BMW Z4 (2009): first official pictures

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 13 December 2008 23:00 After the leaked Z4 photos last week, today we finally see the first official photos of the new BMW Z4. The 2009-spec Z4 gains a folding hard top and offers a softened design language over the flamboyant banana curves and arcs of today’s roadster. Think of a bar of a soap that’s been through some palm duties and you get the idea.

How Google's autonomous car navigates city streets

Google's self-driving car has been on the road for five years now, at various levels of autonomy. From the ease and relative serenity of California's arrow-straight highways, the car drove hundreds of thousands of miles with a greater level of concentration and mastery than the wandering attention spans of humans could accomplish. In 2012, Google shifted from the freeways to the cities, navigating a far more convoluted set of challenges: the slow-speed chaos that comes with any city, any suburb, any place with people and cars in it.

Fisker Karma S concept

Fisker Automotive revealed the newest addition to its lineup at NAIAS 2009, exactly a year after the independent carmaker unveiled its first concept vehicle, the Karma. Called the Karma S concept, the four-seat convertible was designed by Henrik Fisker with input from a newly assembled design team taken on to help bring the Karma sedan to production. The design of the S is likely to make it to the showroom almost unchanged.