Thousands of marauding caterpillars trap car in silky web

Thousands of marauding caterpillars trap car in silky web.


Most drivers would be delighted if their car came with a silk-lined interior.
Whether it's such an appealing prospect on the outside is another matter.
This is the sight that greeted one unlucky motorist when he returned to his vehicle in Rotterdam.
Under a giant silk cocoon created by an army of caterpillars, the shape of a Honda is just about visible.
The car was mistaken as food by spindle ermine larvae, which had already begun to strip a nearby tree of its leaves.





Spindle ermines weave silk webs to protect themselves from birds and wasps, allowing them to gorge on leaves for six weeks before transforming into butterflies.
Eight species live in Britain and their webs can be seen throughout the country.
Their favoured tree is the spindle - which is often used in car parks and for lining motorways.
Stuart Hine of the Natural History Museum said: 'It only takes a few days. But we aren't talking about anything from Indiana Jones here.
‘They can bear a bit of weight but the car owner will be able to back the car out and clean it



Source : dailymail.co.uk

The World's First Bio-fuelled Flying Car

For many, a flying car is but a dream. For the Skycar Expedition Team it is now a reality, paving the way for this to become a common sight in our skies. Whether you are searching for environmentally friendly practical transport or new thrills the Parajet Skycar is no longer a dream….... a machine that can drive like a car and fly like an aeroplane, capable of beating congestion for the commuter or providing a low cost method of reaching remote regions only accessible by helicopter.

We are currently building the world’s first flying Parajet Skycar and after rigorous testing will travel from London across the Sahara to Tombouctou for the maiden voyage in Spring 2009. It will be the first high performance, road legal, carbon neutral flying car capable of providing sports and rally car performance on or off the road and light aircraft performance after just a few minutes of wing preparation.

Cutting Edge Flexible Wing Technology

A practical flying car has been impossible since aviation began, many attempts have been made...even as far back as the 1960's innovative engineers were designing folding wings that could be towed behind a car or attached to the car specifically for take-off. So many attempts have been made and yet still today there is nothing available. A practical SkyCar is now possible for the first time in aviation history due to rapid advancements in flexible wing technology. Wing Designer Mike Campbell Jones of Paramania Powergliders is responsible for this revolution in flexible wing technology.

The SkyCar is made possible by employing the latest technology in high speed, self stabilising, parafoil design. The future in this emerging technology is promising airspeeds of up to 100mph, with precise handling performance and an increased safety factor over conventional rigid wings. The SkyCar 'ParaWing' is so compact it can literally be folded into the boot of the SkyCar by the pilot alone.

Our prototype Parajet Skycar has a steel framed chassis although subsequent models will be made from aluminium which will be lighter and thus increase range, performance and luggage capacity. One pilot and one passenger will travel side by side.


Fly Mode

The Parajet Skycar in "fly mode" will be suspended by the latest ram-air wing and capable of take-off from a field or airstrip in less than 200 metres. It will be easier and safer to fly than any other aircraft, as it has no pitch control and therefore impossible to stall or dive. Should the engine fail, the pilot would simply glide down into the nearest field or strip of sandy desert. In the event of catastrophic wing failure, car connection system failure or mid-air collision, an emergency ballistic reserve parachute can be deployed.

Source & Picture : parajet

Car giant Nissan to axe 1,200 jobs

Car giant Nissan sent shockwaves through British industry by axing 1,200 jobs at the country's biggest and most productive motor plant, worsening the economic gloom and heightening fears that the looming recession will cut deep into employment.

The jobs - almost one in four - will go at the firm's plant in Sunderland, which employs around 5,000 workers and is one of the most long-established and biggest employers in the North East.

The cuts, including 400 staff on temporary contracts, follow increasing pleas from the motor industry for Government action to boost the availability of credit for consumers as well as firms.

Union officials said the surprise announcement was "devastating" news for the workers and their families while business leaders described the cuts as the "harsh realities" of the global slowdown.

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said: "I appreciate that this will be a tough time for workers." He pledged that the Government would work with the local regional development agency to help workers find new jobs as quickly as possible.

Nissan workers only returned to the production line on Monday after an extended Christmas shutdown in response to the slowdown in sales.

Nissan said the outlook for the car market this year remained "extremely challenging", adding that it was committed to taking the right action now to safeguard the plant's long-term sustainability.

The company announced that one shift will be cut from the plant's two production lines until March, with one being reinstated in April.

Trevor Mann, Nissan's senior vice president for manufacturing, Europe, said: "Like all manufacturers, Sunderland plant is currently operating in extraordinary circumstances not of our making. It is essential we take the right action now to ensure we are in a strong and viable position once business conditions return to normal.

"Unavoidably, this means we have had to make some very tough decisions in recent weeks. However by doing so, we are helping to safeguard our long term future which I believe is extremely positive."

Source : ananova