A Nicaraguan committee approved a proposed route on Monday for a $40 billion shipping channel across the Central American country that would compete with the Panama Canal.

The committee of government officials, businessmen, and academics approved a 172-mile route from the mouth of the Brito river on the Pacific side to the Punto Gorda river on the Caribbean that was proposed by executives from the HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co Ltd (HKND Group).

The Hong Kong-based HKND group, which is funding the project, is headed by Chinese lawyer Wang Jing, who also heads Chinese company Xinwei Telecom Enterprise Group.

The idea is ridiculously ambitious. The waterway would be more than three times as long as the 48-mile Panama Canal, and one of the largest infrastructure projects ever.

The canal will be between 755 feet to 1,706 feet wide and 90 feet deep, according to HKND engineer Dong Yunsong.

There are also social concerns: The canal would pass through Lake Nicaragua, Central America's largest lakes and an important fresh-water source for the country. And the the water used by the canal's locks could seriously deplete the lake.

It would probably affect poor communities who live along the massive tract of land.

"We're at a crossroads because either you use Lake [Nicaragua] for floating boats or you use it for drinking water, but you can't use it for both things at once," Victor Campos, assistant director of the Humboldt Center environmental organization, told the Associated Press last year.

Further, the project appears to by on shaky legal ground.

"Gabriel Álvarez, a law professor at Nicaragua’s National Autonomous University, says there have been 32 charges of unconstitutionality — a number he reckons unprecedented in Nicaragua,"The Economist wrote in October.

"He points out that the law gives the company unfettered and tax-free rights over vast tracts of land, which would violate the country’s sovereignty. It also requires the supposedly autonomous Central Bank to waive its right to sovereign immunity, which has alarmed economists."

Nevertheless, work is expected to begin by December, according to committee member Telemaco Talavera, and the plan is to finish the canal in 2019 and begin operations in 2020.

The 48-mile Panama Canal was completed by the U.S. in 1914 at the cost of about $375 million and thousands of lives.

Here's a rough comparison of the two routes (note Lake Nicaragua):

On its website, the HKND Group argues that the rapid emergence of China as a manufacturing center and global economic growth will bolster international container traffic for decades to come.

But global engineering and shipping experts told the AP that lowered demand for massive container shipping and increasing competition from potential alternate routes — like the Arctic— could make the project economically unfeasible.

"It's addressing a need that definitely is not here now and I'm not sure if it's 'a build it and they will come' sort of thing," Rosalyn Wilson, a senior business analyst at the Delcan Corporation, a Toronto-based transportation consultancy and author of the U.S. logistics industry's annual report. "I wouldn't invest my money in it."

China has been actively investing in Latin America. In March, Ecuador agreed to auction off 3 million of the country's 8.1 million hectares of pristine Amazonian rainforest to Chinese oil companies.

SEE ALSO: Ecuador Sold A Third Of Its Amazon Rainforest To Chinese Oil Companies

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Planes flying into Houston are burning less fuel and making less noise than before, thanks to an FAA project implemented in June. Instead of the conventional descent—leveling out between drops in altitude—pilots will follow a steady path to the ground with the engine throttle near idle.

The shift, along with changes that will ease air congestion around Houston, is part of NextGen, the FAA’s $37 billion program to modernize how American airspace is managed by 2030.

Usually, planes approaching an airport drop altitude in steps, cranking up the engines to level out in between. That makes it easier for pilots to control descents and for air traffic controllers to keep track of everyone and manage spacing between planes. Crews check in with the ground at each interval, making sure they’re clear to drop a few thousand more feet. It’s a safe but inefficient way to get lots of planes on the ground.

Now, planes flying into George Bush Intercontinental and William P. Hobby airports in Houston will follow “optimized profile descents.” Instead of descending in stages, they will steadily drop, keeping the throttle near idle for nearly 100 miles. It’s like sliding down the bannister instead of using the stairs. Less throttle means less wasted fuel and less noise for airport neighbors. Reducing check-ins with ground control reduces opportunities for miscommunication.

The new landing procedure and other changes in Houston, FAA chief Michael Huerta said, will “turn some of the most complex airspace in the country into some of the most efficient.”

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New tools, better routes

The shift to optimized profile descents is happening now because better technology has made the inefficient step-by-step process unnecessary, says Jim Davis, a national airspace rep for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, which worked on the project.

Flight management systems, the primary navigation tools on commercial jets, have gotten more sophisticated. New Basic Area Navigation systems can better determine the aircraft’s ideal angle and rate of descent, so pilots don’t have to do the tricky calculations themselves. In August 2013, the FAA started deploying a new time-based flow management system nationwide, so air traffic controllers can track and manage aircraft from farther out, making the arrival process more efficient.

Optimized profile descents were trialled in Anchorage in 2009 and introduced at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in August 2012. FAA data shows that at Reagan, the average distance flown between cruise altitude and the arrival airport dropped from 51.9 nautical miles in 2012 to 50.1 nautical miles in 2013. Over a year’s worth of flights, that saved hundreds of thousands of nautical miles.

