Cadillac CUE: Intuitive driving in 2012

General Motors' Cadillac division is hoping to lead the way in intuitive multimedia systems, with the launch of its ‘Cadillac User Experience' (CUE) system, which is set to make is official debut at the forthcoming LA auto show. The product of nearly four years research and development, the CUE project began in 2008 when Cadillac designers rode with 32 consumers for six months to study driver habits. The result is a ‘comprehensive in-vehicle experience that mergers intuitive design with auto industry-first controls and commands for information and entertainment data'.

Design Essay: BMW i – Setting the industry agenda for the next decade

Many have already dismissed BMW i as a radical experiment too far ahead of its time, but looking beyond the glossy carbon fiber facade reveals three ways it will change the automotive landscape during the next decade: 1. Re-define the EV category Despite Tesla, Nissan, GM, Renault and Toyota all operating in the EV space, global sales in 2012 totaled just 54,000. Many put this down to high-cost and range anxiety, but another key factor is nearly always overlooked.

Churchill’s Land Rover sells for £129,000

A Land Rover presented to Sir Winston Churchill on his 80th birthday has sold at auction for £129,000. Sir Winston Spencer Churchill, probably the greatest Prime Minister the UK has ever had, was 80 in 1954, prompting Rover to present the great man with a custom Land Rover so he could be chauffeured round his Chartwell Estate. The Series 1 Land Rover came complete with an extra wide passenger seat, big, padded centre armrest and leather grab handle and had the registration UKE 80 which may (or may not) have referred to Churchill’s age and ‘United Kingdom Empire.