With prices for a gallon of gas seemingly hitting new highs everyday this three-wheeled Westward Go-4 on eBay Motors may be more marketable than ever, but will likely still require an owner with a healthy sense of self confidence to drive it.
Built for urban police forces or security guards in large parking lots, we really admire the go-it-alone spirit of the current iconoclastic owner who uses the Go-4 as a daily driver. The three-wheeler is powered by a decently sturdy 1.3-liter Ford Festiva engine, and isn’t likely to be too dangerous a ride unless one needs to spend major time on the freeway. It also has the advantage of being registered as a motorcycle and getting cheap rates on insurance because of it. Throw in the heater and seat belts, and the package starts to sound downright luxurious. Remember to do something about those NASCAR stickers though.
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Some of you might have heard about the recent bus explosion in Shanghai caused by some inflammable goods. Perhaps that’s why China’s own Superman made up his mind to take the subway from now on, for safety’s sake.
The real question would seem to be why he didn’t just fly? Poor air quality maybe? Have a further look at Supe’s commute in our gallery below and then share your thoughts with us, in comments.
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The pictures here are taken in Qinhuangdao, a beautiful port city in Hebei Province, about 280 kilometers from Beijing. The truck turned street sweeper or whatchamacallit carries more than twelve brooms, which rotate with the axle to take care of cleaning. Who said that the Chinese people have no originalities? Take a look at the radical device in our gallery below.
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Two passenger trains crashed on Monday in Zibo, part of China’s Shandong Province on Monday, resulting in 66 casualties and more than 247 people injured.
Seconds after being derailed, train T195, heading from Beijing to Qingdao, collided with 5034, another train heading from Yantai to Heze. According to the Xinhua News, the official press agency of the government of the PRC, the death toll reached 66 and 247 people were hospitalized, among whom 55 were in critical conditions. Four French nationals were also injured in the accident, which is reported to be the deadliest such in a decade.
In less desperate news, China just put its first domestically produced bullet train into trial operation a week ago on April 23. The train, which is set to be seen on the line from Beijing to Tianjin, is said to be capable of speeds reaching 161 mph.
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Streetcars, the predominant mode of public transportation in Beijing from the 1920s to 1960s, will be back on track starting May 1st. The Beijing municipal government recently decided to kick off a streetcar line in the Qianmen, or the “Front Gate” area right before the Olympics, a move apparently aiming to attract visitors.
“I remember the ticket price was only 3 cents,” said Bai Yuzhen, a retired senior Beijinger, “We call them Diang Diang car at the time, as it runs with the crunching “diang diang” sound. The capital of China used to have seven trolley lines, all in the center of the city. The last line died in the May of 1966 during the Cultural Revolution. “The new trolleys are apparently not for people like me,” Bai noted, “They [the government] demolished almost all the old Gates of Beijing and have rebuilt them in recent years. It’s good that they trying to recover what’s been lost, but what’s the point of destroying them at the beginning? I hope they can focus more on those disappearing old Hutongs (alley ways) and Siheyuans (courtyards) in the city. It’s ridiculous to ignore those old architectures being demolished now and have them rebuilt years later.”
Old streetcars can now still be found in Dalian, Chang Chun and a few other cities in China’s northeast area, which presumably can attract more tourists than their newborn siblings.
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The Dixie Chopper Xcaliber lawn mower is to your average John Deere what a Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is to a Honda Accord; faster, cooler, and massively more expensive.
Ringing up for a princely $11,400, the Xcaliber makes the claim that it is the “world’s fastest lawn mower,” and is likely among the most costly. While we don’t test enough high performance ride-ons to verify the speed claims, we can say that the Dixie Chopper is mighty impressive.
The mower offers a 38 horsepower Kohler gas motor, with optional diesel and propane-powered engines as well, that will propel it to a top speed of 15 mph. That kind of ground speed translates into nine acres worth of cut grass per hour (again, we’re told that’s a lot), and immeasurable bragging rights over the other guys in your neighborhood. The Xcaliber also offers amenities like a 12-volt adapter for cell phone or iPod charging while on the cut. Summer never seemed so promising.
