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Magna Electronics develops 'Touchskin' concept [w/video]

Electronics firm Magna is working on a new technology it calls 'Touchskin concept' that has the potential to eliminate traditional switches and instruments inside vehicles. As part of its ‘Intelligent Surface Technology', the Touchskin concept is set to be an integral part of a system that allows the user to control the car via intuitive gestures – such as pinching, tapping and swiping – as we've become so familiar with when using smartphones. The potential design implications are easy to see with the large amount of space made available by removing the traditional instrument cluster and its wiring and the removal of wired-in switches and buttons.

Car hire costs branded ‘extortionate’

MORE THAN 45% of hire car users described hidden costs such as insurance and fuel as extortionate, according to a new survey. 200 UK consumers aged over 30 and earning more than £20,000 per annum were quizzed for the survey, conducted on behalf of Carhiremarket.com, with over 45% agreeing that hidden costs for insurance and fuel were extortionate. Users cited greater transparency or an all-inclusive upfront price as a more desirable option.

Tesla takes a swipe at BMW & Audi

Tesla’s design boss, Franz von Holzhausen, says the BMW i3 is an IKEA car We’ve long been of the opinion that electric cars, certainly with the current levels of battery technology, can never be a replacement for an ICE car. But we do have soft spot for what Tesla are doing. That’s because Tesla has tackled the issues of electric cars in  the cleverest way possible by building a car (the Model S) that looks like a normal luxury car – rather than making it look odd or quirky just to ram home its difference – and made it travel a sensible distance on a single charge.