New descent routes must be specially calculated for every metroplex. These major metropolitan areas each have specific runway configurations and different relationships between local airports, so you can’t just tell the pilot to take the gradual path down. New routes must be carefully created and vetted by the FAA. With each completed project, the process gets easier. “We’ve developed a playbook that we started with in D.C.,” Davis says, and it’s grown since then.

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Making the change national

Plans are underway to use optimized profile descents in metroplexes where a high percentage of aircraft have the necessary equipment, Davis says. Next up is north Texas, where work begins in September. Projects in Atlanta, North and South California, and Charlotte are underway or planned. Each metroplex project will cost $5-$9 million, the FAA says.

The $8 million Houston overhaul also created more efficient routes for departures and flights in bad weather, and added two entry points into the area to reduce congestion. Together, Hobby and Bush airports handle over 750,000 takeoffs and landings annually, so those changes will cut distances flown by nearly 650,000 nautical miles (748,007 miles) annually, and save three million gallons of fuel. At current prices, that adds up to $8.81 million. In an industry with tiny profit margins, that’s a big deal. Airlines will quickly see the benefits, especially Southwest, which used Houston as one of its hub cities.

As better routes are set up around the country, other airlines will reap the rewards, too. Maybe some of that will even trickle down to passengers. 

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Volvo just released information about the engine it will install in its new SUV, and both extremely powerful and clean.

The XC90, set to debut in 2015, is the company's first major major redesign of the SUV in over a decade. Its top-of-the-line T8 model will have a four-cylinder engine that produces 400 horsepower and 472 lb./ft. of torque, Volvo announced this week. 

At 400 horsepower, the XC90's tiny two-litre inline four-cylinder engine outpowers sportscars like Dodge's Hemi powered Challenger (375 hp) and even Porsche's legendary 911 (350 hp). The technical wizards at Volvo managed to squeeze all of this power out of the pint-size engine by installing a supercharger and a turbocharger along with an 80 horsepower electric motor in a system the company calls "twin engine."

In the T8 plug-in hybrid, the twin engine will function by having the gasoline engine send power to the front wheels while the electric motor powers the rear. The "twin engine" system is also clean. Volvo's plug-in hybrid technology emits only 60 g/km of carbon dioxide, putting the SUV squarely in Toyota Prius territory. (Normal hybrid models produce 94 g/km and plug-in Priuses pump out just 49 g/km of CO2.) The difference is even more stark when you compare the Volvo to its likely competitors, the Mercedes ML350 BlueTec diesel and BMW X5 xDrive 50i, which emit 179 and 292 g/km of carbon dioxide, respectively.

Those looking for a less ambitious powertrain in their XC90 can opt for a T6 model, which will by powered by a two-litre 316 hp four-cylinder; the same engine found in Volvo's S60 T6 sedan. The XC90 will also be available with a series of diesel engine options, but Volvo has not yet released further details. 

The engine announcement is part of Volvo's scaled reveal of the XC90. The SUV's interior design was released in May, and a final reveal with exterior styling and pricing is scheduled for next month in Sweden. 

SEE ALSO: Cuba's New Auto Sales Policy Is A Total Flop

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Air New Zealand will no longer show an in-flight safety video that many called sexist and offensive to women.

"Safety in Paradise" was released in February in conjunction with the Sports Illustrated 50th anniversary. It features five swimsuit models including Christie Brinkley, Jessica Gomes, Chrissy Teigen, Hannah Davis, and Ariel Meredith.

The four-minute spot shows the five models frolicking on a tropical beach, demonstrating typical air safety tasks including buckling a seatbelt, inflating a life vest, and putting on an oxygen mask. The only difference is that they do it entirely in bikinis.

Following the video's release an Australian woman, Natasha Young, launched a change.org petition to stop the airline from showing it. 

Young's petition, "Remove the sexist in-flight safety video #AirNZsexism," received over 11,000 signatures. It claims that "Safety in Paradise" is insensitive and "forces itself upon the passengers" because they can't turn off the video if it makes them uncomfortable. 

Young argues that it is completely inappropriate to show something like this on an airline:

"This video completely disregards passengers who find it offensive for religious reasons, who have body image struggles, who are parents concerned about their children’s impressionable nature, who believe women deserve more respect, and who have teenage daughters who deserve more respect."

Mashable reports that Air New Zealand says it's not removing the video from circulation as a result of this petition, but instead had always planned to stop running it at this time of the year.

Air New Zealand is known for transforming boring and repetitive flight safety videos into something more exciting like this Hobbit inspired video or this Richards Simmons filled spot. This tropical bikini party, however, took it one step too far for some. The airline will now show fliers a video featuring "Man vs. Wild" star Bear Grylls.  

Here's the full "Safety in Paradise" video:

SEE ALSO: Virgin America's Awesome New Flight Safety Video Is Better Than Most Music Videos

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Call for nominations!

Headlines don't paint a pretty picture of Motor City. Last year, Detroit became the largest U.S. city to file for bankruptcy. Unemployment and crime rates remain unencouraging, and there appears to be a mass exodus of residents fleeing the once prosperous metropolis. 

Still, many Detroiters are toughing it out, pouring their resources and their talents into rebuilding the city.

