Turning Honda CAD data into art with Ryoji Ikeda

The language of installations is close to design – it is about placing objects in space, and working with balance and atmosphere while interscting with people. Of course with art there is no function, solely feelings. Yet one of the latest art/car collaborations, data.anatomy[civic], adds just this.

“Where is the sustainable vehicle design?”

The notion of a 'new paradigm in car design' was a theme running through talks by five panelists at London's Royal College of Art last week, who debated "Seriously now, where is the sustainable vehicle design?" Despite disparate backgrounds, there was broad agreement that a truly sustainable form of personal transportation is unlikely to come from an established automotive firm any time soon. Panelist Rob Holdway of Giraffe Innovation was most vocal in his approach to the subject, saying "Frankly, I think the car is unacceptable - we hear a lot about the sustainable car, but I don't think there is such a thing as a sustainable car". The audience - made up mainly of RCA students - also heard from Nico Sergent of Riversimple about how the company's seven-point business model, and its open source strategy, incentivized the company to build a truly sustainable car and mobility package that the current auto model simply doesn't allow.

Daihatsu to debut three Kopen concepts in Tokyo

Three new Daihatsu Kopen concepts have been revealed ahead of their unveiling at next month's Tokyo motor show. The blue and orange concepts are the RMZ model – although they feature slight differences – while the green car is the XMZ model. The concepts measure in at 3,395mm long, 1,475mm wide and 1,275mm tall and, like the recently discontinued Copen, fit into the Japanese ‘Kei' light car category.