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CCS students tackle GM project

Seniors studying Transportation Design at the College for Creative Studies (CCS) in Detroit, Michigan, have recently completed a project with General Motors that has been underway since late 2009. General Motors challenged the students to design an Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV) that focused on the brand identity of Buick, Cadillac or Chevrolet, utilized the EREV components, and optimized aerodynamic attributes. Design features that incorporated sustainability materials and efficiency were also considered important components of the design development.

Goodwood Revival 2009: the first details

By Freddie Fulton Motor Shows 10 August 2009 14:22 Mini turned 50 recently, and the celebration of its engineering achievements continues at the Goodwood Revival in September 2009.  Huge numbers of pre-1966 Minis are expected on track, bringing their owners and large numbers of enthusiasts with them.  Champions and role models such as five-time winner of Le Mans Derek Bell will be racing, as well as Jackie Oliver, Bobby Rahal, Anthony Reid and Brian Redman.  You can also hope to see ‘The Rally Professor,’ Rauno Aaltonen, who won the Gallaher 500 touring car races in a Mini Cooper S.  Other Mini legends will include Sir John Whitmore, Alec Poole, Warwick Banks, John Fitzpatrick, Richard Longman and Barrie ‘Whizzo’ Williams.  We at CAR are most looking forward to when a full 30-car grid, largely composed of 1275cc Mini Coopers, will compete in a race that is promised to be ‘the most closely fought race in the Revival’s history.’ That’ll be the St Mary’s Trophy saloon car race packed with cars that raced before 1966. Each day, a tribute parade of Minis will lap the circuit and show off some of their retro glory.  Expect some Mini curios: an ice cream van is expected, as well as a Wildgoose camping Mini and other modified models. Some of these ‘Mini cousins’ will include the ‘Riley Elf’ and ‘Wolseley Hornet’ variants, which are noted for their reshaped boots and narrower front grilles.

“Where is the sustainable vehicle design?”

The notion of a 'new paradigm in car design' was a theme running through talks by five panelists at London's Royal College of Art last week, who debated "Seriously now, where is the sustainable vehicle design?" Despite disparate backgrounds, there was broad agreement that a truly sustainable form of personal transportation is unlikely to come from an established automotive firm any time soon. Panelist Rob Holdway of Giraffe Innovation was most vocal in his approach to the subject, saying "Frankly, I think the car is unacceptable - we hear a lot about the sustainable car, but I don't think there is such a thing as a sustainable car". The audience - made up mainly of RCA students - also heard from Nico Sergent of Riversimple about how the company's seven-point business model, and its open source strategy, incentivized the company to build a truly sustainable car and mobility package that the current auto model simply doesn't allow.