Stan Mott [via Dark Roasted Blend]

The Fiction: The Motorway

In Martha's second trip on the TARDIS in the new Doctor Who, the Doctor takes her to New New York. Much like its present-day namesake, this city is trapped by traffic.

In fact, the only living residents of the city have been stuck in a quagmire called "the Motorway" for decades, all trying to get to a better place. Some even resort to kidnapping so that they can drive in the HOV lanes, which they've heard can cut years off their travel time. Once Martha is kidnapped she finds out they'll make it the ten miles to their destination in a short six years.

The Reality: Traffic and congestion.

It's been said that Americans spend an average of over 100 hours a year commuting, so it's no wonder that scientists are constantly trying to find ways to improve the driving experience. Writers are always imagining new ways for their heroes to get from point A to point B. But how many of those writer's dreams are coming true? Read on.

The fiction: Computer driven cars

Seen in: I, Robot
Pros: You can read, nap, or solve crimes while you're traveling. Accident cleanup is a snap.
Cons: Should the computer system decide to become murderous, you're in a lot of trouble.

The Reality: The Darpa Challenge

(image courtesy of the Team VictorTango website)

DARPA presents prizes to teams creating cars that drive on their own using "various sensors and positioning systems." Their 2007 challenge asked the vehicles to navigate an urban environment and "executing simulated military supply missions while merging into moving traffic, navigating traffic circles, negotiating busy intersections, and avoiding obstacles." Three and a half million dollars in prizes were awarded and six teams finished the course.

The Fiction: Mag-Lev Cars

Seen In: Minority Report
Pros: You can pave everything and make it a road, giving D.C. residents as many lanes than they could ever want. Pull right up to your 200th floor apartment.
Cons: Imagine an accident at those speeds, on the side of a skyscraper. Makes car chase a lot more dangerous.

The Reality: Mag-Lev trains.

While we haven't started putting mag-lev systems in cars yet, we have put them into trains. Japan has the most famous trains using the technology, where magnets are used to both levitate and propel the train. Using magnetic levitation for travel has a lot of advantages, including speed. Not to mention the potential benefits to the environment, and the noise reduction. As we pointed out earlier, the future of rail transport in the U.S. might very well lie with mag-lev technology.

The Fiction: Flying Cars

Seen In: The Fifth Element, many many others
Pros: No need for roads anymore, the sky is open to everybody.
Cons: The sky is open to everybody. The view becomes nothing but cars, and traffic is a nightmare still.

The Reality: Hovercraft

Vehicles that float on a cushion of air are actually more popular and widely used than most people think. They're good for going over any terrain, and they're used by militaries around the world. It also is the technology on this list that you are most likely to make in your own garage, if all the YouTube videos are any indication. It is unlikely that the flying cars in science fiction are powered by jets of air, but so far it's the closest thing we've got.

The Fiction: Vehicle A.I. that talks to you

Seen in: Knight Rider
Pros: Can let you know when it needs maintenance, keep you entertained on long drives, drive for you if you need to beat up some bad guys.
Cons: Can get a little snippy. Might lock you out.

The Reality: turn by turn GPS, cars that talk to each other

While we're not quite to the point where our vehicles are having conversations, we do have plenty of robotic female voices telling us to "turn left" and after we make a wrong turn, they scold us with a "recalculating." But GPS systems have become commonplace. What's the next frontier of the technology? Cars that converse with each other.

In this video from cNet, we see that systems are being designed where two vehicles will send signals back and forth in order to keep track of their distance from each other, their speeds, and other relevant information. The same system can also get information from stop lights to relay to the driver, letting you know if you really should try to gun through that yellow light, or maybe you should try to stop.

Does it seem like these innovations are too far outside our grasp? Well there are two famous fictional cars that science has managed to replicate, at least to some degree:

The Fiction: The Batmobile

The Reality: Voice recognition software, OnStar, and "the Tumbler."

