Is it a hi-tech speedboat? Is it a jet fighter plane? No, it’s the new Giugiaro Vadho!

Italian car designer Giugiaro has unveiled the new concept vehicle of the future at the 2007 Geneva car show. Powered by the 12-cylinder Hydrogen 7 hybrid engine developed by BMW, this elegant two-seater is the concretization of a futuristic dream. Even the cockpit — located on the right-hand side of the car, whereas the left-hand side houses the engine — is reminiscent of a jet fighter plane, with a set of joysticks instead of the conventional steering wheel. The pilot and passenger sit in tandem in comfortable ergonomic seats and are able to communicate through video cameras.

With a car like this, you’ll be able to go to dinner in a flightsuit and ask your friends to call you Maverick!

Source: Autoblog

For those of us who have difficulties with parallel parking, Toyota’s new 2007 Prius has the solution: the car is able to park itself! You won’t need to keep your hands on the wheel during the maneuver, but your foot should remain on the brake pedal, as the system is not yet able to recognize the presence of a human being, a cat, or anything else you shouldn’t be running over.

Toyota’s most radical innovation, Intelligent Parking Assistance, will not be available in the United States. This system steers the car into a driver-selected parking spot. During the process, the driver controls the speed of the vehicle with the brake. The car uses a rearview camera and sensors to avoid obstacles.

Source: CNET

Instead of using traditional paint and having to stop traffic to modify road markings, Dutch company Philips has recently patented a system consisting of ultra-thin plastic strips layered on the road surface that are activated electric fields. This modifies the location of colored particles visible to the drivers. Changing the number of lanes or the speed limit could be done remotely and without any interference from traffic. Those sign holding people that get paid $25 per hour will be furious!

Source: New Scientist

Weighing in at about 1.7 Million US Dollars, this Bugatti Veryon is the most expensive street legal sports car that you can buy. Despite the obvious speed, you get luxury as well…

Both exclusive and highly functional, the interior of the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 will transport you to a world of your own. Superb leather, also two-tone if desired, quality metallic trim and beautifully designed and ergonomically laid-out controls characterize the Veyron cockpit.

Source: John Fenzel

Remember those movies where the valet takes the rich corporate moguls high end sports car and drives it around town while he’s at dinner? Well, the days of the misbehaving valet are numbered. New York is announcing the first of many robotic parking garages. The initial rollout will happen in Chinatown this February.

The technology is well proven overseas but has had some issues with technical glitches domestically. The only other automated garage in the US had some trouble in the form of dropping and trapping cars. Yikes! In spite of this, the developers are hopeful that they will be able to squeeze 67 cars in an apartment building basement that would normally only hold 24. That’s a huge space savings in already crowded NYC.

Source: Physorg