1970 Barracuda Gran Coupe Dash Woodgrain Instrument Bezel Inserts on 2040-parts.com

Volvo picks up Red Dot Design Award for new connectivity system

Volvo's Sensus Connected Touch connectivity system with the world's first voice-activated integrated Spotify connection has been awarded a 2013 Red Dot Design Award. The Sensus Connected Touch accessory turns the integrated 7-inch display into an infrared, beam-scanned touch screen that can be used even when wearing gloves. The system can be controlled using the touchscreen, the steering wheel or the center stack, while you can also voice-activate all music sources. Alain Visser, senior vice president of marketing, sales and customer service at Volvo, says, "The Red Dot Design Award confirms that this approach to an intuitive, human-centric user experience fulfils modern car owners' desire to remain constantly connected also when driving." The WiFi connection can be made using either a car-mounted 3G/4G-dongle or the driver's mobile phone, and the data is transferred by the WiFi between the phone and the Sensus Connected Touch.

Bentley Birkin Mulsanne Limited Edition revealed – just 22 being built

Bentley Birkin Mulsanne Limited Edition – just 22 being built Even Bentley aren’t immune from the lure of creating Limited Edition cars to garner extra sales and revenue, so say hello to a car Bentley say is the pinnacle of British Luxury Motoring – the Bentley Birkin Mulsanne Limited Edition. Inspired by Tim Birkin – one of the fabled Bentley Boys – the Birkin Mulsanne comes with a number of cosmetic tweaks, extra equipment as standard and a set ofd bespoke luggage to make it stand out from the ‘regular’ Mulsanne. The extra equipment includes Mulliner Driving Specification which adds in a ‘Sport’ setting as well as the traditional quilted upholstery, leather headlining and knurled detailing on the interior metalwork.

Relive Volvo's 'Emotion of Design' Google Hangout

If you missed out on Volvo's ‘Emotion of Design' Google Hangout, which was broadcast on Volvo's YouTube channel on 28 November, you can relive it here. The Hangout, which featured Volvo's exterior design chief Maximilian Missoni, neuropsychologist Dr David Lewis and Wallpaper magazine's automotive correspondent Jonathan Bell, discussed the results of the Swedish carmaker's experiment to measure the emotional response to the Volvo Concept Coupé – among other things – using an electroencephalographic (EEG) machine. Participants were asked to rate a series of images while wearing an EEG headset measuring brainwave activity, with results showing that car design and emotions were inexorably linked.