Autodesk Automotive Days - Munich 2009

Autodesk's Automotive Days design conferences, launched in Munich in 2008, have highlighted the key growth area of digital prototyping. And at last month's conference the focus was once again broadened to include coverage of conceptual design and creative visualization (at the very beginning of the design process) and design for manufacture - at the culmination of the process. Speakers from Autodesk outlined the innovative features of their latest product suites, while keynote presentations from leading automotive designers such as Frank Stephenson of McLaren and Volvo's Rickard Franklin showed in fascinating detail how the benefits of these software systems were being maximized in busy corporate design studios.

Land Rover Defender 90 XS by Chelsea Truck

The Land Rover Defender 90 XS by the Chelsea Truck Company (owned by Kahn Design) is a nice titivation of Land Rover’s iconic off-roader. Kahn Design turn their hand to modifying Land Rovers for the residents of Cheshire, Surrey and Essex – the most recent being the Evoque RS250 Vesuvius Copper – but, under the guise of off-shoot Chelsea Truck Company, Kahn has given the Land Rover defender a bit of a makeover too. Under the bonnet is the familiar 2.2 litre diesel with its adequate 120bhp and 265lb/ft of torque that comes in completely bog-standard setup, but cosmetically Kahn has given the Defender 90 XS some of the frills the regular Defender is missing.

2012 Mercedes B-Class: First interior photos

2012 Mercedes B-Class Interior - first photo We’re expecting the 2012 Mercedes B-Class to be a big jump on from the current car - certainly in quality and dynamic terms – when it arrives at Frankfurt. And if the photo we’ve had in this morning of the 2012 B-Class’s interior is anything to go by, we’re not going to be too disappointed. We already know that the new B-Class is growing in size and that it will get all new engines with same direct injection as the BlueDIRECT (let’s just hope Mercedes now has the injector problems the C and E Class suffered under control) and a choice of either a six-speed manual or a  new 7G-DCT ‘box, which will be a huge improvement on the dreadful rubber band box in the old B-Class.