1953-1976 Corvette Chrome Diecast Door Seat Knob, Pair on 2040-parts.com

Nissan creates a self-cleaning Note – and this one’s for real. (video)

The Nissan Note that cleans itself The Sunday chore of cleaning the car is beloved (and loathed, in equal measure) by those who’d rather do it themselves than pay a man with a bucket, a sponge and a chamois  to oblige. But regular car washing – for anyone – could be a thing of the past thanks to a new nano-paint technology. The newly developed super-hydrophobic and oleophobic paint manages to repel water and oil, which means stuff like everyday dirt, mud and rain don’t have the chance to cling to the car’s paintwork.

Umeå Institute of Design Degree Show 2008

Masters students at Sweden's Umeå University Institute of Design exhibited their final projects in the annual Degree Exhibition in early June. This year 38 students exhibited their work, including 7 from MA Transportation Design, 5 from MA Advanced Product Design, 6 from MA Interaction Design and a further 20 from the BA Industrial Design course. The MA Transportation Design programme is led by Tony Catignani, with Nick Coughlan as external tutor.

CES shows strong signs of health in 2010

Like much of the rest of the economy last year, the consumer electronics industry had a tough time in 2009. Who wants to buy an iPod when you just lost your job? As a result, the industry finished the last 12 months with its first loss in 20 years.