In a move we're assuming the Joker will be unable to duplicate in "The Dark Knight", reader Erich caught the intimidating new Batpod up close and personal on the set of a photoshoot and snapped off a couple pics of his own. While the two-wheeled cohort of the Tumbler probably elicits pleas for mercy from its riders, and looks like some form of elaborate death trap, it also looks pretty badass, even without fancy lighting and movie magic. And yes, we'll be some of those dorks lined up on July 17th waiting for the midnight showing. [SOURCE: jalopnik.com]

Greasecar has a product it calls the Vegetable Oil Conversion System, which can convert your diesel car or truck to run on vegetable oil in any climate. It's a DIY kit, so this certainly isn't for people who don't know a spark plug from a ...

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An all-new Mazda3 is expected to bow in 2009 as a 2010 model and, thanks to what appears to be a pre-production concept of the 2010 Mazda3 5-door, we now have our first indications of what the popular compact will look like.  Unfortunately, the leaked images were void of any kind of powertrain or [...]

Considering that the legacy left behind by American car companies has little to do with being clean, there seems to be an increased sense of urgency by some U.S. states to replace the older fleet of vehicles with newer, and therefore cleaner, vehicles. The states with the two largest vehicle fleets, Texas and California, have both implemented new programs which offer cash-based incentives to owners of older vehicles which fail current emissions testing. In Texas, up to $3,500 is offered towards a vehicle three-years old or newer, though income restrictions do apply. In California, there is no maximum income number, though the far-left state is a bit less generous, offering $1,500 towards the purchase of a replacement vehicle.

With the new series of Top Gear having started recently over in England, the team decided that it was again time to look at fuel economy. A few years back, the show made the round trip from London to Edinburgh and back in an Audi A8 TDI on a single tankful of diesel fuel. Now, with fuel prices above $9 a gallon, they have decided to see which cars provide solid fuel economy numbers. This time around they are working on the premise that even those with lots of money to spend on a car might still want to get better mileage. Sure the premise is thin but we're talking about Jeremy Clarkson here. Rather than the usual Prius vs, everybody else routine, Clarkson and Crew decided it would be better to test some of the fastest cars in the world to see which could go the furthest on a gallon of gasoline. Literally a single gallon of gas. They took a Ferrari 599, Audi R8, Lamborghini Murcielago, Mercedes Benz SLR and an Aston Martin DBS and put in a gallon of fuel each. Then they raced them around the Top Gear track until they were empty. You can watch the video after the jump to see which was the thriftiest with its gas allotment. Be forewarned however, that none made it into double digit...

We recently confirmed the rumor that, yes, Mercedes is planning on building an electric car or two and now some of the details are starting to be firmed up. In an interview with German business daily, WirtschaftsWoche, Thomas Weber, a Mercedes board member responsible for research and vehicle development, let it be known that the company is building what was originally meant to be the fuel cell-powered A-Class (and possibly B-Class) as an all-electric model. Because of its "sandwich" construction and pre-existing electric drivetrain, these cars should be the first to join the electric Smart in the e-Mercedes lineup.

Let’s take a step back from conventional automobile design for a minute and take a look at Ozone. This rolling cylinder created by Istanbul designer Özkan Koral is a design concept for a Peugeot hydrogen-powered car, where each of the huge wheels is independently powered by electric motors.

So you've got an SUV or a truck that's impossible to sell due to the insanely high gas prices. What're you to do? I say you should just accept that you won't be getting rid of that vehicle for a while and adapt. Why not turn it into a portable party machine?

The Party-A-CarGo is a kegorator and sound system that attaches to the tow hitch of your truck, giving you the ability to stop in traffic and pour yourself a frosty beer. You'll be the king of tailgate parties before sports games or concerts, and you can even just back the truck up to your backyard to make it party central. Sure, the $3,000 it costs could be put towards gas or, even better, a new hybrid, neither of those things will help you meet girls.

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