Designers and artistes opine on the looks of the new BMWs
New ideas are not always embraced. This holds true for automotive design. Two of the most controversial automobiles BMW has ever produced, at least in terms of their styling, are the 7 Series sedan and the Z4 roadster.
As a way of understanding the philosophy behind BMW's design direction, and to take a different approach to its cars' new styling, european car interviewed designers and artists both from within and outside of the automotive industry, including some involved in architectural design, product design, fashion design and fine art.
What do these designers and artists see when they view a new BMW automobile?
To lend some direction to their responses, we asked three questions: What is your background? What kind of cars do you love? And, of course, what do you think of the design of the Z4 and 7 Series?
Jay Shuster was born in Pontiac, Michigan. He attained a four year Industrial Design degree from CCS (College for Creative Studies) in 1993. Today, Jay is a concept artist at Pixar.
It is a bit of a full circle to reconnect with Jay Shuster. He worked at Alias Research briefly, his life had a lot in store for him, but nontheless, he contibuted to the team that gave birth to the paint technology at Alias Research that now lives in products like AliasStudio and SketchBook Pro. Jay left the company just before I joined, so I never had the opportunity to meet him until years later. Despite this, his name has always been familiar to me, whether it was through stories I'd heard from mutual friends or following his inspiring work in the industry.
Mercedes-Benz and Wallpaper* magazine have started a multi-disciplinary design competition inspired by the GLK model. The contest is open to six selected European design schools.
After more than 15,000 miles in our regular XK, the extra power and torque from our 2008 Jaguar XKR's supercharged 4.2-liter V-8 is instantly noticeable, even when feather-footing around town. Find out more about the 2008 Jaguar XKR from the automotive experts at Motor Trend.
Toyota sent a stark message to the car-making world Thursday, signaling that it is not immune from the contagion infecting the North American automobile market.
Here are a few of the "gotta-have" cars arriving on the scene over the next 24 months. Make room in the garage. Find out more from the automotive experts at Motor Trend.
Want tickets to see the BTCC at Thruxton? CAR Online has teamed up with the RAC to offer you the chance to win tickets to the fourth round of the HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship. One lucky winner will...
BMW?s twin-turbo 3.0-litre straight six has won the 2008 International Engine of the Year award. It?s the engine?s second successive victory and BMW?s record-breaking fourth consecutive win. BMW has scooped the top award in six of the last ten years....
Toyota Motor Corp. has offered to buy back Tacoma pickup trucks with
frames rusted beyond repair and to extend the warranty on over 800,000
of the vehicles in North America.
In these two official videos the design team of the Buick Invicta Concept discusses how they worked together and shaped the vehicle using GM's Global Collaboration Center, which allowed them to work with colleagues from around the world.
Toyota Motor Corp said on Friday its improved FCHV zero-emission fuel-cell car completed a road test from Osaka to Tokyo, covering 560 km (350 miles), on a single tank of hydrogen.
A walkthrough of the modelling process of a Caterham in 3DS MAX using polygonal modelling, inclusing an overview of the final composition in Photoshop.
Audi has released initial details of its revised 2008 Audi A8 lineup, with Ingolstadt's flagship receiving multiple updates and enhancements across the range, including its W-12-powered and S8 variants. Find out more from the automotive experts at Motor Trend.
On 10-13 July 2008 the BA (Hons) Transportation design course at Northumbria University will be exhibiting the students' final year projects at the New Designers event held in London. The range of works on display will include automotive, marine and product design projects.
As if 1000 horsepower, 0-60 mph in 2.25 seconds and the huge rear wing didn't attract enough attention. It just had to be in Snake Skin Green. According to Hennessey, this is the first and only Venom Twin-Turbo in this color, and it's listed for sale on HennesseyPerformance.com. It comes with the 1200-horsepower upgrade option, VenomAero body kit, KW adjustable coilover suspension, Brembo brakes, lightweight wheels, and more. The car's new owner will also be able to make Bugatti Veyron owners green with envy as they see this Viper's taillights fading into the distance. Click away in the full-res gallery below.
Click above for a high-res gallery of the ACS1 Cabrio.
In typical AC Schnitzer fashion, the German tuner wasted no time getting to work on the new BMW 1-series cabrio. Then again, it didn't take much effort to port over the work AC did for the standard 1-series coupe to its softer, drop-top sibling.
The ACS1 Cabrio package includes all the Schitzerfied exterior elements (new front bumper, rear bumper with diffuser and side skirts) and interior bits (silver carbon fiber trim, aluminum pedal and shifter, etc.) you'd expect. More importantly, AC is offering tuning packages for every model in the 1-series lineup, including the 135i, 120d and 123d. The two diesel mills get a bump in power to 200 hp and 240 hp respectively, with the 135i outputting 360 hp through the use of a revised exhaust and some ECU tweaks. Naturally, AC is offering up a plethora of wheel options, sized from 17- to 19-inches.
Toyota Motor Corp. has offered to buy back Tacoma pickup trucks with
frames rusted beyond repair and to extend the warranty on over 800,000
of the vehicles in North America.
Toyota Motor Corp said on Friday its improved FCHV zero-emission fuel-cell car completed a road test from Osaka to Tokyo, covering 560 km (350 miles), on a single tank of hydrogen.
When Lexus introduced the IS 300 in 2001, the company made it known that it wanted to be famous for more than its pampering luxury and build quality.