We want to shine a spotlight on the people in Detroit who are making remarkable contributions to the city. We're looking for folks across industries, from finance and automotive to education, sports, and entertainment, who are dedicated to revitalizing the city.

To qualify, nominees must currently live in Detroit, but they don't need to have been born there.

Send your nominations to our Lists & Rankings team at lists@businessinsider.com. Please include the person's name, contact information, employer and job title if appropriate, and a brief description of how he or she has made a positive impact on Detroit.

We'll be accepting nominations through July 31.

Thanks!

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Coors Light Canada disrupted service on Toronto's streetcar lines Monday when a briefcase the brand placed at a busy intersection was reported to the police as a potential threat.

CBC News reports the brand left the briefcase with its logo on it at the corner of Spadina Avenue and Dundas Street West. Though the briefcase was merely a part of the brand's "Search+Rescue" scavenger hunt, a spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service confirmed that a civilian reported it as a "suspicious package" during rush hour.

Here's the package in question, as captured by a passerby on Instagram:

The ensuing police investigation caused delays on the 501 Queen and 510 Spadina streetcar lines, and led to this awkward Twitter interaction between the Toronto Transit Commission and Coors Light.

The Toronto Transit Commission gave the all-clear about an hour after it contacted Coors Light Canada, but not before snarky commenters and angry commuters gave the brand a piece of their mind.

@coorslightca found a briefcase, but the cops wouldn't let me have it (bomb squad called dibs) #searchandrescuepic.twitter.com/i1CJeQk3eF

— Selina Chan (@Selina50mm) July 7, 2014

.@coorslightca@TTCnotices Awesome. You're the reason it took me an extra 20 minutes to get home from work. I'll continue avoiding your beer

— andy gardner (@plorry) July 7, 2014

.@coorslightca@TTCnotices shouldn't your beer stand for itself? Why do you need to have the bomb squad called to get people to drink it?

— Adam McKerlie (@adammckerlie) July 7, 2014

@coorslightca do you guys even think before you plan this stuff? A lot of people are late, pissed off, and screwed over thanks to you.

— Alison (@roundraglanroad) July 7, 2014

As part of the Search+Rescue contest, Coors Light placed 880 briefcases across Canada, with each briefcase containing a summer-themed prize like a package of wakeboarding gear or a free rafting trip.

The brand announced Monday on Twitter that it has canceled the contest, and it is now working to make amends with the people whose commutes it disrupted, as well as the contestants who searched for the briefcases only to find out the competition had ended.

@TheRealBlair1 Let’s see if we can make amends. Follow and send us a DM?

— Coors Light Canada (@coorslightca) July 8, 2014

SEE ALSO: Denny's Doesn't Understand How The World Cup Works

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A proposed $90 billion "floating train" that would connect Tokyo to Osaka in less than half of the current travel time is expected to be approved later this year, but the market for such a ride is dwindling.

The steep price tag for the train proposed by Central Japan Railway, one of the highest ever, Lily Kuo writes for Quartz, draws eyes to the shrinking population in Japan's major cities.

By the time the train project is scheduled to be finished, 2045, Japan is projected to lose roughly a third of its population. 

Japan's population, which is hovering around 127 million, is expected to drop to 99.1 million by 2048, and 86.7 million by 2060, wrote Yoko Sudo in the Wall Street Journal.

Of 233 major nations, Japan ranks 210 in terms of population growth during 2014, according to the CIA. The nation also ranks 222 in birth rate and 208 in fertility rate. This chart posted by Quartz shows the declining population of Japan's largest city:

As a whole, Japan lost 244,000 people in 2013, according to the BBC. The nation experienced a population boom following World War II and then another during the early 1970s. Since then, the population has been consistently dropping with each passing age group. As of 2014, 25.1% of Japan was over the age of 65. This chart from The Interpreter shows how the population of young people has been in decline for the better part of four decades:

In addition, the number of commuters traveling into Tokyo to work has been consistently dropping since reaching its peak in 1995. This chart of daytime population posted by Quartz illustrates the decline:

So although the train will cut off an hour of time between Tokyo and Osaka, the railway may have few riders by the time 2045 rolls around, right as Japan is set to dip below 100 million residents.

SEE ALSO: 13 Reasons Why Japanese Is Easier Than You Think

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The Russian One is a new commuter tram that looks like something from a sci-fi film.

The futuristic tram features LED cabin lighting, felt-covered sofas, wooden handrails, and sliding glass doors that operate by touchscreen.

Luckily, photographer Ilya Varlamov was able to snap some pictures of the new Russian One prototype, right from the showroom floor.

Note: All photos shown are used with permission.

The Russia One is covered in stunning glass paneling.

This is the tram's designer, Alexei Maslov.

The interior of the tram is incredibly beautiful.

Volkswagen recently announced that its U.S. auto sales dropped by a staggering 22% in June. This will mark the fourth time in the last six months that the brand has experienced a double digit fall in sales. In that same time, its stock is down more than 5%. 

Even though Volkswagen has sold more that 3 million cars worldwide so far this year, less than 180,000 of them were in the U.S.

As Volkswagen Group, now the second largest automaker in the world, continues to experience worldwide growth, it is troubling that its most prominent mass-market brand is having a hard time in one of its most important markets.

