The Rinspeed Splash is a peppy sports car, going from 0-60 in 5.9 seconds and hitting top speeds of a modest 125mph. However, getting to a destination is not just about the speed at which you travel, but the route you take getting there. And the natural gas powered Rinspeed Splash, with the touch of a button, uses hydraulics to transform the car into a boat.

When cruising the water, a hydrofoil system—a mechanism generally reserved to lift hulls from the water to increase boat speed—allows the car to hover a few feet over the water while it uses a propeller to hit speeds of 45 knots (that’s a respectable 52 miles per hour). We’re not sure how much the Splash costs, but needless to say, it’s probably more than a car or a boat.

written by Jose Castillo

Mayor Curt Pringle of Anaheim, California, has proposed to build a monorail to connect the tourist area with a planned transportation hub. He is planning on seeking funding from private businesses to build a monorail from Disneyland area to the proposed Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center. The mayor doubts the city will get the $250 million needed so has been reaching out to businesses like Disney to help fund it. The system would likely serve about 2.6 million people annually.

[Via Orange County Register & Netcot]

written by Luke Manning

As expected, Sir Richard Branson has just unveiled the final designs of SpaceShipTwo and White Knight Two, Virgin Galactic’s planned commercial “spaceliner” and its corresponding carrier plane. At today’s American Museum of Natural History launch event, Branson once again reiterated his lofty expectations for space tech in general and the six-passenger vehicle in particular, promising to promote privatization and more widespread research by offering outside organizations access to its launch system schematics. So far, Virgin has reportedly signed up 200 committed passengers willing to pay $200,000 for a 2010-or-later suborbital flight, but for now, all they can do is look at the pretty pictures in the gallery below.

[Via BBC]

written by Jose Castillo

As you know, American Airlines is prepping in-flight WiFi in addition to, uh, anti-missile systems. Good news on the former, pricing is set. Good if $10 WiFi for flights less than three-hours or $12.95 for longer flights excites your fiscal sweet-spot like it does American’s. Rollout will begin this summer on AA’s 767-200 jets before rolling out across its entire fleet.

[Via Engadget]

written by Jose Castillo

According to reports, roost-ruling, green automaker Toyota has confirmed plans to launch a plug-in hybrid by 2010. Our man in Japan Katsuaki Watanabe (company president) dropped the bombshell at this year’s Detroit Auto Show while detailing the automaker’s plans for tackling environmental concerns. Apparently, the new lithium-ion-equipped vehicles will first be made available to Toyota’s commercial customers — such as government agencies. Watanabe gave no indication of when a general consumer rollout would occur. The vehicle, which is a modified version of the ultra-popular Prius, is capable of achieving fuel efficiency of 99.9 miles-per-gallon in EV mode, though it can only sustain pure battery power for about seven miles. The announcement will no doubt come as a total bummer to GM, which has plans to sell its own plug-in, the Volt, around the same time — though the Chevy vehicle is said to be able to make trips of up to 40 miles on a six-hour charge. It’s about time we saw some healthy competition in the green-auto-game — let’s just hope consumers reap the benefits.

[Via Engadget]

written by Jose Castillo