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Jaguar X-type refreshed for 2007

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 12 October 2007 09:03 Jaguar X-type for 2008: the lowdown Jaguar has finally given the X-type a facelift, but the 500 changes try their hardest to escape your attention. On paper at least. It's small wonder that we did a double take when we scooped the new X earlier this year; some said we'd just caught the current car on test, but it turns out we were right.

GM's next eco-concept car

By Ben Oliver Motoring Issues 12 October 2007 11:18 General Motors will unveil a European concept car built on its radical new E-Flex platform at September’s Frankfurt Motor Show. The concept will feature radical styling, with a diesel engine acting as a generator for the concept’s electric motor. And General Motors is believed to be collaborating with urban electric scooter manufacturer Segway; the unnamed concept may be able to carry one or more of the £4000, gyroscope-controlled devices for use in town once you’ve parked.A new type of plug-in hybrid, the E-Flex platform made its debut at the 2007 Detroit Motor Show in the Chevy Volt concept car.

Road-pricing petition closes

By Jack Carfrae Motoring Issues 12 October 2007 11:20 The UK’s controversial debate over pay-as-you-drive road tolls reaches a milestone today with the closure of a popular online protest. Nearly 1.7 million aggrieved motorists have signed the petition since it was launched by Downing Street last November – firmly rejecting Government plans to charge drivers up to £1.34 a mile at peak times.The petition, which closes at midnight on Wednesday (00.00 GMT) proved so popular that it has caused the Downing Street website to crash. And prime minister Tony Blair has vowed to send an email to everyone who signed the petition, justifying Government plans to launch road tolls as the only solution for chronic congestion problems.CAR Online’s take on all this?

Lexus LF-Xh concept (2007): first official pictures

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 11 October 2007 09:50 Lexus LF-Xh Concept: the lowdown Lexus will show off its latest wares on home territory at this month's 40th Tokyo Motor Show - and the big news is a preview of the next-generation RX soft-roader. The LF-Xh is longer and wider than today's car, but a full 40mm lower - suggesting the Japanese are taking cars like the forthcoming half 4x4, half coupe BMW X6 very seriously. Naturally, the next RX will build upon today's RX400h hybrid.

Toyota's Tokyo treats

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 11 October 2007 10:16 Toyota Hi-CT Concept It's that time again: the bi-annual Tokyo Motor Show kicks off on 24 October 2007, and we're being treated to a flood of teaser information from the Japanese manufacturers. The Japanese show always attracts some crazy cars, and it's built a reputation as one of the few shows where you see some properly out-there concept cars. Toyota won't disappoint this year...

Nissan Pivo 2 concept

Nissan has released details of a new Pivo 2, an advanced electric concept car that will debut at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show. Building on the popularity of the first Pivo, shown at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show, the latest concept will be powered by compact Lithium-ion batteries and features a unique rotating cabin. Where the first Pivo, with its fully rotating cabin design, made reversing obsolete, the Pivo 2 takes that easy mobility concept to a new level.

College Exhibition: IED Degree Show 2007

The Istituto Europeo di Design of Turin (IED) teamed up with Toyota to create "Prius of 2010-2015", the third year project of 26 students in the post-graduate Transportation Design Course. Led by Fulvio Fantolino, IED's Transportation Design Course Coordinator and followed in the various design stages by Elvio D'Aprile, Assistant Chief Designer at Toyota Europe Design Development, and by Tateo Uchida, General Director Research and Project Forum, the task to come up with concepts that, in addition to heightening the technological excellence, could stress the emotional element, an essential characteristic to conquer the European and world market. In all, ten projects were created and submitted to Toyota as the students' final thesis projects, showcasing a variety of different proposals for future ecological hybrid vehicles.

Caparo T1 has 150mph accident

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 10 October 2007 02:11 Fifth Gear presenter and Touring Car driver Jason Plato has been hospitalised after the Caparo he was testing burst into flames at 150mph. The T1 was being filmed for the TV show at Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground in Leicestershire, UK, on Monday when it 'burst into flames at an estimated 150mph'. Plato received burns to his hands, face and neck, and was treated at hospital before being released overnight.