There are four major reasons for VW's struggle in the U.S.:

High Transaction Costs

VW sees itself as competing with Toyota and Ford, but consumers don't see them that way, says Alec Gutierrez, senior market analyst at Kelley Blue Book. In the Volkswagen Group family, VW's role is to build mainstream, mass-market transportation while its luxury-oriented siblings like Audi and Bentley build higher priced, fancier models.

But thanks to its European origins and a close association to its corporate siblings, consumers in the U.S. see VW as a near-luxury product. This means buyers shopping for products like the brand's Passat sedan approach the process differently than they would if they were shopping for a Honda Accord or a Toyota Camry. A Camry or Accord buyer may be willing to part with his money for a bare-bones base model, but VW shoppers want a German luxury product at a discounted price, leading them to load-up on optional goodies.

As a result, the brand is at the highest point in virtually every segment in which it competes, Gutierrez says. While VW has attempted to make its product more attractive to value shoppers by offering de-contented models, the typical VW still costs more than its competitors.

According to KBB, the average transaction cost for a Passat sedan is $27,300. In comparison, the average midsize sedan on the market costs $25,000, with the Ford Fusion coming in at $26,000 and an Accord $25,200. 

Another reason for VW's higher price point is the brand's inclusion of premium technology even in lower level models. The company chose to include complicated turbocharging systems and advanced DSG automated twin-clutch gearboxes on economy models, while competitors like the Honda Civic, Ford Focus, and Toyota Corolla employ cheaper and more conventional technology. The availability of such options is a boon for consumers, but it prevents VW from competing on price with its less sophisticated competitors. 

Lack of a Competitive Compact Crossover

At 12.9% growth, the crossover SUV segment is the single fastest growing sector of the automotive market, according to The Wall Street Journal. While VW's Tiguan compact crossover is a fairly competent car, it is not nearly as affordable or fuel efficient as segment leaders like the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, says Gutierrez.

And the difference in sales is staggering. According to the Journal, in the first six months of 2014, Honda has shipped almost 155,000 CR-Vs and Toyota has sold 117,000 RAV4s. On the other hand, VW has sold just 13,000 Tiguans this year, and that figure is down 15.1% from last year. 

A History of Questionable Reliability

For much of the past decade, Volkswagen has been plagued with powertrain reliability issues in the high volume four- and five-cylinder engines that power Passat, Jettas, and other VW products, according to Consumer Reports.

In the past few years, the automaker has made significant strides in quality and recieved high marks from reviewers at the publication.

Still, there seems to be a stigma that lingers in the minds of mass-market shoppers who place a premium on reliability. This stigma is further enforced by publications like JD Power's 2014 initial quality and vehicle dependability surveys, where VW scored below industry average in both. 

A Crowded Marketplace

The final factor for Volkswagen's slipping sales is a marketplace that is growing more and more crowded with competitive products. A decade ago, VW's mass-market products only had to contend with challengers from the major Japanese manufacturers and a couple of domestic products like the Ford Focus. In the decade since, the market has changed significantly.

Not only are the Japanese brands still riding high; Volkswagen must now also compete with Hyundai and Kia from Korea, and a major resurgence from Detroit's Big 3. Even though total U.S auto sales have done from just under 17 million units in 2004 to more than 21 million in 2013, such growth can not outstrip the growing intrusion of new competitors. 

How Volkswagen Can Come Back

The potential fixes are many, but one thing the brand can do is simply embrace the image their consumers already have of them, says Gutierrez.

Instead of forcing their way into mass-market segment, VW could change course and become near-luxury manufacturer.

This may be difficult and risky for Volkswagen, because moving into a higher price point could potentially cannibalize sales of Audi's A3 and A4 models, which sell for between $35,000 and $45,000. And a move up-market would risk the brand becoming reduced to a niche luxury manufacturer, which does not mesh with VW's already successful global presence as a major mass-market brand. It remains to be seen how the company will try to change its image — and sales figures — in the U.S.

SEE ALSO: Volvo's New SUV Is More Powerful Than A Muscle Car And As Clean As A Prius

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Passengers stranded onboard a Frontier Airlines plane recieved an unexpected delivery of 38 pizzas courtesy of the flight's captain, Gerhard Brandner. Their plane was on the way from Washington Dulles Airport when it was forced to land in Cheyenne, Wyoming, due to bad weather at its destination in Denver, reports NBC News. 

Having been delayed for hours without any food, Brandner took it upon himself to feed his 160 hungry passengers. 

"I was getting hungry and we are kind of a big family here at Frontier; we take care of each other and I figured it was time to take care of my passengers so I called Domino's and ordered some pizza," Brandner told the Denver FOX affiliate. " I'm known for that, whoever is with me, they're not going to go hungry." 

via Logan Torres, D.C. to Denver took 7 hours instead of 3 due to #9wx. Captain ordered pizza in Cheyenne #9Newspic.twitter.com/YZ8jcw7F6h

— Jeremy Moore (@JeremyDanMoore) July 8, 2014

Andy Ritchie, the manager at a Cheyenne-area Domino's, said Brandner called around 10:30 p.m. Monday night with an order of 38 pizzas to be delivered to his plane. 

