BMW and Local Motors announce contest winners

BMW and Local Motors have announced the winning ideas in the Urban Driving Experience Challenge after phase one of the contest closed on 16 October. Anthony Franze of Australia won first prize and a cash award of $7,500 with his design for a premium car sharing service called ‘BMW Reward Me.' He also earned himself a trip to Munich, Germany, to meet with the head of BMW's Group Research and Technology, Dr. Christoph Grote.

Contest: LA Design Challenge 2007

Audi Virtuea Quattro Designed at the Volkswagen/Audi Design Center California by Heather Shaw, Jae Min, Mattijs Van Tuijl, Karl Strahlendorf and Christian Schoen; the Virtuea Quattro is a single-seat autonomous driving machine. It functions as a solid unit at its core, while providing a myriad of possible holographic exteriors stored in a library and accessible through the vehicle's 'interactive holographic interface'.  Powered by hydrogen, the vehicle combines artificial intelligence with avenues of self-expression. The Virtuea's holographic exterior provides a variety of possibilities, allowing the driver to select from the most innovative designs from one minute to the next.

Saab unions threaten bankruptcy action over unpaid wages

Unions at Saab, which is unable to pay wages to its workers, threatened today to start a legal process that could end in bankruptcy for the iconic brand. The IF Metall and Unionen groups said they would send a formal demand for payment on Monday if their members had not received their wages. "Then the company has seven days to react," IF Metall representative Veli-Pekka Saikkala told Reuters.