Los Angeles Auto Show 2005 Design Trends

How are changing consumer attitudes and preferences affecting automobile design? What are designers doing to create functional, stylish and fun vehicles in accordance with new regulations and technologies? These are some of the questions that five distinguished designers will discuss and debate during the panel discussion at the Los Angeles Auto Show on January 6.

Lifeboat resuces two swamped cars

A LIFEBOAT CREW rescued two cars which were swamped by the sea within 90 minutes of each other as the highest tides of the year caught drivers out. At least one of the vehicles which were wrecked by the submerging North Sea had been used to try to pull a boat out of the water, the RNLI said. A crew from Redcar, near Middlesbrough, responded to the first call-out at 3.20pm on Wednesday after coastguards received a number of 999 calls saying two people were on the roof of a vehicle on the town's beach as the waters came in.

Design Development: Yanfeng Visteon Glide

Those who attended our Designers' Night in Beijing earlier in the year will have seen the Yanfeng Visteon Glide concept car, a car many thought one of the best displayed throughout the whole motor show period. However many asked why a Tier 1 supplier Yanfeng Visteon has gone to the effort and expense of creating a full concept car, especially one as exotic as the Glide, especially when the company's core business is designing and supplying interior components. We caught up with Shizuki Kajiyama, Yanfeng Visteon's Design Studio Manager to find out more about the project.