"We took [the pies] up to the front desk at the airport and they escorted our driver back and they handed the pizzas directly to the flight attendants,"Ritchie told AFP. 

Once the pizzas had been ordered, the captain got on the loudspeaker to let the passengers know the pies were on their way.

"He said, 'Ladies and gentleman, Frontier Airlines is known for being one of the cheapest airlines in the U.S., but your captain is not cheap,'" passenger Logan Marie Thomas told the FOX affiliate. "'I just ordered pizza for the entire plane.'" 

Ritchie also confirmed with AFP that the captain paid for several hundred dollars worth of pies by credit card but could not confirm whose card was used. 

The flight reportedly took off for Denver shortly after receving its valuable delivery of pizzas. 

SEE ALSO: Nike Chairman Phil Knight Is Building An Awesome Hangar For His $65 Million Jet

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MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A cargo train used by Mexicans and Central Americans to travel toward the U.S. border derailed in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca on Wednesday, stranding about 1,300 migrants, emergency services said.

Many of the migrants aboard were young people and nobody was injured when the train nicknamed "the Beast" came off the tracks, a spokesman for local emergency services said.

Since last October, more than 50,000 unaccompanied minors, most from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, have been caught illegally crossing the southwest border of the United States.

Children say that they are fleeing violence at home and hope that they will be able to stay in the United States.

Several days of heavy rain in southern Mexico may have caused the train to derail, authorities said.

(Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Writing by Joanna Zuckerman Bernstein; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

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Royal Caribbean wants to take cruising to the next level with its new ships, Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas, which are being billed at the "world's most futuristic and advanced ships."

English TV producer Jason Bradbury teamed up with Royal Caribbean to produce a video detailing the ships' new features. Both will offer futuristic technology aimed at making cruising even more enjoyable and entertaining.

One of the major features on the new boats will be the North Star, a glass capsule modeled after the London Eye, which will suspend passengers 300 feet above the deck. This feature will operate whether the ship is docked or sailing.Another special feature, called Two70°, is a room that offers 270-degree views of the ocean. Robotic screens will also project images — either real or imaginary — onto the room's massive windows, creating the illusion of a new location.The ships will also offer RipCord by iFly, an experience that uses a wind tunnel to simulate the feeling of skydiving. And Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas will host Sea-Plex, an entertainment center that transforms to accommodate the desired activity, whether it's rollerblading, driving bumper cars, or playing basketball.The ships will each have 18 decks and 2,090 state rooms. Even interior rooms will have ocean views with the help of "virtual balconies," which offer real-time views of the sea.The ships can each hold 4,180 passengers at double occupancy. Quantum of the Seas is set to sail in November 2014 from New York, while Anthem of the Seas will sail from Southampton, UK, in April 2015.

SEE ALSO: The 10 Hottest Travel Destinations Of The Future

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Jaguar Land Rover is on its way to making much smarter cars, according to The Telegraph.

The company recently revealed a new self-learning technology that will enable Jaguars and Land Rovers to detect drivers and their preferences while also reminding drivers of upcoming events.

The idea is that the cars will learn from your habits, schedules, and preferences so that it can automatically and independently act.

Jaguar Land Rover has not yet confirmed when this technology will be in the hands of consumers, but it says it could happen in the next few years.

"Our new learning algorithm means information learnt about you will deliver a completely personalised driving experience and enhance driving pleasure," Dr. Wolfgang Epple, director of research and technology for Jaguar Land Rover, told The Telegraph.

Here are some of the cool things that the technology will enable:

While you're sitting enjoying a cup of coffee, your car will be heating up or cooling down to your preferred temperature.

It will also send you helpful reminders based on your day's calendar.

As you approach the car, it will detect your smartphone and unlock the vehicle.

It will send you a notification of when to leave for a meeting based on current traffic.

And it will send a message to the person you're meeting with if you're held up in traffic.

The car will also give you smarter alerts for when your gas rill run out and where you can refill.

To learn more about the technology you can watch this video: 

SEE ALSO: 10 Ways Technology Will Change The World By 2025

SEE ALSO: How To Turn Any Car Into A Smart Car For $100

SEE ALSO: This Startup Is Giving You A Cheaper Alternative To Uber, As Long As You're Okay Sharing A Car With Strangers

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There's been a virtual civil war happening in the battle to create the next generation of motor vehicles. The battle is between plug-ins and fuel cells.

You may have heard more about about plug-ins thanks to Tesla, which has single handedly revived the market for a technology that was otherwise going nowhere. Tesla's foe — and indeed, that is how Elon Musk regards the technology — is fuel-cell vehicles, which run on hydrogen.

Fuel-cell vehicles have seen their own recent jolt thanks to more established automakers like Toyota, which just got a major boost from the Japanese government in the form of fuel-cell vehicle subsidies. At least three other major automakers plan to release FCVs in the near future. 

Tesla is enjoying lots of momentum — its shares are up about 50% this year — and the company has embarked on an unprecedented capex odyssey to double the world's supply of lithium ion batteries and expand its charging networks. Can they really be derailed by fuel cells? Or could the two technologies even learn to get along someday? 