The Batmobile's features change from model to model, in fact there is even a website devoted solely to tracking the changes in the vehicle. There have been numerous defensive innovations, as well as offensive weaponry installed over the years. While most cars aren't driving around with side-mounted spherical bombs, the Batmobile has long had voice recognition software. Now the Ford Sync system comes standard in many of their models, one of the many ways our cars are starting to obey our vocal commands.

In a set of ads using the Batman/Batman Returns style Batmobile, audiences discovered one feature that they could have installed in their own cars: OnStar. Of course, Batman has had hands free calling to his support network (namely Alfred) for years.

The most important thing to note is that when Christopher Nolan brought his own spin to the Batmobile in Batman Begins, the "Tumbler" was actually a functional vehicle. According to The History of the Batmobile:

"Their primary focus was to make this Batmobile as real as possible: at 9 feet wide and 15 feet long, the car weighed in at 2.5 tons but was still capable of 0-60MPH in under six seconds with a top speed of 110MPH. Thanks to its unique design, it is also capable of making unassisted jumps up to 30 feet."

One of the best car shows in the world, Top Gear, was able to actually have the car in the studio for a segment where they talk about its actual working features. There's a rumor that The Stig even took it on a lap around the track:

The Fiction: James Bond's Scuba Car from "The Spy Who Loved Me."

The Reality: The sQuba Submarine Car

James Bond was able to tool around underwater in a modified Lotus Espirit without getting his impeccable suit damp. The sQuba Submarine Car is not quite so watertight, but it still is a car that handily swims around underwater, just like the vehicle in the film. As Jalopnik reports:

"Though you're not going to stay dry if you want to go diving, because theres no airtight canopy to enclose you. To breathe, you'll have to wear a scuba mask connected to the car's integrated compressed-air tank. But who cares?! This is a car that goes underwater!"

You can read a complete write up of the car here.

See the car in action and learn about all its other features:

Since the sQuba is just a concept car at the moment, if you want a car that will travel land and water, you might have to settle for an amphibious car. In one of their most infamous segments, the gentlemen at Top Gear were challenged to make their own amphibious cars, and then cross the English Channel. You might be surprised at the results:

What's next in the future of transportation? The best place to find out is probably the science-fiction section of Netflix.

To see Pope's article in its full-resolution glory, check out "It Will Come From Japan!" at GQ.

[via Forbidden Planet]

Our sister site Jalopnik has a stellar collection of movie cars — both official and replicas. These are mostly fan-made, drivable replicas of cars and bikes from science fiction.

Batmobiles

Some of the more ambitious projects are the Batmobiles. You can actually purchase kits to convert various car models into an Adam West-era Batmobile. But some fans prefer to make their Batmobiles the hard way.

It took Leif Garvin of Stockholm 20,000 hours and $1 million to convert a 1973 Lincoln Continental into the Tim Burton Batmobile. It may not be quite as hi-tech as Batman's car, but it does feature a voice recognition system and rear cameras. [via Toxel]

Bob Dullam attracted massive amounts of attention when he showed off his homemade Tumbler from Batman Begins. Dullam made the entire vehicle from scratch, and even made his own Batsuit and props to go with it. [via Superhero Hype]

And frequent builder Grant Hodgson made a Tumbler of his own. [via Jalopnik]

Bob Causey helped Dullam with his Tumbler and decided to create a Batmobile of his own. Causey took on the Batman Forever version, complete with a remote controlled top. [via /Film]

Kaneda's Bike

There are plenty of models of the iconic motorcycle from Akira, but many of those are non-working copies. Neo-Fukuoka, not a fan group but a professional garage, created multiple, working copies of Kaneda's bike, some offered for sale. [via Riding Sun]

But another fan, Matus, is also creating a replica of the bike from scratch, although he hasn't yet progressed to the exterior.

