Imagine a car packed with enough artificial intelligence to be able to avoid accidents entirely.  Well, Nissan is working on it and following the baby steps methodology, they just announced their RB23C - a robotic mini-car that represents the first generation of crash-avoidance. Inspired by the bumblebee (whose impressive range of vision allows them to fly uninterrupted), the “car” uses a laser range finder to detect obstacles up to 2 meters away in a 180-degree radius. Within a split second, the car is able to instinctively react and maneuver to avoid collisions. Though these capabilities are far from commercial use, Nissan’s objective by 2015 is to reduce automobile accident fatalities in theirs cars by 50% (compared to 1995’s numbers). 

GM launched its foray into the green automotive market with the stylish Chevy Volt. Stickered at roughly $40,000 and slated for a 2010 release, the vehicle can run for 40 miles once charged for several hours. After which, it relies on a gas-powered generator that sustains the battery’s charge for an additional several hundred miles. Not exactly a speedster, the car tops out at 100mph and equates to about 150 horsepower, which means you won’t be accelerating past a lot of cars on the road, but you will avoid a few speeding tickets.

The Volt can be recharged from any ordinary home electrical outlet and annually, consumes less electricity than a refrigerator. The math puts its fuel economy at about 2 cents per mile which is a vast improvement over gasoline-powered vehicles. Too bad we have to wait a couple of years to get behind the wheel of this baby.

Four picks on ThisNext lists is not a complete and total groundswell – not yet – but it sure is nice to hear that some of the hype you hear out there might really be true. Such is the case with the Toyota Prius, a hybrid vehicles that seems to be getting a lot of good press, here and elsewhere. ThisNexter Benjamin Kuo says, quite simply, “ Excellent mileage. Great statement.” Recently retired high-profile pro skier Kristen Ulmer admits that,  “What it says about my integrity alone is worth the extra $10K. Plus mine is black like an evil spaceship,” while adolfo f. says, “Low emissions, great gas mileage, so fresh and so clean clean.” Meanwhile, fitness authority Tom Rutlin sums it all up with, “It’s fun to drive and easy on the earth and my wallet. It’s the first real Twenty-first Century car.”

DrivenMind, an auto blog with beautiful photography, even about project cars, gives a strong recommendation for Going Faster! from the Skip Barber Racing School. “Going Faster takes an in-depth look at advanced driving techniques used by professional race car drivers and by amateurs racing on the club level. Every aspect of race driving is broken down and explained carefully with the help of experienced, professional racers. Skip Barber, Robbie Buhl, Jeremy Dale, Terry Earwood, Bryan Herta, David Loring, Jim Pace, Dorsey Schroeder, Danny Sullivan and Brian Till take their collective experience as professional racers and use it to help break down and explain the dynamics behind pushing a car to its limits.”

Cars have always been a defining product for American males. The choice (and condition) of their car will tell you more than a brainscan. J. Keith Cornett of CorvetteBlogger knows that. “If you’ve been dreaming about getting behind the wheel of a Corvette, there is no better place to start looking than VetteFinders.com,” he says…and one of their premier picks is this sleek 1958 Corvette convertible – a car that’s guaranteed to double the testosterone level of any man within eyeshot.

Changing-gears points out that SUVs may be far less popular than just a year ago, but they’re still there—and still being produced. “Prices may be heading upward, but Ford is hoping that enough buyers still love SUVs to make its revamped Explorer a success - or at least pay for this makeover,” they point out. “The new Explorer boasts some significant improvements, but whether they will be enough to overcome $50+ fill-ups remains to be seen.”

Neatorama calls this the “cutest car EVAR!”, and they may be right: a faithful but somehow cartoonish recreation of Suzuki’s first car: the 1955 Suzulight two-seater. Oooh, you just wanna pinch its little steel cheeks!