Quick, what’s Finnish, plug-in, and costs $88,000? If you said a night with Saana, boy, you’re creepy. As you might have guessed, we’re actually referring to the Fisker Karma, an American designed, Finnish built plug-in hybrid sports car, a field that’s been getting just a wee bit crowded lately.

So how does the Karma stack up? And does it run over any dogma?

In terms of sportiness, it leaves behind the Leaf and the Volt, which are really designed more for short trips in the suburbs or travel over urban areas; that’s more the province of Fisker’s Nina sedan, coming later this year. And it’s definitely got an eye-catching design, unique from the Tesla Roadster and Artega plug-in. It’d better, since Valmet, the construction firm, also puts together vehicles for Porsche. In fact this might be as close as we get to a Porsche plug-in for a while.

In terms of cost, it’s $88,000; way cheaper than the Tesla or Artega electrics. Unfortunately, there’s a reason for that: the Karma only has a fifty-mile range on electricity before the gasoline engine kicks in.

Yeah, it’s not exclusively electric, which is good in that you won’t get stuck and bad in that, well, it’s kind of disappointing. But, hey, it’s sportier than a Prius.

Wait, that’s not really saying music.

Wait, an Asian automaker is coming to America to establish a foothold in a market that American car makers have largely ignored? What is this? The 1980s?

No, it’s the twenty-first century, and the carmaker in question is BYD, an automaker that specializes in battery powered vehicles (which makes sense, as they’re owned by a battery company). And, yes, just like Eddie Murphy, they are coming to America. But it might surprise you which automakers are more annoyed about it.

BYD is mostly notable for two things: those aforementioned battery-powered cars, which they think will be huge in America, and the fact that they continue the grand Chinese tradition of shamelessly ripping off designs and technology from non-Chinese companies. Their most popular car, the BYD F3 is basically a Corolla knock-off.

Why, precisely, China feels this is still OK, especially since whenever they have an innovative idea, they get all upset when someone steals that, is totally beyond us, but it’s unlikely to be beyond the circuit court Toyota takes BYD to over stealing its designs now that they’re in America.

Either way, we’re about to have more choices with battery-powered cars, and that’s a good thing. Unless it’s the Cherry Amulet, that you need to avoid.

For anything you could possibly want on your iPhone, there is an app. This includes eluding those clever radar traps the police have set up to keep you from risking your neck and the neck of others by ripping down the highway five miles an hour faster than the state-mandated speed. But, until now, Android users have been bereft of any sort of speeder protection. Well, no more.

The iRadar is a combination app and sensor package that hooks up to your phone. Obviously, it picks up radar, but it also detects laser scanners and “red light” detectors. The sensor can actually work without the smart phone, offering up audio warnings that you’re about to catch somebody’s attention, but with the app, you get visual alerts, a compass, and access to Cobra’s database of stoplight cameras.

That last makes us just a little worried because, unlike speeding, which everyone except Grandma does, blowing a red light is incredibly stupid. Enabling people to be incredibly stupid usually does not end well, even if it is the bread and butter of some industries. Here’s hoping that all of the iRadar’s users use it responsibly and intelligently.

Or at least not near our house.

Electric cars have, until recently, been a lot like bran cereal. They’re good for you, but they can be bland and less than appealing. Just look at the Prius; it looks like an Apple product with wheels. Fortunately, automakers have realized this, and started turning out electric sports cars. But Artega’s might just be the greatest so far.

First revealed at the Geneva Motor Show, the Artega SE has a lot going on under the hood. The two electric motors over the rear axle generate an impressive 380 horsepower, which translates out to a top speed of 155 miles per hour and hitting 60mph in four seconds. It’s an electric car you can drag race, finally!

It’s not all slickness and speed, alas. The SE, being fully electric, only has a 124 mile range, so you won’t be going on that many long road trips with this one.

Still, it’s nice to see automakers making an effort. Electric cars really are the future of driving, especially as gas keeps hitting new highs and oil proves to be politically as well as financially costly. It’s nice to know that in the future, we won’t be sacrificing speed, or style, for the sake of saving a few watts.

