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There’s a race on to develop the technology that will power the next generation of cars.
Some of the biggest and smartest car companies, such as Honda and BMW, are making huge bets that hydrogen is going to replace oil as the car fuel of choice. (To wit: The Honda FC Sport we recently reviewed). Another group of car companies, mostly small start-ups based in the greater San Francisco area, think the next automotive paradigm involves electric power.
Of that second group of car companies, one of the most promising startups is Aptera and its soon-to-go-into-production 2e model.
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Most concept cars—and all of the bizarre and purposely “futuristic” looking ones—never seem to become production models. Which is why we feel confident predicting that the Honda FC Sport, unveiled in concept form at the 2008 Los Angles Auto Show, will never be sold in any showroom. Headlines touting this as “The Car Of The Future” strikes us enormous exaggerations.
But what’s noteworthy about the hydrogen-powered FC Sport concept car is that, while the car design is a concept, the “hydrogen-powered” part is real. The FC Sport’s hydrogen technology is being used today in a car that is available in a showroom: The Honda FCX Clarity sedan (see photo, below).
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The futuristic looking 1-Liter Volkswagen already has quite a bit of history: The car was completed as a concept model in 2002 then shelved as a production vehicle in 2005. And then revived when fuel prices soared in 2008. Because the 1-Liter gets a remarkable 235 mpg (which translates to 0.83 liters of fuel used for every 100km)!
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Normally Spot Cool Stuff avoids conceptual or soon-to-be-released products. We review products we can get our hands on. But the (totally theoretical!) iRing was too cool for us not to mention.
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