better generation

If you were to ask me how I thought the car of the future might look, I would imagine something covered in solar panels, such as the one on the photo of our 15th September blog.

With the Frankfurt Car Show kicking off tomorrow, we thought it would be a good opportunity to take a look at how car manufacturers are trying to incorporate renewable energy into their products.

Toyota will launch a new version of their Prius in 2010, with this one coming with solar panels on the roof. Demand for this version is already way ahead of supply. The Ecotricity Greenbird, powered uniquely by the wind, recently smashed the world land speed record for wind powered vehicles. Production for the French made Venturi Eclectic, featured in the photo at the top of this post and which includes solar panels and a small wind turbine depending on the model, will start in October 2009 and it's starting price is estimated at €15,000. 

Including wind turbines on modes of transport seems an obvious choice, as a way of profiting from the wind flow that is generated as the vehicle moves. Just imagine, if it were possible, how much energy a plane could generate by having turbines on its wings ! However solar panels are easier to incorporate onto the vehicle's body. On our web travels we've heard about solar boats, solar planes, solar trains and even an idea to replace the road itself with solar panels!