Diagram that shows what it takes to

Diagram that shows what it takes to move 15,000 people/hour using different modes of transportation (car, bus, light rail, etc.). A fast train with one track going each way (using a space 8 meters wide) moves as many people as a freeway with 7 lanes in each direction (51 meters wide).

• cars
• trains
• travel

Physiologically, humans aren’t meant to drive fast

Physiologically, humans aren’t meant to drive fast in cars because our flicker fusion frequency isn’t high enough. Compared to birds (> 100 Hz versus 60 Hz for humans), at high speeds, everything kinda blurs together for us, leaving us ill-equipped to react quickly.

• cars
• science

Artist Liz Cohen fixes up old cars

Artist Liz Cohen fixes up old cars and then photographs herself with them as a bikini model. Here’s a recent article on Cohen’s work in the Phoenix New Times and an older article from Wired. (via art fag city)

• art
• cars
• lizcohen
• photography

Screw Chevy: “It’s not OK to use

Screw Chevy: “It’s not OK to use images of Rosa Parks, MLK, the Vietnam War, the Katrina disaster, and 9/11 to sell pickup trucks.”

Update: In a hamfisted tribute on the occasion of her death, Apple posted a Rosa Parks “Think Different” ad on their home page. (thx, mark)

• advertising
• business
• cars
• chevrolet
• commercials
• TV

What On Earth!

Thanks to the glories of YouTube, you can now watch Kaj Pindal’s Oscar-nominated short film, What On Earth!:

Made in 1966 under the auspices of the National Film Board of Canada, the animated film records a visit by Martians to Earth and their observations about the planet’s dominant life form, the automobile.

• cars
• Kaj Pindal
• video

Despite all the hubbub about hybrid cars

Despite all the hubbub about hybrid cars these days, replacing the incandescent bulbs in your house with fluorescents might result in a similar amount of carbon dioxide savings. (thx suebob)

• cars
• climate crisis

High-end SUVs aren’t selling as well as

High-end SUVs aren’t selling as well as they used to and people are even trading them in for vehicles that get better gas mileage. “For Janna Jensen, it was the dirty looks and nasty gestures from other drivers that finally persuaded her to give up the family’s $55,000 Hummer H2.” I have an irrational and nearly irresistable urge to key the hell out of a Hummer everytime I see one. See also Gladwell on the SUV.

• cars
• hummer
• Malcolm Gladwell
• suvs