Let's back up for a moment.

What are fuel cells? 

Fuel cells take hydrogen and turn it into electricity. The most common way of doing this involves charging a special material, called a proton exchange membrane, to separate out the proton and electron from a hydrogen atom. The electron gets captured as electricity, then recombines with the proton and a supply of oxygen and comes out as water.

If you stack a bunch of these guys together, you get a fuel cell. Here's what it looks like in the inside of a car. There's only a motor in the front; the fuel cell is in the middle of the car. 

Pros and cons

The principal advantage of fuel-cell vehicles is that you don't have to plug them in. Instead, you simply go to a fuel station and refill your car with hydrogen. Battery electrics, on the other hand, require you to leave your car at a charging station for hours (or a little more than an hour in the case of a Tesla). Environmentally, while neither generate direct emissions, creating the hydrogen, and the raw electricity for batteries, requires burning fossil fuels upstream at a power plant. So, neither is truly emission free.

However, there remain huge gaps in fuel cells' charging networks, while those for battery electric are much more widespread.

Here's the map for fuel cells:

And for battery-electric charging stations:

California battleground

Despite its Fremont digs, Tesla does not rule the California roost. The state plans to have 25 hydrogen fueling stations operating by fall of next year capable of handling 4,000 new vehicles. A new study says existing gasoline stations can safely store and dispense hydrogen, which could allow that figure to jump.

In fact, many hydrogen vehicles start out being only available in California. And because of how the state's complex emissions credit rules are calculated, hydrogen-powered vehicles earn more points for range and speed of refueling than do battery-electric cars, according to GreenCarReports. Indeed, the California Air Resources Board projected in 2012 that there would eventually be more fuel cells on the road than battery electrics:

Governor Jerry Brown recently signed an executive order calling for 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles on California roadways by 2025. The state is actually one of eight states that together hope to put 3.3 million zero-emission. The program's incentives are fuel source-agnostic.  

Getting cheaper ... at least automakers hope so

To date, most fuel-cell infrastructure has been directed toward power plants that run on hydrogen. A recent note from Navigant Research indicates more sectors are looking to fuel cells to provide sources of power independent of the grid in case of natural disasters. Fuel cells have also found their way into warehouses — Wal-Mart has been using fuel cells as cost- and labor-saving devices for its forklifts; they allow for lower refueling times.

Fuel cell automakers are hoping all this capacity spills over — Toyota, Ford, GM, and Hyundai all plan to roll out new FCVs. Adam Jonas says they don't have much choice: He sees their push as the result of failing to make a good enough plug-in electric. "We are not aware of any recent breakthrough in the field of hydrogen fuel cells," he wrote in a recent note. "What we are aware of, however, is a failure of most EVs to achieve their stated volume targets." He calls their doubling down on fuel cells, "a diversionary tactic to slow down, if not completely reset, a regulatory framework scripted to support mass adoption of EVs that don’t appear ready for prime time."  

SEE ALSO: These fuel cell charts should bring back bad memories

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A valet for a five-star hotel in New Delhi, India, crashed a car worth hundreds of thousands of dollars as shocked pedestrians dodged out of the way.

Check out the video:

The Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder slowly inches up behind the other cars in a line in front of the hotel, then rockets forward and crashes into another car before slamming into a barrier.

The valet was injured in the accident, according to the Times of India.

The owner of the Lamborghini, who works in the construction business, has filed a complaint against the valet. He claims the car is worth almost $500,000.

Check out some photos of the car after the crash, as noted by The Huffington Post:

(h/t Dashiell Bennett)

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Joshua Slot, 26, is the first person to die in a Tesla, we learn via The Verge.

Slot had stolen the car from a Tesla service center and was evading police in a chase through Los Angeles, California at speeds of nearly 100 miles per hour. After pursuing officers struck a median with their car and had to be taken to the hospital, Slot kept up the speed and got into the accident that would claim his life.

The Tesla (a Model S) hit three other cars before pretty much coming apart in two. The front half, pictured above, came to rest in the street and caught fire. The rear half, pictured below, collided with a a synagogue.

Slot was ejected from the car and believed to be dead on the scene, though he was resuscitated on the way to the hospital and died from his injuries later. His is the first publicly reported death of someone driving a Tesla.

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For as long as their have been cars on the road, there have been innovative car owners who have thought of some truly ingenious solutions to their car woes.

We came up with 14 awesome car hacks that may make your next car ride a little more pleasant (thanks to Farmers Insurance for the idea).

1. De-ice your locks with hand sanitizer.

Car locks can ice over in the winter. So squirt a little waterless hand sanitizer on your key and insert it in the lock. The same alcohol content that kills germs on dirty hands also melts away the ice in the lock.

2. Remove dents with dry ice.

The extreme cold of dry ice can help pop out dents. Pick some up at your local grocery store. Remember to pick it up with gloves, since dry ice can hurt your skin. Then apply it to the dent repeatedly until it’s gone.

