Ten things we learned this week: 4 March 2016 edition

For many, there are few more terrifying prospects on the road than the influx of autonomous cars. The concept of relinquishing control and handing over to The Machines is not one to be taken lightly.

So how about if it all happened with NO WINDOWS? Yep, that frightening concept could become reality, if this bonkers car has any relation to something that might actually happen.

Called the IED Shiwa, its styling is inspired by origami, and the it all originates from the project of a Korean student. The interior is lounge-inspired, and the idea is that it can project images of outdoors at its passengers via augmented reality, as the electric motors are driven only by machines.

An invention which allows people to see the outside from the inside… if only something like that already existed?

If you think our fear of the machines is far-fetched, then let news from Google’s self-driving programme prove such worries to be well-founded.

The tech company’s autonomous programme is the world’s most famous (or perhaps infamous), grabbing far more attention than the efforts of Audi, Tesla et al.

And now, one of its cars has crashed itself. Cars undergoing autonomous testing have had prangs before, but fault has stopped with the driver. This time, however, the self-driven Lexus RX (though probably not the one above) has flung itself into the path of a bus, having paused to navigate its way round a hazard.

“The Google AV test driver saw the bus approaching in the left side mirror but believed the bus would stop or slow to allow the Google AV to continue,” read a line from the subsequent report. At least he had a window to see what had happened…

Picture credit: Steve Jurvetson

We severely doubt you’ve seen a more cockle-warming video this week. Meet Peggy and Audrey, two utterly adorable American grannies who - for reasons which are unclear - have got their hands upon a tuned Lamborghini Murcielago.

They certainly don’t appear to be owners of the car, as their consternation at its apparent lack of boot as they pick up their shopping surely proves.

But just look at their childish excitement, and listen to their whoops as they trundle through town, shocking onlookers and generally having a joyous time in one of the world’s most exciting cars. Then smile for the rest of the day...

Click here to see Donut Media’s video.

The press materials surrounding new cars can contain a whole load of curious phrases and vocabulary. And so we head to Bentley, and these little nuggets.

“Stirring woody base notes conjure up Bentley's characteristic universe of luxury, refinement and warmth,” we learn, while “musk helps this woody symphony, swathed in tree moss for a hint of mystery, to last longer on the skin.”

Yep, if you hadn’t guessed, this is an aftershave, not a car. An aftershave called ‘Infinite Rush’ which, at £59.50 for 100ml, is approximately 595 times more expensive than petrol.

It’s designed for the man that “regularly explores new horizons” such as “jumping from a helicopter into the sea”. Choose to wear this, then, and you really can get in the sea…

Oh yes. It will soon be Jeep’s annual Easter safari in Moab, Utah, an event which often turns out some really quite cool concepts. Here are last year’s, for example.

While we’ve not seen what 2016 will bring, we’ve had some sneaky little teasers. And this shot above tells us a Wrangler ‘Trailcat’ is coming.

Our wild and quite childish imagination has decided that Trailcar is a portmanteau of Trailhawk and Hellcat, two badges from the Chrysler group. The former means off-roady goodness, the latter, well you should know: 707bhp tyre-killing madness.

Just how much fun would a combination like that be? We very much hope to find out…

Far be it from Ten Things to stifle anyone’s artistic creativity, but if you’ve a compulsion to get the felt tips out and start scribbling, best not to draw up your own license plate and attempt to pass it off as a genuinely legal item.

Amanda Schweickert of Sardinia, New York did just that, and she’s now incarcerated on $400 bail after police pulled her over for driving around with the homemade cardboard reg adorning her car. Hmm. Looking at exhibit A – the hand-drawn plate itself – we can’t imagine what it was that gave the game away…

Picture credit: Erie County Sheriff’s Office

We suspected the thorny issue of electric car range would require some lateral, out-of-the-box thinking. And here it is, presumably thought up by someone who likes those plug-in booster batteries you can get for smartphones. Introducing the EP Tender B00 range-extender system. This is not, apparently, the work of Photoshop.

In fact, the company behind the, er, B00, claims its battery-laden tag-along boosted the range of a regular Renault Zoe from its usual 135 miles to a normal car-rivaling 354 miles, which is flipping impressive.

So, while we’re at it, why don’t all the petrol cars drag around a spare tanker of fuel each? We can literally foresee only two or three major problems with that idea. You’re welcome, world.

Long before cars called ‘McLaren P1’ and ‘918 Spyder’ made hybrids something rather special, the name was dragged through the gutter because petrol-electric cars were supposedly way more damaging to the environment than they officially let on. Difficult to make, tricky to dispose of, we were told. Well, maybe scratch that last one now. Yesterday’s Prius could be juicing your new Xbox controller.

That’s because Energizer, which makes the world’s second most famous battery-powered rabbit, has started using recycled material from carmaker batteries to fashion new household cells.

It’s only a smidge – four per cent of the material comes from old cars – but that’s a useful chunk less to go mining out of the ground, and makes good with material that would otherwise simply be wasted. Clever stuff.

Have you seen a 4x4 Subaru today? Maybe a school-run mum in her trusty Legacy, or a thousand horsepower Impreza with a missile silo for an exhaust pipe crossed your path. We’re betting much money it wasn’t a misunderstood Levorg.

Well, Subaru has this week celebrated building its 15 millionth car equipped with all-wheel drive, so chances are you’ll be glimpsing one soon. Well done, Scooby.

Last year, BAC’s single-seat adrenaline pump - the Mono, to you - seared up the Festival of Speed hillclimb in a faintly absurd 47.9 seconds. Unofficially, that is. The potentially record-breaking run for cars with number plates wasn’t timed by the powers that be.

So, BAC has come out swinging ahead of the 2016 Festival, announcing race driver Ollie Webb will drive the 305bhp carbon go-kart up the hill, and this time, the official stopwatches will be running. We await the display of much speed and a good dollop of bravery this summer with glee…