Mad Max Vehichles

Mad Max vehicles are a perennial favorite among vehicle modifiers. There are impressive lists of fan-made Interceptors at Last Interceptor and Mad Max Movies. But one fan stands out above them all. Adrian Bennett didn't just transform a Ford Falcon Coupe into the famous vehicle, he moved himself, his car, and his entire family from England to a tiny Australian town so he could live out his Mad Max fantasies. [via SCI FI Wire]

Other Mad Max vehicles have gotten the fan treatment as well, such as this Yellow Interceptor made by Grant Hodgson (who also did one of the Batman Tumblers):

And Goose's bike by Mike Acebo:

KITT

Knight Rider's KITT is another favorite, and again there are kits you can purchase to give your car KITT's Cylon eye. Of course, the best KITT mods don't just change the outside of the car, but are also incredibly detailed on the inside, such as this converted 1984 Firebird, which speaks in KITT's voice [via Jalopnik:

And this 1992 Firebird:

Frankenstein's Car

The Gator Car from the original Death Race 2000 would have been more fun, but some Russian fans of the Death Race remake took an impressive crack at Frankenstein's car, starting with a Chevy Camaro. [English Russia]

The DeLorean Time Machine

A DeLorean is already a DeLorean with those retrofuturistic gull-wing doors. But add a flux capacitor, a temporal display on the dashboard, and a liberal sprinkling of light-up buttons, and you've got yourself Doc Brown's time machine. [Auto Blog]

Ecto-1

George Barris, who famously designed the original Batmobile among other TV cars, famously made a replica of Ghostbusters' classic car, one that is perpetually for sale. But others have taken on the Ecto-1 challenge as well. Ghostbusters fanatic Joe Kerezman created an Ecto-1 of his very own.

And a fan calling himself "Venkman21" modified his from a Cadillac ambulance.

Luke Skywalker's Landspeeder

They may not hover, but fans can always pretend in their homespun landspeeders. [all via Interbent]

This puppy was made from a 1988 Ford Escort and is actually a licensed, street-legal vehicle.

This pre-distressed model, created by Daniel Deutsch, runs on batteries and can climb to 25 MPH — impressive, though not exactly putting the "speed" in "landspeeder."

Why the teeth and the clown's head on a pole? It's an art car from Burning Man.

And this last one — which is a bit heavier on the wheels — comes from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and annual Star Wars Day.

The Affective Intelligent Driving Agent, or AIDA for short, is the result of a collaboration between Audi and MIT to try and find a way to humanize the relationship between nagging automated systems and a frustrated driver... by adding a face to the nagging systems:

A laser projector the size of a deck of cards is mounted inside the head and projects colour graphics to create expressions on its "face". According to Mikey Siegel, part of a team at the MIT Media Lab collaborating with Audi to design AIDA, the versatile neck and face allow the robot to make a wide range of human-like gestures that can send subtle signals to the driver. A downturned face with pleading eyes, for example, indicates that AIDA is "worried" because the driver has failed to buckle the safety belt.

It's not only when seat belts are left unbuckled that it'll plead with you, however; the entire car will help it spy on you to know what mood you're in:

It uses sensors inside and outside the car to pick up clues about the driver's state of mind: grip strength and skin-conductivity sensors in the steering wheel, for example, tell the robot when the driver is tense. AIDA also uses GPS logs of a driver's travels to learn favourite locations and suggest better routes.

Yes, the future of GPS is part friendly robot, part driving-centric lie detector. And it's not just Audi who're working on this; according to New Scientist, both Nissan and Pioneer are already working on similar systems.

Robot driving companion brings emotion to navigation [New Scientist]

The theme of this year's Burning Man was "Evolution," inspiring a great deal of art, vehicular and otherwise, centered around the animal kingdom. On the more retrofuturistic side of things, this year's Burning Man also featured the "Raygun Gothic Rocket" as an installation, which, contrary to festival rumors, didn't actually take off.

