Jaguar cool in white at L.A. Auto Show with C-X16 & XKR-S Convertible

Jaguar at the LA Auto Show with a brace of white cats Jaguar may not be going to the Detroit Motor Show in January (forsaking it for Delhi) but it’s put on a show in Los Angeles with a new white version of the Jaguar C-X16 Concept (XE) and the new XKR-S Convertible. The Jaguar C-X16 – which looks set to be the Jaguar XE when it arrives – conspires to look even more production-ready at LA than it already did at Frankfurt despite, as far as we can tell, nothing more than a new coat of paint. Some of the elements that seem unlikely to make it in to production – such as the rear hatch which opens E-Type like and the ultra-modern interior – are still present, yet on the C-X16 they seem to fit; it would be a shame to see them go for the production XE.

Nissan designs A Class catamaran

Nissan has today announced that it has designed and built a catamaran as the latest part of its non-automotive design and development program. Matt Struble, who led the design and modeling team at Nissan Design America (NDA) in San Diego, will be racing the Class A Catamaran in the 2011 World Championship from August 13 through 20 in Skødstrup, Denmark. The team sought to improve and smooth all aspects of aero- and hydro-dynamics of the vessel, with the boat's composite structure designed and built in-house.

Opinion: Discovery Sport and the long-term ramifications of pandering to the crossover convergence

Having pored over the first pictures of the new Land Rover Discovery Sport and consumed the accompanying official literature, we’re left wondering why it shares so much of its design treatment with the Range Rover Evoque, while simultaneously removing the last vestiges of utility from the Discovery nameplate. From its virtually indistinguishable grille and lamp graphics, over its tapered roofline to its bespoilered tail, it’s hard to describe it as anything other than a derivative of the Evoque. The difference between a Discovery and a Range Rover it would seem, is a body coloured C-pillar.