Okay, so the Segway didn’t exactly change the way cities are built, as inventor Dean Kamen once suggested. After all, how many people need and can afford a $5,000 gyroscope scooter that you still have to stand in to ride? Now, GM and Segway are working on a reinvention, dubbed the Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility Project, or P.U.M.A., for now. With help from a lithium battery, the self-balancing two-wheeler nearly triples the speed of the original Segway at 35 miles per hour and seats two for a luxurious tours of the city — smells and all. Worried about accidents? The P.U.M.A. can apparently talk to surrounding vehicles to avoid collisions. There’s no street date in sight, but the vehicle is set to debut at the New York Auto Show this week. It’ll probably cost about a quarter of what you’d spend on a typical car.  Video after the jump…

GM and Segway Join Forces to Reinvent Urban Transportation

NEW YORK – General Motors Corp. and Segway today demonstrated a new type of vehicle that could change the way we move around in cities.

Dubbed Project P.U.M.A. (Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility), GM and Segway are developing an electrically powered, two-seat prototype vehicle that has only two wheels. It could allow people to travel around cities more quickly, safely, quietly and cleanly – and at a lower total cost. The vehicle also enables design creativity, fashion, fun and social networking.

GM and Segway announced their collaboration, while demonstrating the Project P.U.M.A. prototype in New York City this morning.

“Project P.U.M.A. represents a unique solution to moving about and interacting in cities, where more than half of the world’s people live,” said Larry Burns, GM vice president of research and development, and strategic planning. “Imagine small, nimble electric vehicles that know where other moving objects are and avoid running into them. Now, connect those vehicles in an Internet-like web and you can greatly enhance the ability of people to move through cities, find places to park and connect to their social and business networks.”

Trends indicate that urbanization is growing, and with that comes increased congestion and more competition for parking. Cities around the world are actively looking for solutions to alleviate congestion and pollution. Project P.U.M.A. addresses those concerns. It combines several technologies demonstrated by GM and Segway, including electric drive and batteries; dynamic stabilization (two-wheel balancing); all-electronic acceleration, steering and braking; vehicle-to-vehicle communications; and autonomous driving and parking. Those technologies integrate in Project P.U.M.A. to increase mobility freedom, while also enabling energy efficiency, zero emissions, enhanced safety, seamless connectivity and reduced congestion in cities.

“We are excited to be working together to demonstrate a dramatically different approach to urban mobility,” said Jim Norrod, CEO of Segway Inc. “There’s an emotional connection you get when using Segway products. The Project P.U.M.A. prototype vehicle embodies this through the combination of advanced technologies that Segway and GM bring to the table to complete the connection between the rider, environment, and others.”

Project P.U.M.A. vehicles will also allow designers to create new fashion trends for cars, and to focus on the passion and emotion that people express through their vehicles while creating solutions that anticipate the future needs of urban customers.

The Project P.U.M.A. prototype vehicle integrates a lithium-ion battery, digital smart energy management, two-wheel balancing, dual electric wheel motors, and a dockable user interface that allows off-board connectivity. The result is an advanced and functional concept that demonstrates the capabilities of technology that exists today.

Built to carry two or more passengers, it can travel at speeds up to 35 miles per hour (56 kph), with a range up to 35 miles (56 km) between recharges.

Since the introduction of the Segway Personal Transporter (PT), Segway has established itself as the leader in the small electric vehicle space. Its approach to congestion and environmental challenges is balanced with a strong understanding of the functional needs of its customers, enabling them to do more with less. Segway has delivered more than 60,000 lithium-ion batteries to the market.

GM has been a leader in “connected vehicle” technologies since it introduced OnStar in 1996. Today, this on-board communications package connects six million subscribers in North America to OnStar safety and security services. GM has also pioneered vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications systems and transponder technology. These and additional connected vehicle technologies could ultimately enable vehicles that don’t crash and drive themselves.

“Imagine moving about cities in a vehicle fashioned to your taste, that’s fun to drive and ride in, that safely takes you where you want to go, and “connects” you to friends and family, while using clean, renewable energy, producing zero vehicle tailpipe emissions, and without the stress of traffic jams,” said Burns. “And imagine doing this for one-fourth to one-third the cost of what you pay to own and operate today’s automobile. This is what Project P.U.M.A. is capable of delivering.”