3. Clean your engine with soap and water.

A spotless engine is easier to service. Clean it often with water and a little dishwasher detergent (degreaser works well, too). First, cover all the sensitive areas (electrical parts, battery, air intake, and distributor) with plastic bags, then scrub and rinse the engine with a soft rag. Remember to remove all plastic bags once you’ve cleaned all the necessary surfaces.

4. Fix scratches with nail polish.

Touch-up paint always works best, but if you’re in a pinch, clear nail polish helps to fill in scratches and cover up exposed metal to avoid rust.

5. Unlock your car with a shoelace.

Locking yourself out of your car is always frustrating and a little embarrassing. But don’t let it ruin your day. Tie a loop in a shoelace large enough to wrap around your door lock. Work it into the space between the car and the door, then move it until the loop fits around the door lock. Lasso it, and lift up the lock. This only works for cars with upper lock mechanisms. You can always call a roadside assistance service to help get your door unlocked, too.6. Substitute a scented candle for an air freshener.

Place a scented candle in an unused cup holder on a hot day. As the candle melts, it will slowly release its scent. Be sure to use a candle in a glass container to avoid destroying the cup holder and other parts of your car's interior (via reddit user churninbutter).

7. Improve fuel economy by “hypermiling.”

Like clipping coupons and scoping out deals, there are thrifty ways to save on fuel economy, too. Try giving the car in front of you more space. Then you can coast to a stop instead of slamming on the breaks. You can also turn off your engine whenever you’re stopped for more than a few minutes, and use cruise control to maintain your speed.

8. Remember where you parked with smartphone photos. 

Parking lots and garages can be endless mazes. So take out your smartphone and snap a few pictures of your location and markers around your car, and you’ll find it again in no time.

9. Clean foggy headlights with toothpaste. 

Over time, headlights get oxidized and dirty. But the same stuff that makes your teeth shine can help make your headlights bright again, too. Slather plenty of the toothpaste on your headlights, buff it in with a dry cloth, rinse with water, and wipe clean for clear headlights on the cheap.

10. Use a staple remover on tough key rings.

We have all had to deal with difficult-to-open key rings. One way to get around that is to use a staple remover to prop open the key ring as you slide the key on or off. Be sure not to stab yourself. 

11. Clear your windshield with a razor blade. 

Dead bugs, sap, and other gunk can spot up your windshield. Sticky stuff like that won’t come off with washer fluid, so scraping it off with a razor blade. Be extremely careful not to cut yourself or others in the process.

12. Lighten your keychain to protect your ignition. 

A heavy keychain can weigh your pocketbook down and make your jeans look bulky and awkward. But it can also weigh down your ignition switch, causing premature wear and tear. Keep your keys lean to protect your car's ignition.

13. Clean out the mess in your trunk to increase gas mileage.

Many of us live out of our cars. But you may not know is that all of the "stuff" in you car is costing you money. According to the EPA, every extra 100 pounds of weight can reduce your fuel economy by 2%, or roughly seven cents per gallon ( at $3.70/gallon). Seven cents may not sound like a lot, but it can add up to as much as $73 a year for someone who fills up 20 gallons a week. 

14. Keep kitty litter on hand for icy roads.

If you are ever stuck on an icy road, spread some kitty litter around the drive wheels of your car for added traction. Since most kitty litter is made of a mixture of either bentonite clay or silica, it will give a car's tires something to hold onto. For those in rear-wheel-drive cars, the added weight of a big bag of kitty litter in the trunk will also help improve grip on a slippery road. 

SEE ALSO: 4 Reasons Americans Aren't Buying Volkswagens Anymore

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The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission's threats against drivers who work for Lyft caused the ride-sharing company to delay its planned launch in the city. However, the commission isn't the only player in local government who controls Lyft's future in New York. 

The TLC's day-to-day operations are governed by Commissioner Meera Joshi and, according to the agency's website, a staff of approximately 600 employees. According to Ethan Gerber, the executive director and general counsel of the Greater New York Taxi Association, the TLC has its own police force of about 300 officers in order to enforce taxi regulations. The city agency has threatened to fine Lyft drivers and even confiscate cars found in violation — a relatively common occurrence already with cabs that pick up unlicensed street hails.

"They could seize the cars. They could completely confiscate the cars. The TLC does seize illegally operating vehicles every year, hundreds of them," Gerber said.

New York City taxi policy is relatively complicated. There are essentially three types of legal taxis. Yellow cabs are the fare-operated traditional cars that pick up street hails and are concentrated in lower Manhattan, the two airports in Queens, and some of the more upscale neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Green cabs are the "Boro Taxis" which can pick up street hails only in neighborhoods outside of lower Manhattan. Black cabs, or livery cabs, can pick up only prearranged rides. Cars picking up unlicensed street hails are frequently called "gypsy cabs."

TLC policy-making is determined by a board of up to nine members, the agency's spokesman, Allan Fromberg, told Business Insider Friday. After two recent resignations, including Iris Weinshall, a former city transportation commissioner and wife of Senator Chuck Schumer (D-New York), and David Yassky, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg's former TLC commissioner, there are currently seven members and two vacancies that Mayor Bill de Blasio can fill, Fromberg said. 

"The TLC board is one of the most active boards in the State of New York. The board meets monthly ... The TLC is constantly coming up with new initiatives which have to go through the board," said Bhairavi Desai, the executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance.

