What's New - June 2005

Mercedes-Benz Bionic concept The Bionic showcases the potential of bionics for automobile development, and is inspired by the boxfish(!) In DaimlerChrysler's words: "Despite its boxy, cube-shaped body, this tropical fish is in fact outstandingly streamlined and therefore represents an aerodynamic ideal". This 4240mm long car that seats four has a Cd value of just 0.19 which, in combination with light-weight construction and an advanced diesel powertrain, gives 20% lower fuel consumption and up to 80% lower nitrogen oxide emissions. This reduction in NO2 is achieved by spraying 'AdBlue', an aqueous urea solution, into the exhaust system in precisely metered quantities to convert the nitrogen oxides into harmless nitrogen and water, so even if it looks like it should, it shouldn't smell fishy...

Thomas Ingenlath: Volvo Concept C to end 'vanilla' design era [w/Video]

Volvo has promised a radical change in its future design language that will be embodied in its Concept C coupé, the first concept to be developed since head of design Thomas Ingenlath's appointment in July 2012. Our first look at the concept, which debuts at this month's Frankfurt motor show, comes from a video starring Ingenlath (see left). At first it seems to just show him sketching while he explains how some people see Volvo design as "vanilla" – nice, but not iconic or cutting-edge – but if we slow it down at around the 11-second mark, we get a preview of what we can expect.

Multi-touch UI reduces touchscreen interaction to simple swipes [w/video]

Touchscreens have become widespread standard features in many cars over the last few years, consolidating the modern car's many functions into one interface. But despite their advantages there's the big downside of driver distraction, something user interface designer Matthaeus Krenn believes he has solved with his UI. Unlike most other touchscreens, Krenn's interface isn't organized into menus and small, hard-to-hit buttons, but instead makes use of multi-touch gestures, reducing the accuracy and attention needed to operate key functions.