Design
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With help from Autodesk software, VW has automated some of the design process and made some unique, weight-reduced parts
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BMW plans to tone down styling of its electric cars
To stand out, or not to stand out. That is the question many electric automakers are asking as electric cars transition from being something new and different to being just another drive system for all types of cars. Among the most recognizable electric-car designs are those that stand out from the...
Eric C. Evarts -
2019 Toyota Prius will be restyled to look more like Prime: report
Global sales of compact hatchbacks are hardly surging, and fuel economy for all types of vehicles is steadily improving. Even given those factors, though, the fourth-generation Toyota Prius hybrid has had an especially rough road since its launch as a 2016 model. At just 108,661 deliveries across...
John Voelcker -
Electric I-Pace may lead Jaguar design, style into the future
In January 2007, Jaguar dropped a bombshell, in the form of the C-XF concept sedan it unveiled at that year's Detroit auto show. The sleek, fastback shape, simple rectangular grille with recessed mesh, and swept-back cat's-eye headlights yanked Jaguar design out of its fusty retro-traditional...
John Voelcker -
Chevy Bolt EV user interface: reviewer calls it best of any electric car
The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV is an amazing, long-range electric vehicle that won multiple awards for good reason. Driving the EV for an extended test for the first time, it’s obvious this is the future of driving. (Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently predicted that 50 percent of new cars will be...
VentureBeat's GreenBeat -
Toyota Prius design, popular in Japan, not a hit in U.S.
The Toyota Prius' design may be a disadvantage in the U.S., analysts say.
Stephen Edelstein -
Most car buyers would be hard-pressed to name a single automobile designer working today. But it wasn't always that way: names like Raymond Loewy and Harley Earl were known well outside the design studios where they created the "cars of tomorrow." A half-century-old concept from designer Brooks Stevens underscores the futuristic nature of hydrogen fuel-cell propulsion, both in the 1960s and today. DON'T MISS: Toyota Mirai manga: hydrogen fuel cell beats electric cars, plug-in hybrids As described in Hemmings Motor News, the Utopia Concept created by Stevens in 1960 pioneered numerous ideas...
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Porsche Mission E electric car concept design video
Porsche designers talk about the Mission E electric car concept.
Stephen Edelstein -
Toyota Setsuna electric car concept: wood body, 28-mph speed
Toyota's reluctance to entertain the notion that battery-electric cars have any place in the future of zero-emission vehicles is well documented by now. So it was a surprise when the company announced that it would show an all-electric concept car, the Setsuna, in its first appearance at the Milan...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model X Sun Visor Design: Genius 'Delight' Or Overkill?
Elon Musk said the Tesla Model X is more complicated than it needs to be. Is he right?
Stephen Edelstein -
2016 Toyota Prius Was Delayed Due To Redesign For Sportier Style
Toyota executives reportedly rejected the first finished 2016 Prius design.
Stephen Edelstein -
Infiniti Q80 Inspiration Hybrid Concept Unveiled At Paris Motor Show
Infiniti has made little secret of its desire to launch a new flagship that would finally fill the void left by the departure of its largest sedan, the Q45. Today, at the 2014 Paris Motor Show, we now have our first solid look at the automaker’s progress--in the form of the stunning Q80...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
It's long been acknowledged that the current Nissan Leaf electric car is a radical and distinctive design, just as the landmark 2004 Toyota Prius hybrid was. But some portion of potential buyers, who may be amenable to the benefits of driving a battery-electric vehicle, won't consider the Leaf because of its "weird" looks. DON'T MISS: New 2018 Nissan Leaf: More Details On New Styling, Range Now the British magazine Auto Express has produced five renderings of what it thinks the next-generation 2018 Nissan Leaf will look like. They're entirely speculative, but they're based on the styling...
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Top-Secret Tata Composite Car Styled By Lamborghini Countach Designer Gandini?
Humble cars designed by supercar stylists are nothing new. The original Fiat Panda, one of Europe's best-loved cars through the 1980s, was the work of Giorgetto Giugiaro, best known for cars like the Lotus Esprit. The first-generation Volkswagen Golf was another Giugiaro product. Marcello Gandini...
Antony Ingram -
Is This The World's Most Beautiful Electric Bicycle?
A complaint we hear a lot about electric vehicles is that they're simply not beautiful enough. We can't think of a good reason that few seem capable of making electric transport look good, though in fairness the same can be said for many internal combustion vehicles too. Lack of beauty is not a...
Antony Ingram -
Mercedes-Benz Ener-G-Force Photo Gallery: 2012 LA Auto Show
At the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show this week, Mercedes-Benz unveiled a striking new SUV concept said to be capable of packing a hydrogen fuel cell stack, lithium-ion battery and four in-wheel electric motors. The concept is the Mercedes-Benz Ener-G-Force, and although it doesn’t herald a new...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
How Toyota Made The 2012 RAV4 EV More Aerodynamic
As most electric car fans will tell you, it’s much easier for automakers to build an all-electric car from scratch than it is to repurpose an existing gasoline model with an electric drivetrain. In the case of Toyota’s RAV4EV however, the Japanese automaker, with help from Californian...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Where Have All The Beautiful Electric Cars Gone?
There are people around who'll tell you that "all cars look the same". They are of course talking baloney. We aren't living in the 1980s any more, where cars were differentiated largely by the badge on the front, their lines dictated by ruler and set-square. Today's automotive tapestry is a rich...
Antony Ingram -
What happens when you give an Italian design studio free reign to create an electric car wearing one of Italy's most celebrated badges? You get the Abarth ScorpION concept, by IED. Unusually the ScorpION wasn't present on Abarth's own stand amongst the hotted-up Fiat 500s and a single seater series race car, instead lurking across the hall on Istituto Europeo di Design's (IED) own stand. This led us straight past the car several times before noticing it, a fairly subdued gray paint scheme not attracting as much attention as the design itself deserves. The concept behind the ScorpION is that...
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The 2011 Chevy Volt: Made Alongside GM's Gas-Guzzling V8s
Think of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and very little seems conventional about it. With a range of 40 miles per charge and a range-extending gasoline engine used to provide extra power when the battery pack is depleted, Chevrolet is keen to push the car’s green credentials. Built at the Hamtramck...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
If No One Notices Your Smart ForTwo, Why Not Wrap It In Plaid?
You've got to be at least somewhat extroverted to drive a 2010 Smart ForTwo minicar, the smallest car sold in North America. People stare at it, point at you, and often ask you variations of, "What on earth makes you want to drive that?" Now, for the most extroverted of Smart owners, there's a new...
John Voelcker -
2011 Tesla Roadster 2.5: New Looks, Wheels, Seats, Less Noise
Tesla's on a roll, it seems. Two days after its successful public stock offering, the company has released details of the latest updates to its Roadster electric sports car--known as "Roadster 2.5" after software-release numbering. The 2.5 version sports some new styling at front and rear...
John Voelcker -
Five Things EVs Will Need To Do Before They Become Mainstream.
Let's face it. EVs are still a very small, very niche market. Expensive, short on supply and not even universally supported throughout the USA there are a whole series of achievements EVs will need to attain before they are considered regular cars. Here's the five most important things EVs will...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
With Initial EV Prices High, Is Conversion an Option?
Early this week, Mitsubishi announced that the U.K. purchase price of the 2010 i-MiEV would be a hefty £33,699 ($50,465). With prices for plug-in vehicles on the high side for the foreseeable future, is conversion a better solution for drivers who don't want to wait to plug in? Granted, the...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield