A car that consumes less than 3 liters of gas? I don’t care how it looks, cut me in.

You guys, check out these sweet rides from Japanese brands.

I am not a big fan of Subaru cars but I am sure guys find it really appealing because of its sporty and souped up look. Nissan has a funky looking vehicle in there too. LIke a little spaceship.

At a glance, it didn’t look like a phone at all. It looked more is like a monitor or a tablet or a GPS system for your car. Well, the Hitachi’s W53H Phone is equipped with a GPS system and it is for your car. This is not one of Hitachi’s first GPS phone, in fact they have had many models before as well but this latest model is made to look good in your car with a big screen (pic above has a screen size of 2.8inch, other sizes available), 2.0MP camera, a microSD slot, and a 1seg TV receiver. Word has it you can watch TV with this baby but I don’t think it’s advisable if you’re driving. Currently, there is no price tag on this GPS phone yet. It will only be available in Japan for now too :)

Read more about it here.

You guys need to check this ad out by Nissan. The whole city of New York has been transformed into a sinkhole maze.

You can view it in its original source here: Nissan Rogue commercial

Not the house mouse contraption used to kill rats and mice by flattening them to death, but a friendlier one. This mouse trap created by Belkin is used to carry your mouse and other items you need to the office or your workspace.

As you can see, it opens up to be a mouse pad and then it closes up into a zipper pouch. How convenient.

For only $13, this mouse trap is a great storage device. You have choice of colors too – jet with cabernet, dove with tarragon, or chocolate with tourmaline.

Product Page

Navigation units are not uncommon in US vehicles. Many of their cars, american and internationally made have GPS system in it. You know that deep, cold female voice that warns you to take the next right turn a million times before you reach the turn? Yea. So Panasonic is trying to break into the market, first time, with its in-car navigation unit.

Looking to be the “leader in the U.S. mobile navigation market, Panasonic launched Strada CN-NVD905U. The unit offers a range of entertainment such as DVD players, MP3 CD playback, a 30 Gig HD, iPod video compatibility, a choice of satellite stations as well as antennas and tuners to go with it. It’s looking pretty impressive. It costs $1,800 and needs a double DIN slot, which is somewhat a minus for Panasonic as they have competitors like Pioneer, TomToms and Garmin to go against. They have to make it friendlier to more vehicles if they wanna be the leader in US mobile navigation.

Read the press release here.

Source: Engadget

This is a nifty gadget you should have around whne you’re charging your iPod, phone or handhelds. It has a soap dish like thing were you can rest your items on as it is charging. Ladies and Gentlemen, i present you The Load Thing.

Haha..it’s got such a funny name, like the Swamp Thing, if you remember that TV show from the 80’s. Well, it is something I would like to own when i travel around. Especially where you have a plug point but without a safe place to put down your stuff for charging. :)

The Load Thing available for 9.90 Euros. You can buy them Fair kaeuflich DE. Via NOTCOT.ORG.

Source: Popgadget

AS the tile suggested, Italian design shop Spadaconcept revealed a new sports concept car. It looks mighty sleek and gorgeous. It’s just a prototype though but it is looking good. The Codatronica is a modern taken on last century’s sports car designs. If you look at it closely, you’ll see a little resemblance to the Chevrolet Corvett.

According to Autoblog.it:

it’ll be produced in three spec levels, Sport Touring (512 hp) Fast Sport Touring (513 hp – ?) and Sport Super Touring (700 hp, 701 ft-lbs, an estimated top speed of 220 mph and a zero-to-60 time of 2.7 seconds).

Think Ferarris and Bugattis, friends…the Italians make some pretty nice looking, impressive cars. The Codatronica looks almost futuristic, too bad it doesn’t fly yet like how cars should by the year 2000 :P

Source: Jalopnik

Well, the Yahoo News article has been removed, which made me realize how old this news is. But better late then never when it comes to very futuristic science-fiction, because by the time it is posted here on 3Yen, its coming into reality retail will still be very far away in years to come. Hopefully I am wrong…

In this AFP news, a “robot suit” built by a team at the Tsukuba University could soon be the solution for workers to lift heavy loads or people with disabilities to climb stairs. This exoskeleton weighs 15 kilogram, is battery-powered, and works by detecting muscle movements and amplifying them. It can also move by itself, to help elderly or handicapped people walk.

Of course, the prototype will be displayed at the Aichi World Exposition. If you go to Aichi, please send us a note.

As always with articles about robotics, there was a mention of the need for such technology here, because of the fact that elderly are becoming increasingly numerous in Japan and the young doctors expected to take care of them getting scarcer. They mentioned figures from a government report saying that pensioners “made up a record 19.5 percent of the country’s population in 2004 and that the ratio will grow rapidly, surpassing 35 percent in 2050″.

Toyota has just introduced a new airbag which shape is designed to disperse the force of the impact on the passenger’s head and shoulders. This new airbag will be mounted on the passenger seat in new Lexus brand models to be launched this summer. Of course, people still expect the airbag to save their life in case of an accident, yet fail to understand that the seat belt is the device that will prevent them from getting smashed into the front window. And the head rest that will prevent from getting their neck cracked like an eel in a tempura restaurant. The air bag is there to prevent you from getting your nose broken or a fat lip. Buckle up — especially if you’re sitting at the back — and let’s forget the airbag trend shall we?

Via Tech-On!