Better Place Electric Car visitor centre opens

Better Place have opened a visitor centre in Israel to demonstrate their battery swap technology for electric cars Last October we wrote about a start-up company in Israel – Better Place – that had a new way forward for electric cars by taking the purchase of battery packs out of the equation, and was developing a system for ‘Battery Swap’ stations where electric car owners could drive in and swap their battery pack for a fully-charged one in a few minutes. That story first brought to our attention our favourite quote of last year – by Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn – who said “A hybrid is like a mermaid: if you want a fish, you get a woman; if you want a woman, you get a fish.” Which probably explained why Nissan – and its partner Renault – got involved with Better Place. Better Place aims to address the main concerns of electric car drivers by making the battery packs in electric cars ‘swappable’.

Toyota to debut fuel-cell, fun concepts in Tokyo

Toyota will reveal a handful of next-generation vehicles at the Tokyo motor show later this month. One is powered by a fuel cell, one is a hybrid and the others are crazy people-movers that may or may not catch the public's eye. The highlight of the display is the Toyota FCV concept, or fuel cell vehicle.

Interior Motives magazine reboots

This evening saw the launch of Car Design News' all-new specialist interior design publication Interior Motives magazine.  Senior designers gathered together at Le Sip nightclub in Geneva for the annual Auto Design Night were among the first people in the world to get a look at the Spring 2009 relaunch edition of Interior Motives, which features a completely new treatment and a cutting-edge design format conceived to give readers an exclusive look behind the scenes of the most important interior designs unveiled during the last few months. Published every quarter, the new Interior Motives magazine features never-been-seen photos, sketches, renderings and breakdowns of the build process, offering unparalleled insight into the thinking behind these important new interiors and the people that created them - both at OEMs and the suppliers they collaborated with. The perfect accompaniment to Car Design News' up-to-the-minute news, interviews, essays, auto show coverage and detailed online design reviews, Interior Motives breaks new ground in the publishing sector, providing unparalleled depth and incisive quotes from the people and companies that are pushing interior design in new and exciting directions.