From #MeToo to #BlackLivesMatter: How the car industry could do better

As Ford design manager and one of the only women in a senior position, in the 1970s and 80s Mimi Vandermolen helped pioneer the current ergonomic approach to interior design © Ford I entered journalism through the automotive corridor. Fresh from university and with a background in the arts, a Design History degree and absolutely no real-life working skills, I took the first job that presented itself. It was at a dry auto technology magazine.... Read More

Jaguar explores new territories with F-Pace

The F-Pace is Jaguar‘s first sports utility in its 70-year history. Designing an SUV was not an easy task for a marque associated with a low, long and sleek vernacular, and with such a rich sports car heritage. ‘The customer wanted one,’ admits Ian Callum, ‘It is a practical car but with the spirit of Jaguar,’ adds the design director. #gallery-1 { margin: auto; } #gallery-1 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top:... Read More

Trend spotting at the Geneva Motor Show

The Geneva Motor Show is a great place for spotting new design and technology trends within the car industry. There never of course is a single direction but you can get a general sense of what  to expect in the new few years. Read the full reports in Future Space Magazine and in Wallpaper* Also have a look at some of the designer interviews from previous Geneva Motor Shows. Design Talks | 5 – 25 Scrutton Street | Old Street | Shoreditch |... Read More

BMW’s new 4 Series Convertible

Meet the new BMW 4 Series Convertible, the latest model to join the expanding portfolio of cars. It replaces the 3 Series Convertible and, along with the Coupé forms the all-new 4 Series family that will eventually grow to include the X4 and 4 Gran Coupé. Like its sibling, the Convertible is handsome and imposing in the flesh. Read the full review published in in Wallpaper*. #gallery-4 { margin: auto; } #gallery-4 .gallery-item... Read More

Can electric cars make music?

Can cars make music? This is the premise behind a research project that is looking into inventing new sounds for the age of the silent electric and hybrid vehicle, a sound that responds and returns something back to the environment. Electric cars emit very little noise. Legislations in Europe and the US, however, will soon dictate that they must alert other road users. What we’re seeing though is a focus on sounds that are about warning or are... Read More

Vertical cities and urban villages

Can the car be more than a vehicle that takes you from A to B? This has been a subject much discussed in recent years. I remember talking endlessly with Chris Bangle, the former design boss at BMW, on this very subject – something that has been at the core of his design thinking (remember GINA?) – at a time when few car companies dared or even cared to venture into anything that signified a real change from the conventional automobile. There... Read More

Review: BMW 4 Series Coupé

Meet the new 4 Series Coupé. Driven last week in the Scottish Highlands, the drama of this unique landscape, where in one single afternoon we witnessed four contrasting seasons, and where for miles upon miles not a sole can be spotted, proved to be an ideal stage to highlight the sleek, sculpted and sophisticated lines of this latest BMW. The 4 really is a handsome car in the flesh. The car replaces the 3 Series Coupé and forms the new 4 Series... Read More

Designer talk: Ian Callum on Jaguar design

On the eve of the 2013 Geneva Motor Show Dr Ralf Speth told a small group of media representatives of his company’s triumphant year. The Jaguar Land Rover chief executive officer revealed plans to invest £2.75 billion in product development to support the launch of eight new and refreshed products this year, including the Jaguar F-Type and the introduction of the world’s first nine-speed gearbox in the Land Rover product line-up. He also hinted... Read More

Modena’s Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari

There is something fantastically Fellini-esque about this documentary of Enzo Ferrari’s account for his love of his birthplace Modena where a new Ferrari museum opened this weekend. Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari celebrates the life and work of the founder of the Italian supercar maker and features some of the marque’s most iconic cars. Love or loath cars, many of these are simply beautiful objects of desire. Designed by architects Jan Kaplický... Read More