K&l Supply Mc15r Cycle Dock 36-4090 on 2040-parts.com

Ford builds it, you test it

Only a select few usually get the opportunity to test out upcoming vehicles. Ford is bucking that trend by allowing customers to sign up at BuiltToughTest.com, and get the chance to explain how they would put the aluminum reinforced 2015 Ford F-150 to the test. Product development does extensive testing to the extremes, going as far as disguising the F-150 and running it through the 2013 Baja 1000.

Hongik University's transportation design process

Hongik University in Seoul, Korea, is one of the preeminent design schools in the country with a diverse range of programs. But the school's transportation design department has also developed a unique approach for concept ideation. At the International Transportation Design Forum in Pforzheim, Germany, Professor Joo Hyun Chung from the school's Transportation Design course gave Car Design News an exclusive insight into the process, explaining how students express their ideas into 3D surfaces directly, using materials such as paper and wire for the first exploration of the form rather than the traditional 2D to 3D process.

2015 Prius said to have even better fuel economy

The next Toyota Prius will get “significantly better fuel economy in a more compact package that is lighter weight and lower cost,” according to Satoshi Ogiso, the Prius program's chief engineer. Ogiso, who is also Toyota Motor Corp.'s managing officer, said the next-gen Prius' performance will reflect “significant advances” in battery, electric-motor and gas-engine technologies. He said Toyota is looking at improving miles per gallon to 55, compared with today's 50 mpg and that the next-generation Prius electric motors will be smaller and more powerful; in addition, its gasoline engine will be among the world's most efficient.