Bultaco Astro Pursang Gear Shift Lever Ahrma on 2040-parts.com

Concept Car of the Week: Ford Forty-Nine (2001)

Over 1.3 million orders were placed for the 1949 Ford before it even went officially on sale. The revolutionary post-war design with slick slab sides and semi-covered wheels became a symbol of American optimism. "The inspiration for the Forty-Nine concept comes from the passion and excitement of the original, combined with the imagination of people across America who customized the car and turned it into what they thought a really great car should be," said J Mays, Ford's vice president of Design at the unveiling of the retro-futurist coupe back in 2001.

Nissan's senior manager color and design strategy Francois Farion on the importance of objects in keeping focus [w/Video]

Nissan's Francois Farion, senior manager, color and design strategy, features in a new video giving an insight into how important objects are to designers when communicating, defining and maintaining their design intentions. A lot of time and energy goes into designing a car and so, Farion says, it's vital that designers keep their focus throughout the process. He believes objects are the key to creating coherent designs.

Cadillac ConverJ unveiled at Detroit auto show 2009

By Tim Pollard Motor Shows 12 January 2009 14:29 GM came out fighting with new product in tune with the times at the Detroit auto show 2009. The Cadillac ConverJ is an electric-powered limousine not seen until press day, harnessing the same plug-in hybrid tech as the Chevy Volt. GM product overlord and everyone’s favourite sound-bite merchant Bob Lutz said the Volt’s drivetrain had been renamed the Voltec system and it was this lithium-ion battery set-up that underpinned the ConverJ concept car.