Sniffadog

Ads by Project Wonderful! Your ad could be here, right now.

Alice Grove is finished. I'm going to take some time to just do QC for a while and then start another side project sometime in the fall. Patreon subscribers will get sneak peeks, advance previews, and other stuff as it develops. Thank you for reading my comics.

In a proof-of-concept attack, a researcher has shown how a security flaw within the iOS mail client can be easily exploited to trick Apple users into handing over their iCloud passwords.

Read more...

Filed under: Concept Cars, Coupe, Geneva Motor Show, Design/Style

At the Geneva Motor Show this year EDAG Engineering showed off its Genesis Cockpit concept. Built with a 3D printing technique called "fused deposition modeling," it was a skeletal passenger cell suspended inside a protective shell. At next year's Geneva show EDAG will present another take on the natural forms combined with 3D printing with its Light Cocoon concept (click the image to enlarge).

Whereas the Genesis took inspiration from a turtle skeleton, the Light Cocoon tips its hat to the humble leaf - the tree kind, not the Nissan kind - by being a fabric membrane stretched over a skeletal structure. EDAG considers its creation the "ultimate in lightweight construction," its outer coating a waterproof fabric from Jack Wolfskin called Texapore Softshell that we're told is one-quarter the weight of copier paper. Making the most of the design, backlighting shows off the coupe's 'bones' underneath its skin.

Undoubtedly a neat concept, it reminds us of the BMW GINA Light Visionary Model from 2008, which had an opaque fabric covering stretched over metal and carbon fiber wires. Its aim was not only light weight and a take on new build processes, it was a shape-shifter; electrohydraulic actuators could rearrange its skeleton. We look forward to checking out the Light Cocoon next year, but we're more interested in seeing how EDAG would render its Genesis cockpit as a complete vehicle. EDAG's official press release with a few more details is below.

Continue reading Edag planning this lightweight backlit-fabric sports car for Geneva

Edag planning this lightweight backlit-fabric sports car for Geneva originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 15 Dec 2014 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

This 1972 RX-3 (chassis S124A104185) was purchased new by the seller’s Grandmother, is said to have been well maintained since new and includes many extras from bushings to a complete spare 12A engine still wrapped in plastic. Modifications are noted, but sale includes original wheels and more. Some rust is noted with bubbles on the hood and holes in the trunk, but overall the car seems to be in very nice condition otherwise. Find it here on eBay in Lewisville, Texas with no reserve.

Earth Green is a wild, totally period appropriate color and apart from two small scuffs on the passenger door the body looks straight–a repaint or touch-up job in 1993 is noted. We’ve seen worse custom wheels than these American Racing units, but we’d prefer to see it wearing stock or maybe some vintage Epsilon, SSR or Watanabe rims in place. We’d switch the tire lettering around to the inside, too. An original sales pamphlet is included along with other paperwork and a Mazda promotional Wankel model.

The interior shows well despite some light cracking in the front seats, but we’re more than a little confused by the fitment of a piston-shaped shift knob in a rotary powered car. While only the passenger side is shown, rear interior panels are still covered with protective plastic. As previously noted, the seller will include the factory shift knob and other original cosmetic parts.

The street ported 12A 2-rotor engine and 4-speed trans were rebuilt in 1989 with 15k miles since. Racing Beat clutch, header, intake, and carb were added around the same time, while Mallory coils are a more recent upgrade. The seller mentions the car was started sparingly over the past few years, and hopefully apex seals haven’t suffered from such light use. If such is the case, the plastic-wrapped, palleted extra 12A may not have fared well either. An issue with the tachometer is noted though the seller will try to fix prior to sale.

While this RX-3 isn’t in perfect condition it’s much better than most we see and has interesting history to boot. So many of these cars are either tastelessly modified, hacked up or both that it’s refreshing to see one so apparently well-kept with largely well-judged upgrades.

Outstanding news for anyone who loves drifting, Japan, and unassuming Toyotas that decimate vastly more powerful cars: a new Initial D movie is coming this fall! And here's the first full-length trailer.

Read more...

This 1949 Ford F-1 panel truck (chassis 97HC-228547) is believed to be one of only 50 4X4  conversions by Marmon Herrington, two of which had no rear seats or factory side windows like this example. It’s rough but remarkably complete and solid, with only minimal rust mostly of the surface kind. Any old Ford truck with a flathead V8 and 4-speed is automatically cool, but this one’s rarity and interesting railroad service history make it extraordinary. Find it here on eBay in Turbotville, Pennsylvania with a $14,500 Buy-It-Now.

Judging by interior and engine bay the yellow main body color seems to be original, and though kind of taxi-ish the black fenders seem like they could be as well. There’s plenty of denting all over, the worst of which is directly behind the passenger side rear wheel. Apart from a few plastic lenses and other minor pieces trim looks to be largely intact, though the windshield and rear windows are boarded up and will need replacing. Provided the rear fender can be punched out and smoothed over we’d guess it’s almost entirely salvageable.

The cabin and cargo bay are really basic, and though we can just make out a non-original driver’s seat there’s very little else inside to describe the condition of. Floors look solid and appear to be wood in back with steel used in front, and though the walls in back are heavily battered it’s nothing out of the ordinary in a work truck—we’d clean it up a bit but leave as much history intact as possible. The dash retains all its instruments but seems to be missing some switchgear.

The engine wears a rebuild tag but hasn’t run in years and will probably need a full restoration along with the rest of its drivetrain. The flathead itself shouldn’t be too difficult to source parts for, but with many of the 4X4 components not made by Ford it’d be best to budget for a lot of machine work. The seller mentions railroad service history but admits they lack documentation to back this claim, still, it seems entirely plausible and we’d as for further details if we were seriously considering bidding on it.

Regardless of work history it’s undoubtedly a very cool old truck, and provided rust is as minimal as appearances suggest it shouldn’t pose too many difficulties for an experienced amateur restore. We think it’d make a great shop truck, especially with a few well-chosen, period-correct engine mods to help it keep up with modern traffic.

Yep, that's how boats talk. One hundred percent.

Read more...

See that tiny green pinprick of light? That's a speck of diamond dust trapped in the grip of a laser beam. And with its help, researchers hope to better understand the border-world between macro and quantum physics.

Read more...