Segways were supposed to be cool, until they became the transportation method of choice for mall cops, sucker tourists and lazy rich people. The Cajun Crawler, however, might still have some “wow” appeal, with its network of legs that provide crab-like movement. Inspired by Theo Jansen’s crawling beach creatures, students at the University of Louisiana wanted to create a similar idea, but one that could carry some weight on its shoulders. The legs are constructed of 5052 aluminum, and all joints contain deep-groove ball bearings. Looking at the video, it seems that the Cajun Crawler moves at a walking pace, but if you can play Chamillionaire’s “Ridin’” in the background like the student inventors did, you’d be in business. [YouTube via Dvice]

Zoomi World has the solution for people who like biking, but not so much the strenuous exercise that goes with it. The Monterey sports a 350 W rear-hub motor — larger than that of most similar bikes, Zoomi says — and a removable 36-volt 13aH battery, good for about 33 miles of travel. Bikers can select from three modes: Throttle, Pedal-assist and Pedal-only, depending on how much work you feel like doing. Speed tops out at 20 mph with Shimano Nexus 6-speed gearing. All kidding aside, it’d be great to have something like this for steep walking hills, but it obviously costs a bit more than the average mountain bike. Suggested retail price is $1,499, and it’s available now. [via Zoomi World]

When it comes to improving a car’s mileage and power consumption, the answer for BMW lies in space, sort of. The luxury automaker is looking to NASA for efficiency solutions, adding thermoelectric generators similar to those used on satellites. Though BMW’s version obviously lacks nuclear power, the generators pull heat exhaust from the engine to generate up to 200W of power. In addition to powering secondary electrical systems, this increases fuel efficiency by 5 percent. For NASA, I imagine this private consulting gig will result in much-needed cash during a time when taxpayer spending is under the microscope. Look for the space-inspired Bimmer in 2014. [CAR via CrunchGear]

Oasis of the Seas is a wave-devouring monstrosity. If you tend to feel cramped on your average cruise, kick back on the 1181-foot long passenger vessel and relax a little. You’ll be propelled through the ocean waters by 20-foot propellers strapped to 8 v12 engines, each pumping out the equivalent of 17500 swimming horses. Your room will be among the 2700 located in the two 6-story towers that are separated by a beautiful courtyard dubbed “Central Park”, where you can lay out and enjoy some rays or play a game of football.  Congratulations Royal Caribbean you secured the title of world’s largest cruise ship with this $1.2 billion beast. Enjoy it for another year or two before the next one comes along. [DVICE]

We’ve previously written about the Brammo Enertia electric motorcycle, which rides for 45 minutes on a single charge at up to 53 mph. Come May, you’ll actually be able to get one for just $12,000 if you’re near any of the five selected Best Buy locations to carry it. Eventually, the bike will come to all of Best Buy’s U.S. stores, plus some in Europe and China. Interestingly enough, Brammo CEO Craig Bramscher believes his company is selling a product that’s “a lot closer to consumer electronics than to transportation.” Best Buy’s Geek Squad will reportedly do smaller repairs — simultaneously a cool and terrifying concept — using the store’s garage bays that Bramscher says are “underutilized.” Bigger jobs will have to go to a distribution center. It’s not clear whether the Geek Squad will first slap on a $200 diagnostic fee and then decide the bike needs virus cleaning (and then use 2 hours of labor looking for homemade porn on your machine). [Greentech Media via Engadget]

Just in case you wanted to capture the sheer trepidation and curiousity on your prey’s face before you pull out your Browning, the new Canon PowerShot D10 is coming to you live, in full camo. Questionable use of camaflouge aside, the camera looks pretty sweet through and through. Inside the rugged, waterproof exterior you’ll find 12.1 MP sensor, 3x zoom, DIGIC 4 processor,  image stabilization, and a 2.5-inch PureColor LCD II. You’ve also got all your proofs covered–10 M waterproof , freezeproof, shockproof and shatterproof–a 2 mm shield protects the display from any potential clumsiness, or incidental hit from bird shot. Availability is set for April with a price around $330. [Engadget]

The iPhone has a lot of uses. But one thing it hasn’t been able to do is operate a vehicle, at least until now. Rinspeed, designer of all kinds of crazy concept cars, has developed the iChange for the Geneva Motor Show. The iChange is billed as “the world’s first car whose body adapts to the number of passengers on board.” Sounds pretty comfy for a sleek concept car that looks this cool. The adjustable seats and car ignition can be controlled with an iPhone, leaving the key in the past. Also gone are car doors, and instead, the vehicle’s roof tilts forward for passenger loading.  The car is powered by an electric motor that runs on lithium ion batteries, with different configurations for long and short distances. [zoomilife]