You might soon not need gas masks to steer clear of vehicular pollution. The days of cars emitting harmful pollutants might be over with global automobile manufacturers trying to usher in 'green cars' -- vehicles that have combustion engines integrated with electric-powered motors.
"With the scourge of global warming hanging heavy over our heads, it is high time we switched over to battery-driven vehicles," Tara S Ganguly, Kolkata-based maker of Tara Tiny, a series of electric cars and two-wheelers had told rediff.com in an earlier interview.
We can't but agree with him. And with fuel prices skyrocketing, it's high time consumers opted for electric-powered vehicles.
Some 'green' cars have already hit the market, while others are in the pipeline. Read on to get a glimpse of a few of these new breed of cars...
Nissan Pivo 2 concept car
The vehicle resembles a futuristic bubble car and is powered by advanced compact lithium-ion batteries. The car can travel about 78 miles (about 124 km) on a single charge and plugs into a regular home electric socket.
The car's cabin part can turn in a full circle. Its wheels too can turn at 90 degrees to allow the car to drive sideways as well as forward. Each of the four wheels is powered by the company's advanced electric in-wheel 3D motor.
It's a ball-shaped vehicle that can easily be manoeuvred into tight spaces while parking without backing up. The robotic bubblehead in the cabin can detect the driver's mood by analyzing changes in facial expressions. The robotic head can also say programmed phrases such as, 'relax, don't worry,' if the driver seems upset.
The driver's facial expressions are analysed by the robotic bubblehead's digital camera eyes and a microphone that studies the driver's voice for changes in volume and speaking speed.
The Japanese automaker says that although the Pivo 2 is fully functional, it is too expensive to hit showrooms at this point.
Image: A Nissan Pivo 2 concept car is displayed at the 78th Geneva International Motor Show 2008. | Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images
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