the sporty direction of the car.

The Honda OSM was designed by Honda’s R&D facility in Offenbach, Germany. It’s the latest example of the young talent being developed within Honda’s design studios in Europe – following the Honda Small Hybrid Sports Concept (Geneva 2007) and the Accord Tourer Concept (Frankfurt 2007). At present, the Honda OSM is a design study model, and there are no plans for it to enter production.