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Our experiences with Microsoft's Sync in Ford cars has been mostly a comedy of voice-recognition errors (we'll never forget our rental at CES blasting NWA in response to “Play artist: David Bowie”), but it looks like other automakers will be able to join in the confusing fun in November, when Microso……

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Have you ever seen this strange vehicle which is a mix between a mini bus and a van in the street?
If not, you are not going to wait long. This is the new zero emission van manufactured by Modec.

Modec is a UK-based company, specialized in the conception and creation of zero emission electric delivery vans.

It has made a van which can be used in inner city centres areas where the sensitivity of noise and emission effects are high.

Many organisations in UK such as Speedy or Tesco are using as an experiment this environment friend. Modec sales and marketing director, Geoff Reyner, expect to quadruple the sales and is already getting enquiries from the rest of Europe and even North America.

 British CV Show Report — April 2006 from  What Van Online? website

Modec was exhibiting a very stylish-looking, battery-driven vehicle with a potential range of over 100 miles between recharges, a top speed of 50mph, and a maximum payload capacity of two tonnes.

Available as a van, a flatbed, a tipper, or a chassis cab – not to mention as a five-seater crew cab and a 16-seater bus – it grosses at up to 5.5 tonnes. All important information — speed, amount of charge left in the batteries and so on — is displayed on a dashboard-mounted screen.

Volume production is set to begin in November at a site in Coventry not far from Peugeot’s doomed Ryton plant. A chassis cab will set you back £23,000 with a rented battery pack.

Remember that electric vans don’t attract Vehicle Excise Duty and users don’t have to pay the congestion tax when they venture into central London. If they’re operating at above 3.5 tonnes they don’t require a heavy truck Operator’s Licence either.

What’s more, the Modec van will meet the criteria for the Low Emission Zone to be set up in London in 2008.

At the 2008 CV Show, visitors were able to try a Modec Electric Van- Article from Green-Car-Guide.com

Drive a Modec Electric Van at the 2008 CV Show - 14 March 2008

Modec, the UK-based manufacturer of zero emission light commercial vehicles, will be bringing its products to life with an exclusive ride and drive facility at this year’s CV Show. In addition to a stand which will see Modec displaying three of its vehicles in drop side and box configurations, Modec will be supplying four vehicles for visitors to experience for themselves in a unique ride and drive event.

Capable of a 100 mile range at highway speeds, and with a payload of up to two tonnes, the vehicles are being adopted into the fleets of some of the UK’s most prestigious organisations. This year’s CV Show also marks Modec’s 1st anniversary of production based out of its Coventry factory.

Visitors to the Show will be able to drive a mixture of short and long wheelbase drop side and box configured vehicles on a specially designed route around the NEC, which will reflect the urban environment that the vehicles have been designed for. Bookings can be made at the Modec stand, while the vehicles for test drive will be based outside Hall 16.

“We’re really excited at the prospect of this year’s Show,” commented Jamie Borwick, Modec Chairman. “Being able to provide the facility to allow people to drive our vehicles is ideal, as once people have experience them, they can fully appreciate what makes the Modec so perfect for today’s urban environment. We will also be using the show as an opportunity to celebrate a great first year of production and are looking forward to meeting existing and prospective customers.”

Modec’s participation at the CV Show, which runs from the 15th-17th April, will include:

• A long wheel base drop side vehicle with a tail lift built specifically for Speedy Hire
• Two box vans demonstrating the flexibility and load carrying capability of the vehicles
• Also on stand will be representatives from Modec’s senior team as well as its customer service team, financial partner, GE, dealers and partner Multipart
• In addition Modec’s customers and partners including Lloyds TSB, Bristor Racking and Solomon’s Coach Builders will be displaying Modec vehicles on their stand

We first heard about this laser-guided wheelchair way back in 2006 but didn't really have much more than promises from the team behind it about exactly what they had in store. As New Scientist reports, however, it seems that the folks from Lehigh University and Freedom Sciences are still hard at work at ……

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Back in the day, integrated GPS units were the stuff of luxury cars, gargantuan SUV cruisers, and lost old ladies. Suzuki is looking to change all of that by including the Garmin T.R.I.P. on all 2009 SX4 Sport and SX4 Crossover vehicles — at no extra charge. As Suzuki gleefully points out, this marks the fi……

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