On IEEE Spectrum's anual top ten tech cars roundtable, Susan Hassler, Glenn Zorpette and John Voelcker discuss all that is brand new and shiny in the world of high tech cars. They start by taking a look at the economy car battle: diesel versus hybrid.
While Europe favors diesel cars, Asia and America are warming up to the idea of petrol and electric hybrids. The introduction of newer cleaner fuels, including European-style diesel, is boosting the miles per gallon race among car manufacturers. But how much of a difference is there between the two?
For those who don't care about efficiency there's always the new 1000 hp, million Euro car from Bugatti: the Veyron 16.4. While it may only get 10 miles to the gallon, it has the most luxurious interior and best performance of any car out there - it can reach speeds up to 254 miles per hour.
Learn about who can afford such a monster car, how new generations of onboard electronics are making cars smarter, and which cars Zorpette and Voelcker have lined up as their favorites of 2006.
This program was originally broadcast on IEEE Spectrum Radio.
John Voelcker has written about automotive technology, home building, and other topics for 20 years. He covered software and microprocessor design for IEEE Spectrum from 1985 to 1990. A connoisseur of vintage British automobiles, he has owned five Riley One-Point-Fives, four Morris Minors, three Pontiac GTOs, and a handful of Subarus.
Glenn Zorpette is the executive editor at IEEE Spectrum magazine. Zorpette works closely with staff editors on feature articles and with the senior art director on covers and article illustrations. In 1993 he won a National Magazine Award for an article on Iraq’s efforts to build an atomic bomb. He has worked at Scientific American and Red Herring magazines before rejoining Spectrum in June 2001. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Brown University.
Susan Hassler (host) is the Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Spectrum magazine. Hassle has more than 20 years of experience as an editor and journalist dealing with scientific and technical topics. She has served as editor-in-chief of the journal Nature Biotechnology, editor at The Neurosciences Institute at Rockefeller University, and as an editor for the New York Academy of Science's magazine, The Sciences. She has also taught in the Science and Environmental Writing program at New York University's School of Journalism.
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