Urban Sport Bike from Piaggio

Piaggio showcases a two-wheeled hybrid concept, the Piaggio USB (urban sport bike). With a weight of 130 kilos and a mileage of 156 mpg, the Piaggio USB can be a major money saver. Bikes and scooters are popular with girls, or at least scooters are, and despite its name the Piaggio USB is a scooter.



In this photo from motorcycleusa the girls standing next to the Piaggio USB shows how small and low riding it is. The small scooter combines a two-stroke gasoline engine with 2.5 Kw/h lithium-polymer batteries that can power the Piaggio USB to a distance of 50km at an average speed of 60kmh.

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Toyota Prius going places

The hybrid car Toyota Prius will be showcased in India at the New Delhi Auto Expo in January 2010. Very small cars like the Tata Nano, are within the reach of middle-class consumers who make up the country's auto market, but India's rich celebrities and business owners could provide a big enough market for the hybrid Toyota Prius.



Miley Cuyrus going places in her Toyota Prius. "When I had my 16th birthday, my mom got me a Porsche SUV," Miley told the Independent newspaper. "Thank you mom, I love you so much. Who doesn’t want a Porsche? But I just didn’t like it at all. So now I drive my little Prius." Miley Cyrus sings green and drives green!

Toyota introduced the third generation of the Prius earlier this year as a 2010 model, boosting its EPA ratings and mileage to 51 mpg city/48 highway. Toyota plans to offer a $21,000 version of the new Prius, with some amenities removed, later this year.

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Hybrid engine research

Norbert Mueller, an associate professor of mechanical engineering, will lead a team of MSU researchers to create a wave disk generator, a prototype of a more fuel-efficient engine for hybrid electric vehicles. The project is funded by a $2.5 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, awarded last week. "We want to save energy,” Mueller said. “It’s good for our lifestyle to save energy."
MSU news

The wave disc generator could cut carbon emissions by about 90 percent compared to cars on the road today, Mueller said. One of the ways the new engine cuts energy use is by reducing friction in the engine by having a single rotating part making the vehicle lighter, he said. Mechanical engineering professor Patrick Kwon will work to make a ceramic prototype of the wave disk generator, that will allow researchers to test the model in different settings.

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