Peterbilt Trucks Hat / Cap Blue on 2040-parts.com

Dassault Systèmes and Riversimple partner for eCar Design Contest

Dassault Systèmes, in collaboration with Riversimple and the 40 Fires foundation, launched their eCar Design Contest recently, designed to encourage cooperation and the development of ideas on an open source platform. The companies had been in talks for some time regarding a joint project and this competition – a completely holistic, closed-loop approach to the building, sale and use of a car – is the result of their successful collaboration. Christopher Reitz, head designer at Riversimple, says, "The open source platform is a fantastic tool.

Mercedes S-Class Grand Edition launches

Mercedes S-Class Grand Edition - AMG cosmetics to garner the last sales It’s usually a fair assumption that when Mercedes launches a car with a ‘Grand Edition’ badge attached to its boot that the end for that model is nigh. And so it is with the Mercedes S-Class Grand Edition. So before the 2012 S-Class arrives with its Magic Sky and Magic Body and Magic everything else, Mercedes has bolted a lot of its high-end cosmetics to the more lowly S-Class models to try and wring the last few sales out of a car that is long in the tooth and no longer as good as the BMW 7 Series, Audi A8 or Jaguar XJ.

AW Design Forum: Ralph Gilles talks technology - with style

Chrysler Group is known for its rough and tough trucks and menacing muscle cars, but its design boss said technology is going to be the game-changer for car designers going forward. Ralph Gilles, who is also CEO of the Dodge brand, said cars must be able to adapt to evolving technologies while remaining striking and pleasing to the eye. Smartphones, touch screens and colorful interfaces are all becoming common inside cars.