Canadian company Worksport has developed a folding tonneau cover for pick-up trucks that contains a cutting-edge solar charging and storage system. The cover, called TerraVis, uses solar panels to pull in the sun’s energy and send it to removable batteries packaged in the truck’s bed. It is capable of storing up to 1000W of useable energy, says the company, which can be … [Read more...] about Solar cells in ute cover provide on-the-job power for tradies
Volkswagen's Piech
Electric car ‘Luca’ is made from recycled ocean plastic
Meet Luca, an electric car build almost entirely from recycled trash by students at the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands. The project took around 18 months to complete, said group spokesman Matthijs Van Wijk. The chassis itself was made from ocean plastic. “I’m so proud that we could make the chassis with ocean plastic. This is a really very difficult … [Read more...] about Electric car ‘Luca’ is made from recycled ocean plastic
It’s feeding frenzy – three out of four new cars are SUVs
The growth of SUVs in New Zealand goes a long way to explaining the old maxim that car ownership is not about what we truly need, but more a combination of what we want and what we think we need. The traditional car – sedan, station wagon, hatchback – has been shunted aside over the years by an SUV feeding frenzy fuelled partly by marketing hype that said New Zealanders are … [Read more...] about It’s feeding frenzy – three out of four new cars are SUVs
The ballad of Hilux and Ranger – new models add to rivalry
Ute sales in the first four months of 2014 pointed to the Ford Ranger doing the unthinkable – overtaking the Toyota Hilux as New Zealand’s No. 1 workhorse. Won’t happen, said the industry pundits. You watch, they said, Hilux will still be No.1 at the end of the year. But Ranger’s odds of an upset looked good after four months. So good that I penned for these pages back then … [Read more...] about The ballad of Hilux and Ranger – new models add to rivalry
Volkswagen rolls out the ‘Grand’ version of California campervan
If ever there was a perfect time to launch a new range of campervans this is it, says Kevin Richards, the manager of the commercial arm of Volkswagen NZ. Why? Because New Zealanders are being encouraged to shake off the cobwebs of covid-19 confinement and hit the road to help the economy get going again. And, says Richards (pictured below), what better way to do so than … [Read more...] about Volkswagen rolls out the ‘Grand’ version of California campervan