2row/core Full Aluminum Racing Radiator 00-09 Honda S2000 Ap1 Ap2 F20/f22 S2k Mt on 2040-parts.com

Design Contest: LA Design Challenge 2008

The entrants for the fifth annual Design Challenge, part of the Design Los Angeles automobile designers' conference, have now been announced. Nine Southern California automotive design studios - including Audi, BMW, GM, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Volkswagen - have been pitted against one another and asked to develop a concept which best answers a brief entitled 'Motorsports in 2025'. "Automotive designers have always been fascinated with motorsports and this year's Design Challenge has provided them with the opportunity to use their creative talent to look at these cars with new eyes, using innovative technologies and approaches," said Chuck Pelly, director of Design Los Angeles and partner in The Design Academy, Inc.

Honda Gear Concept

Rather than fighting for headlines at NAIAS, Honda debuted its new GEAR Concept at the Montreal International Auto Show. The subcompact GEAR is apparently inspired by fixed-gear bicycles (although quite how is unclear), described as a customizable vehicle that demonstrates the carmaker's way of providing vehicles for young, urban, Gen-Y lifestyles. "Subcompact cars are usually either utilitarian, but uninspiring or they're fun, zippy cars that are impractical and too expensive for the Gen-Y buyer," said Dave Marek, Design Director at Honda R&D Americas, Inc.

Bentley SUV will create a new niche

The Bentley SUV (EXP 9 F pictured) will create a new market sector. We all saw the Bentley SUV when it arrive two years ago at the Geneva Motor show, and the general consensus was along the lines of ‘What a truck’. But Bentley have taken that reaction on board and are busy redesigning the looks of their SUV (well, the exterior anyway – the interior was lovely) to give it a more appealing look, one probably more biased towards an SUV version of the Continental Series rather than the Mulsanne.