'Make electric cars loud and safer'

ELECTRIC AND HYBRID cars should be made louder to protect people with eyesight problems, an MP and charities have urged. Mary Glindon (North Tyneside) said the Government should first ensure the vehicles are safe for all road users after pledging millions of pounds in subsidies for the ultra-low emissions market. She believes sound generators should be fitted to the vehicles to ensure visually-impaired (VI) pedestrians are aware of them.

Designer Interviews: Nelly Ben Hayoun, experience designer

This article was first published on WGSN-homebuildlife, the online trend forecasting and product design tool provides analysis, research and global creative intelligence for the fashion and apparel industry. Shortcuts Originally trained in Textile Design at ENSAAMA, Nelly Ben Hayoun graduated with an MA in Design Interactions from the RCA in 2009 She is now a lecturer for Central Saint Martins' Textile Futures MA course, and participates in conferences and events all over the world as well as regularly running workshops Ben Hayoun is currently touring her International Space Orchestra film, which will be presented at Design Indaba and is also on show at Z33's latest exhibition Space Odyssey 2.0 Read WGSN's new experience design report, Dematerialised, for more on where this trend is heading for consumers Nelly Ben Hayoun specializes in designing large-scale and transformative experiences, often with a connection to space science. Her projects to date have included research proposals for future meats, forming an orchestra of scientists and futurists to perform an opera inspired by ground control, inventing a chair that simulates a rocket launch, and creating the experience of being inside a massive sonic boom.

Ford cuts 2010 prices by up to 15%

Ford has cut prices of its big cars by up to 15% By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 26 March 2010 12:00 Ford today announced sweeping price cuts across its large car range – lopping up to 15% off the price of models such as the Mondeo, S-Max and Galaxy. The news comes after Ford raised price four times in the past year.The Blue Oval has drawn criticism in the past for artificially high list prices, which have penalised business buyers. In the UK, company car tax is calculated by the P11D price which is based on the list price, not the transaction price, and 70% of large Fords are bought by fleets.Private buyers have historically scored large discounts on big Fords, as did corporate buyers – making many question the need for higher list prices.