Mercedes W123 Climate Control on 2040-parts.com

Where is Kinetic Design headed?

Martin Smith has been guiding Ford of Europe's design efforts since he was appointed to the position of Executive Design Director in 2004, coming straight over from an illustrious career at General Motors. During his tenure as Director of Design at GM Europe, Smith oversaw the Insignia concept car as well as much of the Opel range, including the acclaimed Astra. At Ford, Smith spearheaded the automaker's 'Kinetic Design' strategy and has since presented this vision in both concept and production car form.

RC car art: Using cars to paint cars

Ian Cook is a trained artist and automotive enthusiast as well as a remote-control-car fan. While some might consider these hobbies to be mutually exclusive, Cook has combined both of his passions to create unique automotive artwork. In lieu of paintbrushes, Cook uses a variety of RC cars, and sometimes real cars, to spread the colors on his canvas.

Schreyer: Cross GT is a sign of things to come

Peter Schreyer, Kia's president and global design boss, makes no bones about it--the Cross GT is a harbinger of future style for the Korean company's large crossovers. "You'll certainly see things showing up," he told me at the Chicago auto show, where the concept was revealed. It's a large ute, measuring 192.8 inches, which is 8.4 inches longer than the Sorento.