Subaru Impreza WRX STi (2007) unveiled

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 09 October 2007 05:14 Subaru Impreza STi: this time it's official Another week, another Subaru Impreza STi story... But wake up at the back, because this one is official. And there aren't any big surprises in store - the barmiest new Impreza is just as we predicted in our scoop.

Honda CR-Z and Puyo (2007): first official pictures

By Ben Pulman First Official Pictures 09 October 2007 05:41 Does this mean the CR-X is back? Maybe. This CR-Z is still just a concept, but if public reaction is positive, and it should be, then we could see this car in production for the start of the next decade.

Renault Grand Modus (2007): first official pictures

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 09 October 2007 05:53 Renault Grand Modus: the lowdown Let's not beat around the bush. The Renault Modus has not sold as well as its paymasters hoped. Hence this stretched version, designed to offer more space to broaden the appeal of this high-roof supermini cum mini-MPV.

Car industry getting cleaner

By Ben Pulman Motor Industry 09 October 2007 10:11 Today the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has released its annual Sustainability report. Its eighth report reveals how green and clean the UK industry is becoming - slowly. The headline figures will grab your attention: a cut in total annual CO2 emissions by 36.5 percent over the past four years.

BMW M3 saloon (2007) revealed

By Ben Pulman First Official Pictures 07 October 2007 12:01 I don’t know what to say… Say thank you. It’s been nearly ten years since the last four-door M3 so it’s strange to see BMW’s most famous M-car with four doors again. However, we best get used to seeing this shape on our roads because BMW hopes to sell over 100,000 E92 M3s.

2007 China Automotive Design Conference

The 2007 China Automotive Design & Independent Innovation Conference marked the first gathering of independent Chinese (vs. joint venture) automakers getting together to discuss automotive styling. Taking place at the end of August, more than 140 design professionals from First Auto Works (FAW), Dongfeng Motor, Chery, Brilliance, Chana, Guangzhou Auto, Nanjing Automotive Corp.

Nissan GT-R and Pivo 2 (2007): first official pictures

By Ben Pulman First Official Pictures 05 October 2007 12:52 So is this actually the new Skyline? To answer truthfully, no. This is actually the new GT-R, because Nissan has dropped the Skyline tagline.

Skoda Fabia Scout Design Concept

By Tim Pollard Motor Shows 04 October 2007 10:29 Skoda Fabia Scout Design Concept: the lowdown Few surprises are in store - it follows the formula set down by the Roomster and Octavia Scouts. So it's based on the estate version of the new Fabia, but has only 'visual off-road features'. That means no four-wheel drive to you and me, so it's another weird faux-by-four.

Suzuki Kizashi 2, X-Head and PIXY concepts (2007): first official pictures

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 04 October 2007 11:52 Suzuki Kizashi 2, X-Head and PIXY: the lowdown The Japanese car industry is enjoying the run-up to the Tokyo Motor Show at the end of this month, with a steady stream of new metal - and typically madcap concept cars in particular. Suzuki is the latest manufacturer to provide us with teaser shots of its wares. The Kizashi 2 (above left) is a further derivative of its Frankfurt concept for a future Mondeo rival.

Mazda Taiki concept: first official pictures

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 02 October 2007 03:18 Mazda Taiki: the lowdown Is it just us, or has Mazda gone a bit concept car crazy in recent months? Its current design mantra of 'nagare' - or flow - has spawned the Nagare, Ryuga and Hakaze show-offs at recent motor shows. And, true to form, there will be another car in the series at the Tokyo Motor Show later this month.

Design and Technology at Siggraph 2007

From 5-9 August, over 24000 artists, designers, research scientists, developers, filmmakers, and academics gathered in San Diego, California, for the 34th Siggraph Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques. The Siggraph conference and exhibition ranges from several days of highly technical courses and academic paper presentations, through to hands-on demos of new technologies, an art gallery, computer animation festival, and the two-day exhibition by software and hardware vendors. Siggraph straddles the scientific, engineering and the artistic aspects of computer graphics and interaction, with film-makers showing how they made "Giant Frickin' Robots" for the upcoming Transformers movie, while the Papers presentations and Courses deal with the latest research, software evolution and hardware systems that make it all possible.

