Hasta La Gadget!

When we talk about license plates, it would be common for most of us (except for the very artistic or futuristic out there) to think of these as metal plates that tell the world the legal identification number of your ride. Well, it does seem that the golden state of California might have something that would definitely tickle the interest of many – that they might offer electronic license plates. California’s senate recently approved a bill that would allow the creation of the country’s first electronic license plate, although it seems to be more focused on the creation of a pilot program that is due to be completed before the year 2017 arrives.

Surely there are benefits to an electronic license plate, don’t you think so? It is meant to induce savings from the DMV (and hence, the state of California) which happen to amount to approximately $20 million in postage. After all, renewal stickers do need to be sent out to a sizable population that will cost some serious coin, don’t you think so? Smart Plate Mobile happens to be the company that holds the patent on the electronic license plate, and it also boasts of the ability to show off advertisements at stops despite the fact that the current bill does not support such an action.

California Set To Implement Electronic License Plate Program original content from Ubergizmo.

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week’s most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us — it’s the Week in Green.

Tesla has been on a tear this year, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the Silicon Valley-based electric car maker is using up the world’s supply of lithium-ion batteries, spurring manufacturers to ramp up global production. In other green transportation news, Smart has unveiled the Fourjoy electric concept car in advance of the Frankfurt Motor Show. Barcelona launched the world’s first public electric scooter-sharing scheme, which promises to help users save money and decrease fuel consumption. In Buffalo, a man built himself a 16-foot geodesic houseboat in just a few weeks for less than $2,000. And if you want to have your mind blown, check out the photos from this year’s Bloemencorso Zundert flower parade in the Netherlands, which features floats made from thousands of flowers.

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If you’re a Back to the Future fanatic who wasn’t able to snag a Delorean on eBay or hitch a ride in a time-traveling taxi cab, then you might want to head to the City by the Bay this weekend. Uber has partnered with GE as part of the latter’s Brilliant Machines campaign to offer rides in, yes, a Delorean, but only in San Francisco and only for the following three days. They’ll be operational some time between 12 to 9pm on Friday and between 12 to 6pm on Saturday and Sunday — you’ll know a Delorean is available if you see an option pop up on the app (as seen in the screenshot after the break). However, Uber told us there’ll only be four of them on the road. Due to the limited availability, you’re restricted to just 15 minutes per trip and only one passenger per vehicle. The company’s pulled publicity ploys like this before — remember the ice cream trucks and those $3,000 helicopter rides? — but we have to admit this one makes our inner Marty McFly smile. So if you’re feeling lucky, take a trip to SF and try your hand at hailing one of these 1.21-gigawatt-powered beauties. Be sure to ask the driver if he can reach 88MPH.

[Image credit: Maile Kraus, Twitter]

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Source: Uber

IFA’s doors opened to the public today, and the show is marking the occasion with a keynote from Ford CEO Alan Mulally (and yes, we’ve met before). Not only will the perennial subject of the connected car be discussed, but we’re told a brand-new concept vehicle and a handful of announcements are slated for the event. We’re also expecting the firm’s head honcho to provide an update on Ford SYNC AppLink. The outfit’s ​Jim Buczkowski, director of Electrical and Electronic Systems for Advanced Research and Engineering, and Ed Pleet, director of Connected Services for Europe, Asia Pacific, and Africa, will join Mulally on stage as well. Join us here for the latest from IFA.

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The connected car concept has gained plenty of traction, but not everyone can afford an Audi or BMW to get that functionality built in. Deutsche Telekom’s hoping to bring a taste of that luxury to the masses by pairing its Navigon Telekom Edition app with Garmin’s heads-up display. This version of the app, available exclusively for German customers, brings heads-up directions, speed limit and other important stats to the HUD, provided it’s connected to your smartphone via Bluetooth. Garmin’s dash-mounted hardware is already available stateside for $150, but it’s up for grabs here at IFA for €149. We go eyes-on in the gallery below.

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Zach Honig contributed to this report.

Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!

Filed under: GPS, Transportation

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