Auto Design

As anticipated, Volkswagen is ready to launch its three-door Polo after its introduction at at International Motor Show in Frankfurt. Its longer doors compared to the five-door version, new styling of the row of side windows and the dynamic lines of the sporty C-pillars give the car a nearly coupe-like appearance in its side profile. This does not rule out the option of a “real coupé” derivative. Read the rest of this entry »

Life for the Volkswagen Polo has never been easy. It is an old story: when your big brother is a world-champion, nobody pays attention to you, even if you too are a champion. or almost. The story of the VW Polo is not written with bold letter in the motoring books, yet it has done pretty well, even when it was sold at too high price not to take away sales from his big brother, or is it a sister? its highness, the Golf.

I think it is time to give the new Polo the attention and the respect it deserves, and forget the Golf. Once and for ever. If one has to make reference to another car to put it in some perspective one has to consider the kings and the queens in its market segment: the B segment, in Europe. It rivals? The Fiat Grande Punto, the Ford Fiesta, the Opel Corsa, the Peugeot 207, the Renault Clio.

In the past, when compared to them the Polo looked different from them all. More than cool, it was frozen cold. Rational and efficient, well engineered and to the point it was ready to do its job but it was not emotional.

Not many people would want to buy simply because they liked its looks. Let  me be clear onthis point: not that its look was not good. It bodywork came with an excellent design but it was far from being emotional and, let’s face it, the VW brand has never been famous for emotional cars. Now this is changing, since Walter de Silva has been asked by Martin Winterkorn to make sure that the new VW comes with the best of Italian design flavour and German engineering precision, we have seen more character and a new personality in the latest Golf and Scirocco. This is even more obvious with the new Polo.

…. to be continued…

Photo Gallery >>>>>

Within the frame of the Concorso d’Eleganza di Villa d’Este, the organisers arranged a very special exhibition at nearby Villa Erba dedicate to a special category of car design (and engineering).

With the simple title of “Streamlining” the exhibition presented by the Prototype Museum in Hamburg shows the development of car with extreme streamlined bodywork designed to minimize air resistance and maximize performance (and fuel consumption in relation to performance). Read the rest of this entry »

In autumn 1938, the plans for the high-speed Berlin-Rome road race announced by the National Socialist regime for 1939 were going full steam ahead. For this event, several automobile manufacturers designed special racing versions based on series cars and with streamlined bodies.

Read the rest of this entry »

In the period from 1946 to 1949, Petermax Müller constructed a total of six racing car by dint of admirable improvisation from the scrap of the nearby Volkswagen plant. He drove these cars to become German Champion in 1948 and 1949. The shape of these cars bore a striking resemblance to the Wanderer he drove in the Liege – Rome – Liege race before the war. The car shown here from 1948 is Müller’s former private racing car and one of two vehicles still preserved. Read the rest of this entry »

The American congress will have to say yes to the rescue of the American car industry. If not under the Bush administration, if will happen after Barack Obama replaces him at the White House.

Their 14 billion dollars “helping hand” is mainly going to save General Motor from bankruptcy and perhaps give some support to Chrysler (which will likely be the first victim of the current hurricane). Ford, for the time being, is resisting on its own as an independent company to maintain respect and credibility. It would just be happy with a favourable “credit line”, which is all right. If it happens, the sale of Volvo will give them additional breath and reach.

The government might eventually take a 20% stake into GM and become the largest (and ruling) shareholder. In addition the USA government is appointing a “Czar” to supervise the development of the American car industry, according to a policy that will give priority to the benefits of the nation, its environment, its economy at large, rather than short term profits for the management (first) and the shareholder (next). The top executives will see their unrealistic salary drastically cut. If they are allowed to keep their jobs.

Executives will see no bonus until their company (and the industry at large is well on its feet again) and shareholders may forget their dividends for a while. Read the rest of this entry »

VOLKSWAGEN BIO RUNNER.

It is 2025 and the Baja 1000 (The Americas equivalent of the Paris-Dakar) has introduced the “One Tank Unlimited Solo Class.” The only stipulations are: a) one driver and b) only one 10-gallon tank of fuel, forcing competitors to use every bit of technology, strategy, and wit to finish. In the Bio Runner, the rider is positioned inside a protective cage on a motorcycle-like saddle with controls attached to the hands and feet. These controls manipulate all wheels via synthetic muscle-based suspension that offers unparalleled control and traction.Much like a motorcycle, this system allows the rider to lean into turns as well as shift the centre of gravity by changing the position of the wheels in relation to the cab. This system offers an unparalleled degree of control and traction that ultimately results in much higher speed runs.Dual-turbine engines that run at an ultra-efficient 500,000 rpm and operate on a patented biosynthetic jet fuel power the vehicle. Pity the designers do not tell us more about the potential of this fuel that provide all the energy required for the Baja 1000. Do they know or is it just an assumption and a dream? Also considering that the vehicle also boasts an Arial Reconnaissance Drone (AR-D), which feeds video to the driver when visibility is limited and it too needs energy to fly.The Support Team Chopper transports, follows and in the event of a crash, swoops down to perform repairs. It also contains telemetry analysis software, which in the case of emergency, takes over piloting to avoid danger unseen by the driver. Designers: Derek Jenkins; Patrick Faulwetter; Ian Hilton – Photo Gallery: 

Comes November 20^th and we will know the winner of the 5^th Design Challenge.

Nine Southern California design studios of the top carmakers have presented their own concept and design of what the Race Car of the future will be in 2025.

The Design Challenge is held within the frame of the Los Angeles Auto Show that opens its gate to the public on November 21^st.

This year theme for the challenge was to «Visualize Auto Racing in the Year 2025» along the following guidelines: «Today’s race cars have ground-breaking technology to improve speed, power, performance and safety but what a difference 17 years into the future can make. Imagine race cars that go beyond the expectations and challenges of racing today, such as never needing to stop for re-fuelling or collision avoidance assistance technology for enhanced safety».

According to Chuck Pelly, director of Design Los Angeles and partner in The Design Academy, Inc. «Automotive designers have always been fascinated with Motor Sports and this year’s Design Challenge has provided them with the opportunity to use their creative talent to look at these cars with new eyes, using innovative technologies and approaches”.

Works by Audi, BMW, GM, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Volkswagen are pitted against each other to showcase their talents and further explore new ideas in automotive design.

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Entries will be judged by Tom Matano of San Francisco’s Academy of Art University, Imre Molner of Detroit’s College for Creative Studies and Stewart Reed of Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design. Daniel Simon, an established car designer and founder of Cosmic Motors, is the special guest judge this year. Simon began his design career at Volkswagen and recently published his first book: Cosmic Motors-Spaceships, Cars and Pilots of Another Galaxy. His book seems to have suggested the theme of this year challenge and the flavour of some of the works presented, whereas other works have inspired themselves to the superlative illustration technique of Syd Mead.

Starting today I am sharing with you their works. One per day. And in alphabetic order. Go to AUDI R25.