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The Black Cab Sessions are a serious of innovative videos featuring musicians performing live for an audience of one…cab driver. Taking advantage of the spacious confines of London’s famous black cabs, each artist is given one song, one take, and one cab ride. We’re not sure where they’re headed, but we are huge fans of the results. Click the Black Cab link below to see the whole library, or the video above to hear indie rocker Spoon perform “I Summon You.”
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Further proof that if it has wheels, someone will be willing to race it; we fully approve of the spirit behind this Cadbury’s chocolate ad, even though we haven’t the foggiest what it has to do with candy. Maybe chocolate will be the only thing that can soothe one’s jangled nerves after finding out your luggage has been mysteriously “run over.” Enjoy.
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Ford is attempting to leverage its long and prolific history in the taxi industry, with a cab concept based on its versatile Transit Connect commercial hauler.
The Blue Oval recognizes that the taxi game is changing rapidly, especially here in New York City, where new mandates are sure to alter the face of the typical city street. The Transit Connect taxi has the advantage of offering a small footprint and good fuel economy, combined with a rather massive interior. Eat your heart out Crown Vic.
Have a look at Ford’s new people mover concept in our galleries below, or read the full press release below the jump.
With the demise of the illustrious Crown Victoria nigh, Ford - as well as cab drivers in New York City - may have to look to new ideas to fill the hole left by the sedan’s departure. Perhaps it’s fitting, then, that Ford’s fitted a new Transit Connect to demonstrate the European van’s ability to serve in livery fleets.
We could do without the two-toned paint ripped out of Judge Dredd, but many of the Transit Connect’s features seem more than ideal for a modern NYC taxi. Fitted with a second-row bench, the Taxi concept seats five like the ‘Vic, but offers nearly four times the amount of luggage space. Those twin sliding doors may be minivan-like, but they do provide easy entry and exit without protruding into traffic.
(Click through for more on the Transit Connect Taxi, including a release from Ford)
French company Robosoft has developed a rather frightening driverless cab called robuCab, whose goal seems to be to revolutionize the commercial transportation business. The self-motivated cab is a four-wheel-drive electric vehicle, which uses a series of cameras and sensors to monitor the street curb angle. The robot is then able to follow the curb and theoretically deliver passengers safely to whichever destination they choose. We’re not sure if they accept tips or not.
The robuCab prototypes seat four-passengers and are said to be rather slow-moving. They also seem to have a limited amount of cargo capacity for things like luggage, which would seem to be an immediate drawback in terms of taxi service. While having a personalized automated system could eventually lead to some positive results in areas like airport terminals and large parking areas, we don’t envision the robuCab putting many taxi drivers out of work soon.
+ Autoblog: robuCab wants to replace taxis in the future
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Have you ever sat down to play a game of Gran Turismo, but stopped yourself because all the available cars were just too fast, and handled too well for your tastes? If that sounds like you, than this new driving simulator might be just what you’re looking for.
A software company called Meridian4 is preparing to launch a new bus-driving simulator for the PC aptly called, Bus Driver. The game is said to offer players a choice of 12 buses, 30 routes arranged into 5 tiers, and a sophisticated traffic simulator to enhance the replay value.
While the game does sound like it will live up to its promise of being “unlike any other driving game,” we can’t help but think that it will also be very, very dull. Despite our reservations, we’re more than willing to give any driving sim a chance…dibs on the European low floor bus!
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Diesel with Attitude: The Audi A3 TDI Clubsport Quattro
Report: Volkswagen Working on Driverless Self-Parking System for Production
More Spied Images of New Camaro Interior
Early Scoop on Volkswagen Tiguan's U.S. Launch, Diesel Delayed? Not Coming? 
Report: Mercedes-Benz to Leverage Aluminum for Next E-class
