landed

Figuring land use into renewable-energy equation

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Imagine if your country had an unlimited budget but a limited amount of land: what renewable energy has the most potential?

Rutgers University professor Clinton Andrews and colleagues ran the numbers on this thought experiment and came up with some surprises. They identified clear limits on some technologies, notably biofuels, but concluded that the bigger challenges to renewable energy and land relate to siting energy facilities, particularly transmission lines.

Andrews presented an early version of the paper at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy conference here on Monday. The goal of this analysis and others like it is … Read more

5 best SUVs for twisties

We think of SUVs as lumbering beasts rolling sedately down the road, approaching slight turns with trepidation lest there top-heavy bodies tip them. However, a few models stand apart. They can tear through corners as if they were plot twists on Lost. We found five SUVs that, despite their bulky bodies and high riding style, handle better than most cars do.

Technically, all of these vehicles are crossovers. Although they have typically SUV-like bodies, they all have a  unibody, rather than body-on-frame, design. Having a unibody construction helps them with handling, but all of these vehicles use technology to … Read more

New Range Rover Sport lives up to its name

Land Rover went through a couple of big changes lately, with its ownership moving from Ford to Indian company Tata, and its entire model lineup getting a significant update. The Range Rover Sport underwent a very positive improvement, losing yards of plastic in favor of the kind of fine quality materials you would expect in such an expensive car.

Better yet, the new Range Rover Sport actually lives up to its name, featuring a new dynamic mode in it Terrain Response system that makes it corner almost like a sports car.

Cabin tech is a little weak, however, with a … Read more

Bloodhound SSC car faster than a speeding bullet

Bloodhound SSC is a bona fide rocket car and Britain's latest attempt to break the world land speed record. Crave UK got up close and personal with the jet-powered non-flier at England's Gadget Show Live, where Rich Trenholm met Nick Chapman from the project's Web team.

Click here to watch a video of Crave UK's interview with Chapman.

Korea to build magic kingdom for robots

We're not sure if this portends a robot Mickey Mouse and Snow White, but Korea plans to build what is believed to be the world's first robot theme park, the Korea Herald reports.

The robot magic kingdom will be part of a giant residential and industrial complex called Robot Land in Incheon, one of South Korea's largest cities and a major transportation hub.

According to the Robot Land Web site, the theme park will feature all manner of robot entertainment, including exhibitions of robot characters from films and cartoons; reconstructions of robot-oriented movie sets like "Minority … Read more

Land Rover and Jaguar versus Santa Claus

The combined Land Rover/Jaguar company, now owned by Indian automaker Tata, had a little fun for the holidays, coming up with concept images for Santa's sleigh, one designed by Jaguar, and the other by Land Rover.

Jaguar went retro with its concept, designing a flying sleigh with what looks like a twin prop on a 1950s-style aircraft. Santa is exposed in this open-canopy concept, but he's used to it.

Land Rover went futuristic with its land-based speeder design. Being a Land Rover, we assume it handles rough terrain well. It also looks like the cockpit is designed … Read more

2010 gas-guzzlers: Land Rover Range Rover Sport

This week, we've been taking a look at some of 2010's biggest gas-guzzlers. Not surprisingly, this list has been chock full of utility vehicles, and today's blog chalks up yet another entry for Land Rover. Yesterday, we got a look-see at the 2010 LR4, and our newest inductee into the Low Mileage Hall of Fame is the Land Rover Range Rover Sport (which also wins another award for the most redundant vehicle name ever). The LRRRS boasts average gas mileage of 12 mpg in the city and 17 mpg on the highway--not god awful, but certainly nothing … Read more

Another 2010 gas guzzler: Land Rover LR4

So here we go with another Web video clip of a Class A gas guzzler for the year 2010, the Land Rover LR4, which by all accounts is supposed to take the place of the LR3. This 2010 SUV with a 5-liter V8 engine averages 14 mpg between city and highway driving and sells for nearly 50 grand.

This video is a little different than what I've been presenting here lately; it demonstrates how the surround-vision (my own terminology, thank you very much) cameras in the LR4 can aid the driver of this big ol' SUV. It shows all … Read more

As alternative energy grows, NIMBY turns green

Painting the Golden Gate Bridge yellow might cause less fuss than trying to install a wind farm off Cape Cod's historic coast.

But when you're trying to build where the wind is strongest or the sun is brightest, you never know what obstacles you may run into.

In Massachusetts, a proposed wind farm called Cape Wind was dealt a blow last Friday that will delay what would be the first offshore wind farm in the U.S. The Massachusetts Historical Commission agreed with local Indian tribes who claim that the location for the wind farm should be considered … Read more