[Burning Man]

Photo by dko1960
Photo by Jon Sarriugarte
Photo by Jon Sarriugarte
Photo by juuuulllliiiieeeeeee
Photo by gir sushi
Photo by TWITA2005
Photo by Anamorphosis

If you've been craving some superhero action but don't know what's going on with your old favorites, DC's Blackest Night #0 and Marvel's Free Comic Book Day Avengers both offer all-new stories that'll bring you up to speed in a fast and stylish manner; both books are written and drawn by the company's top talent (Night boasts story by Geoff Johns and art by Ivan Reis, while Avengers is a Brian Michael Bendis and Jim Cheung co-creation), and hint at what's to come fairly effectively. Other superhero thrills can be found in Wolverine: Origin of an X-Man (Just in time for this weekend's X-Men Origins: Wolverine release), Image's Savage Dragon #148 and Cyberforce/Hunter Killer Preview, and new indie comic Fist of Justice.

If you'd rather look for some more familar characters, Dark Horse and IDW have you covered; the former are putting out two books, Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Aliens/Predator, while IDW have a Transformers/GI Joe flipbook ready and waiting for you. If that's not enough, the Dabel Bros. Showcase offers a new Dresden Filesstory as well as - weirdly enough - a preview of an upcoming Star Wars novel from publishing partners Del Rey, while Boom! have a new Warhammer preview (as well as a reprint of the first issue of their Cars series) and Mirage reprint the first issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to celebrate the characters' 25th anniversary.

Of course, there's also all manner of new work out there for you to discover tomorrow as well. Our pick would be Oni Press' Resurrection #0 (tying in with this week's Resurrection collection, offering up a view of life post-alien invasion), the Comics Festival collection of Canadian cartoonists and, of course, Fantagraphics' Love and Rockets Sampler... which may be neither new nor sci-fi, but is still some of the best comics out there.

A full list of the books available for Free Comic Book Day is available here, and as ever, your local comic book store can be found by clicking here. Visit, find some new favorite things to read, and take advantage of the freebies.

For those who like your superheroes square-jawed and old-fashioned, the book of the week has to be DC's Flash: Rebirth, which brings Barry Allen - the character whose creation sparked the industry's "Silver Age" superhero boom - back on a regular basis, courtesy of Green Lantern's Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver. The preview pages released so far promise a fast-moving (fittingly, for the fastest man alive) old-school superhero book, and if Johns and Van Sciver can achieve half of what they managed for GL, it'll be a fun ride.

DC is also releasing the first issue of Seaguy: Slaves of Mickey Eye this week, Grant Morrison's latest deconstruction of modern culture through a superhero lens, which promises to be weird, wonderful and probably more than a little confusing for most folks, but that's okay; they could always look to DC's Wildstorm imprint, which has two videogame tie-ins coming out, Prototype and a special Resident Evil collection called Fire and Ice.

Marvel looks to the past this week with Wolverine Omnibus, a movie tie-in collecting some of the X-Man's greatest hits in advance of next month's movie. It's filled with all manner of guest-stars like the Punisher, Spider-Man, the Hulk and Captain America. Talking of the star-spangled Avenger, he's celebrating the 70th birthday of the publisher with the special Captain America Comics #1 70th Anniversary Special.

If your tastes run to the more comedic, then you might prefer the Marvel Assistant-Sized Spectacular, which shows what happens when editorial assistants get to run the show, and fans of European space war can comfort themselves with Universal War One: Revelations, a new series of the translated French space opera.

But that's not all; Dark Horse releases Who Wants To Be A Superhero: The Defuser, reminding us all about Stan Lee's terrible reality show for hopefully one final time.

And Boom! Studios make their bid for being publisher of the week for the second consecutive week with the first issue of Cars: The Rookie, a new mini-series based on the Pixar movie, and Irredeemable, a compelling new superhero series from Kingdom Come's Mark Waid that looks at what happens when the world's greatest superhero goes too far... Consider it the other end of the spectrum from Flash: Rebirth, but just as good.