BMW 1-series Convertible (2007) first official pictures

By Ben Pulman First Official Pictures 30 September 2007 12:01 A 1-series Convertible? Seems like a logical step… Indeed it does. BMW is gradually filling every niche with every possible model combination.

Renault Clio 197 Cup

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 27 September 2007 02:59 Renault Clio Renaultsport 197 Cup: the lowdown Look past the mouthful of a name (Renaultsport models still manage to be a real mouthful, n'est-ce pas?), and this should be one of our favourite hot hatches of the year. The new Clio 197 Cup is the full production version of the limited-edition Renault Clio 197 F1 Team R27. See what I mean about long names?

CCS - AISI project 2007

The college for Creative Studies (CCS) has been teaming up with the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) since 1989, bringing together imaginative automotive design and steel, the material of choice in the industry. As did last year's program, this summer also saw three engineering students from the University of Michigan (UM) join three CCS transportation design students to develop a concept car. Revolving around an 'Inside Out' theme, students conceptualized, rendered and created a concept vehicle based on a steel exoskeleton design.

Eco cars named and shamed

By Tim Pollard Motoring Issues 26 September 2007 10:19 A new report today exposes the real green cars - and there's not a hybrid in sight in the top 10, according to researchers at Cardiff University. Conventionally engined superminis dominate the top ranks. The scientists gave half their score based on each cars' emissions of CO2, NOx and other pollutants; the other half of the score was calculated from vehicles' construction, energy costs, recyclability and size.

2007 Interior Motives Design Awards

Now in its fifth year, the annual design awards ceremony hosted by Interior Motives magazine was held on the second press day of the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show. The awards are open to design students from around the world and are judged by senior designers from the world's leading carmakers and suppliers. The competition encourages students to submit their work in any of nine different categories, with the emphasis on interior design.

Farbio GTS (2007): first official pictures

By Ben Pulman First Official Pictures 20 September 2007 04:50 Looks good. How much? Not impatient, are you?

Alpina's M car baiting line-up (2007): first official pictures

By Ben Pulman First Official Pictures 19 September 2007 04:20 You mean BMW Alpina? We do, because the Buchloe-based manufacturer has to feature the blue and white propeller badge on all its cars. Although Alpina is considered a manufacturer in its own right, that’s just how the deal with BMW works.

Teen driving: Steps to enhance driver training

Crash avoidance and preventative driving measures start in the classroom but are perfected through experience. To cast light on the importance of adding more structure to existing driver-training programs, we hosted the inaugural Autoweek Teen Driving Safety Summit in August 2007. Flip through our 2007 teen driving coverage below for tips on teaching teens safe driving.

Alfa offers new vintage

By Guy Bird Motor Shows 17 September 2007 02:00 No new car for Alfa at Frankfurt? No, but the brand did launch a customisation programme called ‘Unique Alfa’ to make its cars look even better. Three ranges will be offered: Vintage (retro/traditional), TI or Turismo Internazionale (Sporty) and Collezione (fashion and style).

Alfa offers new vintage: the Unique Alfa customisation programme

By Guy Bird First Official Pictures 17 September 2007 02:00 No new car for Alfa at Frankfurt? No, but the brand did launch a customisation programme called ‘Unique Alfa’ to make its cars look even better. Three ranges will be offered: Vintage (retro/traditional), TI or Turismo Internazionale (Sporty) and Collezione (fashion and style).

Fiat Panda Aria and Grande Punto Abarth SS concepts

By Guy Bird Motor Shows 17 September 2007 02:50 Aria goes green, Abarth gets sporty, 500 goes large… Fiat’s signature white stand featured both ends of the car spectrum: From the eco Panda Aria concept to a new even sportier version of the Grande Punto, the Abarth SS prototype. It arguably had the best show stand gimmick at Frankfurt too – a giant Fiat 500 model the size of a two-storey building housing a monorail on which punters could ride life-size 500 cars around its innards – entered through the giant 500’s wheel arch. Anyway… what about this eco Panda thingy… Oh yes, the Fiat Aria ‘concept’ is subtle like that.