1994-1998 Ford Mustang Arm Rest/lid Gray Original (item53) on 2040-parts.com

GM and Bezalel Academy of Art and Design develop Windows of Opportunity smart glass tech [w/video]

General Motors' Research and Development has collaborated with Bezalel Academy of Art and Design's Future Lab students to conceptualize new ways in which rear seat passengers – who traditionally feel disconnected from their environment – have a richer experience on the road. The result is the Windows of Opportunity project, a series of applications developed by the Bezalel students and built into full-size prototypes using multi-touch and gesture sensing surfaces developed by ClickEye. The projects were: – Otto an animated character projected over passing scenery that responds to real-time car performance, weather and landscape.

Fiat Panda (2012) first official pictures

This is Fiat’s new 2012 Panda – incredibly, only the third generation of Panda in the range’s 31-year history. Not that buyers seem to mind the glacial rate of progress: Fiat has sold 6.5m Pandas over the past three decades. The new 2012 Panda squeezes more space into the compact footprint; it’s 3650mm long, 1640mm wide and 1550mm high – enough, says Fiat, for five passengers and the biggest boot in segment.

AutoStyle 2010

Earlier this year, we had the pleasure to attend AutoStyle 2010's design competition; a wonderfully familial, small-scale event that takes place in the picturesque village of San Benedetto Po, in northern Italy. Hosted by Berman, an aftermarket supplier of bespoke components to many OEMs, the event is a two-day gathering where many of the industry's designers, buyers and suppliers attend a conference to hear about the trends as perceived by automakers and to see the newest ‘special versions' created by budding designers. The 7th edition of the AutoStyle design competition showcased a wide array of aftermarket designs for the Ferrari California, Nissan Micra, Ford Focus, Alfa Romeo Giulietta and the Citroen DS Highrider concept.