Even if you find superheroes to be a blight on today's consumer society, the complete list of this week's new comic releases is sure to contain at least one thing that you'll want to pick up at your local comic store... which you can find by using the Comic Shop Locator Service, in case you've never been there before. But, still, go on: believe a man can fly.

While he was designing cars for VW, Simon also designed cars for a fictional company located in another galaxy called Cosmic Motors. In 2007 he published a book of Cosmic Motors designs, and created a website for the company, complete with an elaborate back story about its founding in 8966. Though the founders perished in a tragic space crash, their daredevil, spaceship-loving daughters took over the firm.

If Simon's designs for Tron 2 look anything like the Detonator above, or either of these luscious creations, we're totally sold on the concept design for the movie. These cars are what the cool kids call cherry.See more of Simon's amazing designs on his website. Thanks, J!

Put together by Rick Murphy and inspired by BSG's ships, The Trylon Viper car was sold as a kit in the 1990s, and what an amazing package that would have been to get in the mail.

The Trylon is outfitted with a snazzy blinking cockpit that measures 15' 4" long, 43" high and 76" wide at the Stern with an RX-7 engine. Which, according to car lord Ray Wert, is "insane" and "would probably leaves an oil slick in its wake...it's also wholly unreliable." But spaceships are fickle beasts, and I can only imagine assembling a Battlestar Galactica Viper is even harder because there was a war on people, a war with Cylons — so you have to take what you get, scrap metal and crappy engines be damned.

But before you jump into your Trylon Viper you might want to make sure it can turn.

[Three Wheelers] (Thanks Corey!)

After all the months of preparation, we finally hit the track with the io9 Apocalypsemobile, running in the 4-cylinder class of the Hangover 150 at Ransomville Speedway, just north of Niagara Falls, NY. You can probably tell from the photos, but just to drive home the point - it was really really really really really freaking cold that day. When I woke up, the temperature was 4. Degrees. Fahrenheit.

But before I get into the fun stuff, there's a bit of bad news. The track officials assigned numbers to everyone. Therefore, I couldn't use io9 as my official number, and had to paint out the 'o' to make my number 19. I was disappointed, but it was either that or not race.

And race we did. Previous years, it has been cold and snowy, but a within a few laps the cars had churned the dirt track into a quagmire of half-frozen mud. This kept speeds slow and made getting stuck more of a concern than crashing. There were also lots more cars in the past, so many that sometimes they ringed the entire track four deep at the start of the race. This year, those factors were not in effect. The cold had frozen the track solid, and the four-inch coating of snow was packed flat by the fifth lap. Car counts were down as well, perhaps due to general economic malaise. There were fewer than 40 cars in the 4-cylinder division. The fast track and open space meant the cars could really build up speed - a lot more speed than I expected.

If there's one thing the Apocalypsemobile had plenty of, it was speed. With a dual-overhead cam engine, it had in the neighborhood of 180 horsepower, and by the time I'd stripped the interior, it weighed significantly less than a ton. Of course, as soon as I climbed in it was probably back over a ton, but still, it had some serious kick. Once a I got a feel for it, I could blast down the straights, kick it sideways in the turns and dive past slower competitors with ease. Cars were spinning all around me, fading in and out of view through billowing clouds of snow (which occasionally blew inside my helmet, which was unpleasant). I avoided them all, becoming increasingly confident and aggressive.

And that, naturally, is what lead to the Apocalypsemobile's downfall. The photos probably tell the story better than I can, but here's how it went down: I went into turn one very fast, making an inside pass on a white minivan. I figured to slide high once I was past him, letting the front wheel drive vehicle's natural push carry me through the corner. Except someone had spun out and stopped near the wall directly in my path. I slammed into his rear corner hard. Hard enough to give myself a headache, even though I was wearing a helmet. Hard enough to destroy my right front tire, bend the front frame rail, and shake something loose in the engine (the leading theory involves the ignition system). The car still ran, but the engine pulsed rather than running steadily. As it sputtered, I could only manage about 20 or so mph, which felt terrible after the estimated 40-50 I'd been doing. The Apocalypsemobile and I soldiered on for quite a few more laps until someone spun me out in the turn. I ended up stuck in the snow at the bottom of the track, up against another car.

