2010-2013 Yamaha Yfm550 Grizzly Fi 4x4 Auto Gates G-force Belt Drive Xk on 2040-parts.com

Michelin Challenge Design 2007: The not so ugly truth about rising vehicle safety standards

Can cars be safe and beautiful at the same time? That may not have been the case a few decades ago when automakers were forced to hang those big, ugly so-called federal bumpers off the ends of their vehicles.  With vehicle safety standards on the rise around the globe are designers today feeling a little '70s deja vu when it comes to meeting the challenges of making cars safe as well as more fuel efficient? "(Back then) we said it was the end of automotive styling," says Patrick Le Quement, senior vice president for corporate design at Renault and one of the world's most influential automotive designers.

First customers are key to EV sales success, execs say

Word of mouth is a key element to generating buyers for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Today, it's the early adapters, tech-savvy buyers who are embracing the technology and buying the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt and the battery-powered Nissan Leaf. But for these vehicles and similar models to go mainstream, anxiety about the technology needs to be eliminated.

De Macross GT1 (2011) first official pictures

These are the first pictures and details of a new supercar from fledgling Canadian company De Macross Motors Corp (DMMC), which was set up in 2009. It's called the GT1, and CAR has been given the lowdown on this new supercar. The car you see here is a 25% scale model of the De Macross GT1, which is being developed in conjunction with component manufacturer Multimatic.