2013 European Car of the Year finalists announced

The finalists for the European Car of the Year have been announced, a total of 5 finalists from a total of 34 nominees. It’s coming to the end of another year, so we’re going to be inundated with ‘Best Car of the Year’ awards for the next few weeks from all on sundry. Out of the gate today comes the final list for the European Car of the Year’ with a selection of eight cars (it was too close to call for the normal seven finalists) with the only real surprise perhaps being the inclusion of two French cars – the Renault Clio and Peugeot 208.

McLaren P1 – the new F1 / P12 arrives

The McLaren P1 – spiritual successor to the legendary McLaren F1 – has been revealed ahead of a public debut at Paris 2012. It’s been a long time coming, but the new McLaren P1 – the name for what we’ve thought of as the McLaren P12 or new F1 – has finally been unveiled. As expected, the new McLaren P1 has more dramatic styling than the MP4-12C with its aerodynamic parts matt black and the flowing contours of the dramatic body painted, with headlights offering a nod to McLaren’s logo and a roof scoop that’s reminiscent of the F1′s.

Art Center Summit 2009

The Art Center Summit, now in its third year, has finally seen the rest of the world catch up with its preoccupations. Initially conceived in 2006-07 to bring government, academic, and business leaders to Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA, to discuss issues related to mobility and sustainability, the summit has benefited from the financial turmoil that has recently gripped the world. Previously, the event was highly speculative and appealed mainly to designers working in the advanced mobility community; this year, the summit occurred against a backdrop of meltdown in the US auto industry, chaos in the global financial sector, and a growing realization - supported by the incoming Obama administration - that energy and transportation policy will form a key part of a Green future.