That would have been fine were it not for the fact that my driver's side door was facing oncoming cars. Oncoming cars that were careening through the turn at high speed, barely in control. There were some moments of extreme terror as I pondered the effect of someone slamming into me. Then someone did, but luckily they hit a few feet behind my door. Resisting panic, I judged the amount of space available between my passenger window and the car I was pinned against. Enough space? I hoped so. I undid my shoulder belt, unlatched my lap belt, threw myself across the front seat (somehow remembering to grab my disposable camera in the process), then flung myself out onto the other car's hood. From there, I reached the safety of the infield.

Not 30 seconds after I got out (I was still taking my helmet off), a black Camaro slammed its rear corner directly into the spot I'd been sitting in. Close one.

Before we get to the photos, I have to thank some people for helping me make this whole Apocalypsemobile thing happen. This was easily the craziest, most fun thing I've ever done, and I could never have managed it on my own.

Thanks to:

My dad, who did enormous amounts of work on the car, contributed huge amounts of automotive knowledge, bought the battery, towed the car there with his truck, and acted as my squire in the pits, arming me for battle and making sure my trusty Saturn was mechanically sound.

Kurt, for letting me borrow his helmet. Without it, I have no doubt I would have cracked my skull in the crash.

Annalee, for being really supportive and enthusiastic, and sponsoring me.

My wife, for putting up with me keeping this thing in our garage for half a year, and not totally freaking out about the potential of me getting hurt.

My brother, for lots of enthusiasm and some excellent photographs.

Jim Mercurio, for letting me use his old drag racing seat belts.

James "Mac" McParland and www.titzenbeer.com for coming on board as an early sponsor.

io9er FredicvsMaximvs, who also sponsored the Apocalypsemobile.

Finally, here's the photo gallery. For reasons I cannot fathom, the photos appear in the gallery in random order, thus defeating my careful chronology. Still, they express the triumph and tragedy of the io9 Apocalypsemobile quite effectively. You can also check out the official race photos, as well as an excellent Youtube video that is well worth the watch. My favorite part starts around 1:10. The crowd's reaction is priceless.

A few things have changed since we last saw the Apocalypsemobile. It runs now, which is nice (though the "door ajar" alarm sounds constantly whenever the battery is connected). A hole has been carved into the hood - the rules dictate this modification "to expose the carburetor for fire fighting," and we followed the rules even though this car has no carburetor. You may also note the fin on the roof, required by the rules because the numbers on the side of the car will be obscured by mud almost instantly.

Recent work on the car has been somewhat difficult due to it being really freaking cold out. The temperature was 18 degrees F when I took these photos, and it was colder than that when we mounted the fin and painted it (I know, the paint on the fin looks pretty bad - I'll fix it before the race). On the other hand, the Apocalypsemobile looks great in its natural environment, a frigid post-apocalyptic wasteland rimmed with monstrous snow drifts, echoing with the howls of cannibalistic mutants. Seriously, it's a rough neighborhood.

The Apocalypsemobile has come a long way since it was first introduced. On January 1, 2009 it will enter it's first (and probably only) competition, in the 4-cylinder division of the enduro Hangover 150, held each year at Ransomville Speedway in Ransomville, NY. Fans who attend are asked to bring a non-perishable food item. Typically, this race brings in several large truckloads of food for local pantries. This year, the food will go to the Niagara Community Action Program.

Now enjoy your last look at the Apocalypsemobile before it meets whatever fate awaits it (with me inside!). With just some minor tinkering left to get done, mostly involving the seat belts, we're ready to roll. A trailer has been reserved. The car has been registered. A helmet has been borrowed. Friends and family have charged the batteries in their digital cameras (we should have video footage, too).

