The idea to build an open source car isn't a new one, but you've got to give vehicle design company Riversimple credit for originality. The company plans to unveil its first car in London later this month, a small two-seater that weighs roughly 700 pounds. If you agree to lease one for 20 years (yes, 20), Riversimple will throw in the cost of fuel for the lifetime of the lease.

The team decided to release the car's designs under an open source license in order to speed up the time it takes to develop the vehicle while also driving down the cost of its components. There's an altruistic value to the idea as well.

The recently announced non-profit Genivi Alliance is shaping up to be an interesting effort to build an open source platform for infotainment in cars. Some have speculated that it may represent a threat to efforts from Microsoft and others to provide automotive infotainment platforms and applications, but in this video Grahem Smethurst, chairman of the alliance, makes clear that what Genivi is working on is intended for others to build on, and claims it is not intended as a threat to proprietary players. Genivi has had the cooperation of Intel and BMW since 2006, and could create a promising new platform if it plays its cards right.