Desai cited the initial "Boro Tax" proposal, a new healthcare fund for drivers, and the new "Taxi of Tomorrow" model as some important initiatives that came from the board. 

In an added twist that doesn't bode well for Lyft's prospects in the city, de Blasio is widely seen as an ally of the yellow taxi owners who helped fill his 2013 campaign war chest with around $300,000, according to the New York Times. The Times reported in May that the de Blasio administration has moved to slow the growth of the green cabs, which emerged out of a Bloomberg initiative to expand taxi service in the outer boroughs, rarely visited by yellow taxis, where the "gypsy" cabs often pick up street hails illegally.

In the case of Lyft, however, Fromberg insisted there was no TLC board policy-making involved in the latest crackdown. Because Lyft, which was preparing to launch in the city Friday night but delayed the move until July 14, is openly operating without TLC licenses, he described the city as obligated to stop the ride-sharing app's drivers from picking up passengers in New York City.

"It’s the law. It’s the administrative law code that actually says Lyft is not in any way shape or form legal," he said. "They are unlicensed therefore they are illegal. End of story."

Because of this, Gerber, top official in the yellow taxi industry, said Lyft could only operate in NYC with its existing model if TLC rules, city law, and state law were amended.

"The Lyft model that they’re trying to do is outside of all regulation. They’re trying to claim that they’re a ride-sharing service and somehow they’re beyond regulation. But if they’re doing it for profit, they’re fully in the regulatory agency of the City of New York," he said. "The only difference between this and a gypsy car, which is a car operating without any TLC licensure whatsoever, is that it’s using an app instead of someone raising their hand. It’s just as illegal."

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An unprecedented operation to re float the shipwrecked Costa Concordia began Monday in Italy, with salvage workers attempting to raise the rusty liner from its watery grave on the shores of a rugged Tuscan island.

"I am a bit nervous," said Salvage Master Nick Sloane as he headed out to the wreck to oversee the first-ever operation to float a ship of this size from a control room onboard the liner, two and a half years after it sank in a nighttime disaster that left 32 people dead.

Media crews from around the world crowded onto the port to see off the globe-trotting South African Sloane, who was dressed in his trademark casual blue jeans with a red life jacket over a black T-shirt.

The liner will be refloated over a six-to-seven day period and then be towed away to Genoa port in northern Italy for scrapping, where it is expected to arrive later this month.

The 114,500-tonne vessel will be raised two metres (6.5 feet) on Monday off the artificial platform it has rested on since it was righted in September.

Fears of a bad turn in the weather forcing a halt to the operation before it began were quelled as the rain cleared at dawn and tug boats carrying divers and engineers sped out to the Concordia to be on hand for emergencies.

Air will slowly be pumped into 30 tanks or "sponsons" attached to both sides of the 290-metre Concordia to expel the water inside and raise the ship.

It will then be towed away from the shore and moored using anchors and cables. Thirty-six steel cables and 56 chains will hold the sponsons in place.

"The risks are that the ship could bend as it is raised, or the chains underneath it could snap," Sloane told AFP before the operation.

"There will be 42 people on board during the first manoeuvre. If disaster strikes we will evacuate through emergency escapes on the bow and stern," he said.

The whole operation is expected to take around six hours.

If all goes well, all the sponsons would be lowered into position on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"That will be the point of no-return," senior engineer Franco Porcellacchia told reporters on the island on the eve of the operation.

- 'There are risks' -

The main refloating operation is set to take place between Thursday and Saturday, when air will be pumped into the tanks to raise the ship and the emerging decks will be cleared of any debris and checked for structural damage.

Final checks will then be carried out before the Concordia it dragged off on its final Mediterranean journey.

The area is in one of Europe's largest marine sanctuaries -- a haven for dolphins and whales -- and environmentalists have warned about the dangers of toxic waste or fuel leaking into the sea as the ship is raised and towed.

"It's an unprecedented operation and, as with anything being done for the first time, there are risks. But we are confident," Porcellacchia said.

The Concordia -- twice as big as the Titanic -- crashed off Giglio on the night of January 13, 2012, forcing many of its 4,229 passengers and crew from 70 countries to jump into the sea as lifeboat pulleys failed.

The ship's captain Francesco Schettino is on trial for manslaughter, causing a shipwreck, and abandoning the vessel before all passengers had evacuated.

Four other crew members and a Costa Crociere executive have plea-bargained and the company has accepted limited responsibility as Schettino's employer.

On the night of the disaster, survivors were fed and clothed by locals, with many taking shelter in the tiny church facing the port, where priest Lorenzo Pasquotti led a solemn service on Sunday evening in memory of the victims.

The body of Indian waiter Russel Rebello is still missing and there will be a search for his remains during the refloating.

Local residents said they would be watching anxiously.

"We really hope it's going to go well. If, God forbid, the ship does sink, I only pray it does so far away from the island, en route to Genoa," said Giovanni Rum, 36, as he played with his nephews on the pier in the sunshine.

Shopkeeper Silvia said the residents are now looking forward to "waving farewell to the rusting hulk blighting our once pristine shoreline."

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