A series of rainouts reshuffled the schedule at the track where we'll be running the Apocalypsemobile - now we only have a few days to get ready for a race moved to this weekend. While the big event we're shooting for isn't until New Year's Day, I'd really like to give this thing a shakedown cruise. Plus, the winner of this Saturday's event is guaranteed to start in the first row on New Year's Day.
Here's a shot of Apocalypsemobile Headquarters (sadly, it is not in an abandoned missile silo):
And here's the car's interior:
Most useful tool so far? Shopvac. Mainly because we removed the windows with a specialized tool called a "hammer." Why exactly is the wiper fluid reservoir behind the right rear tire? Also, many many thanks to my dad, who busted his butt all day with me in really unpleasant humidity to tear this thing apart. So what do we have to accomplish in the next four days?

• Remove two more windows.
• Remove headlights.
• Chain doors shut.
• Cut hole in hood (makes it easier for safety crews to put out engine fires). Hooray for the Sawzall!
• Make roof fin for number (side numbers get obscured by mud).
• Mount 5-point harness
• Mount fire extinguisher
• Make sure my loaner helmet will fit my gargantuan cranium.
• Paint the car. I have several cans of bright pink paint that will go splendidly with the base blue color.
• Rivet some sheet metal over that busted door (if we get to it).
• Find a cheap/free trailer so we don't have to flat-tow it to the track.

The device was invented by eighteen-year-old Morris Mbetsa, who lives in Mombasa, Kenya, where auto theft is a tremendous problem. Mbetsa is a self-taught hardware hacker who presented his work at Barcamp Nairobi in June. Later, it was picked up in a television report (below). Mbetsa is currently looking for funding to mass produce his device and sell it. Once he adds AI to it, the Block&Track will be able to decide when you're doing something wrong in your own car, and quickly send surveillance tapes to the police which contain evidence of your crimes.

Image above via MAKE magazine.

Self-Taught Genius Invents Anti-theft Device [Afrigadget via Core77]

[Deathrace Official Site via IESB]

People will probably compare Death Race to Grand Theft Auto: It takes place in a dystopian future where people participate in cross-country "death races" where drivers try to hit pedestrians for points. Starring an awesome David Carradine and a stoned-looking Sylvester Stallone, it combined everything great in the universe. The remake, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson of the many Resident Evil movies, takes place in a jail setting — prisoners race to get their sentences reduced rather than just for the sheer, fucked-up fun of it. That makes the drivers more sympathetic, but the movie less outrageous. Still, the cars look Doomsday-great.

Want to see more of the cars in Death Race? Check out Jalopnik's exhaustive post.

Business Week has a whole gallery of parking garages, gas stations, and car dealerships that have the ritzy gallery flair. In fifty years, the only place we may see cars is in museums, so these lovely structures (below you can see a Vancouver parkade that looks like the Guggenheim Museum) may be more prescient than their architects realized. Images via Business Week

Traffic Stopping Parking Structures [via Business Week]

Budd says:

The PIMs act a bit like a sponge when hydrogen is around. It's made up of long molecules that can trap hydrogen between them, providing a way of supplying hydrogen on demand.

Imagine a plate of spaghetti - when it's all coiled together there's not much space between the strands. Now imagine a plate of crispy noodles - their rigid twisted shape means there are lots of holes. The polymer is designed to have a rigid backbone, and it has twists and bends built into it. Because of this, lots of gaps and holes are created between molecules - perfect for tucking the hydrogen into.

The holes between the molecules give the polymer a very high surface area - each gram has a surface area equivalent to around three tennis courts. The molecules in the polymer act like sieves, catching smaller molecules like hydrogen in the gaps between them. The holes created in the polymer between molecules are a good fit for hydrogen. Hydrogen molecules stick in these holes and are kept there by weak forces - this means they can be released when they are needed.

Hydrogen is most sticky when it is cooled down to low temperatures. When the hydrogen is needed to power the car, the system would just raise the temperature to free up the hydrogen molecules.