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Toyota – taking the hybrid big in China too?
May 16, 2012 in advertising, china, Toyota and tagged advertising, Beijing, cartoon, China, hybrid, mascot, metro, Prius, Toyota, travel, underground.
Having got a (give or take) ten year jump on most of its rivals (Honda excepted) with hybrid cars in Europe, America and much of Asia, Toyota face a much bigger challenge in China. Not only are most of its competitors readying hybrids and pure EVs (or have launched them already) but Chinese automakers such [...]
Circling the square: the European Boxy car
April 18, 2012 in Citroen, Fiat, Scion, Skoda, trends, Uncategorized and tagged 4x4, Boxy car, car design trends, Citroen C3 Picasso, cool box, estate, Fiat Panda, Insight Quarterly, Scion xB, Skoda Yeti, trends, wagon.
From our most recent Quarterly Insight A new ‘cool’ box typology is emerging, that spans the A, B and C segment. combining the best elements of both SUV and MPV forms. The coolbox steps beyond the pure utility and starkness of the cars which created the genre – the Nissan Cube and Scion xB – [...]
CDR Insight on Green Car Design
April 18, 2012 in trends, websites and tagged CDR, design, GCD, GreenCarDesign, Insight Quarterly, insights, trends, web.
Hannah McMurray over at www.greencardesign.com has recently posted our latest quarterly insights (from Geneva) on her website along with additional pictures. If you’d like to be added to our Insight Quarterly mailing list, to receive the latest insights and trends from the world of car design, please mail us here.
BMW: Big in Korea
December 1, 2011 in BMW, colour, korea and tagged 5 Series, BMW, Chevrolet, Colour, Daewoo, fashion, Hyundai, Monchrome, Seoul, South Korea.
Last year, BMW sold 286,297 cars in Asia – up from 183,100 in 2009. While most of that growth is accounted for by the Chinese market, in South Korea – where we’ve been spending time recently – BMW has become the fourth best selling brand overall. Still some way behind Hyundai, Kia and Samsung, nonetheless, [...]
In-car time pieces
October 26, 2011 in bentley, cars, Citroen, clocks, Concept cars, Lexus, maserati, peugeot, trends, watches and tagged Bell and Ross, Bentley, Breitling, Citroen, clocks, clocks-in-cars, DS5, GS, ISR, Lexus, Maserati, Peugeot, Quattroporte, SR1, trends, watches.
Having a clock in a car negates the need for a driver to take their hand off the wheel to tell the time, but in the last few decades the prominence of the in-car-clock has waned. Perhaps an analogue dial was seen as anachronistic next to new features that in turn battled the in-car-clock for [...]
Bell-bottomed cars
September 20, 2011 in Audi, cars, Concept cars, Ford, motorshow, motorshows, Porsche, trends and tagged Audi, Bell-bottoms, fashion, Ford, Porsche, surfacing.
The treatment of the rocker area on a car’s lower body side has been one of the most varied elements of car design in recent times. From shear body sides, we’ve moved through tucked under rockers, the incorporation of light catchers, cladding elements and have now arrived at bell-bottomed cars. It’s a trend we’ve seen [...]
Seoul auto show report: Latest show stand craze? The flashmob
April 14, 2011 in chevrolet, motorshow, trends
An interesting observation at last week’s Seoul motorshow, was just how excited the attendees were getting about the freebie give-aways, and the digitally interactive aspects of the show stands. Take Chevrolet for instance. It housed a helium-filled, life-size Camaro, that was from time-to-time hovered over the stand, and one of the more interesting concepts – [...]
Trends: lights as eyes
April 13, 2011 in BMW, cars, Concept cars, lighting, mini, trends, Uncategorized
New technology is changing the face of the car, and nowhere is this more apparent than in headlamp design, which is increasingly based around the LED. While many have predicted the eventual disappearance of the traditional lamp can, instead manufacturers are using the technology to humanise the car, as headlights take on an increasingly anthropometric [...]
Jaguar’s 75th Birthday
September 23, 2010 in Jaguar, photos
We had the good fortune to be invited on Jaguar’s 75th Birthday – a couple of favourite photos from the day; while below is a link to a small set on flickr Jaguar’s 75th
BMW takes premium to a new level with night lighting
September 23, 2010 in BMW, cars, lighting, photos, premium
Recently, while driving a BMW 5 Series GT at night, we were struck by the use of subtle lighting in the cabin, which lightly bathes parts of the interior in the warm, orangey-red hue that BMW has long used as its instrument panel backlighting colour. The use of light accentuation in the interior is nothing [...]