Report: Interior Motives China Conference 2009 – Day 2

After a boat trip down the Huangpo River in the evening of the first day to give delegates and speakers a chance to mix more informally, it was soon time to get back on with the second day of the conference. This saw a speaker and panel line-up including experts from Lotus, Bertone, Geely, the Royal College of Art, Tsinghua University and Art Center Pasadena, covering sessions as diverse as environmental design, better car design education and brand identity. Session 5 - Eco design future This environmentally focused session was kicked off by a thoughtful speech from Nathan Mullinix, VP research and development for leather supplier and conference sponsor Eagle Ottawa.

Self-driving Tesla could hit roads within three years

Electric car manufacturer Tesla has said that self-driving cars could be a reality within the next three years, with the firm targeting a computer-guided version of its Model S saloon. Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk said in an interview with the Financial Times that the autonomous driving technology would act like “an autopilot” that could be switched on and off like an aeroplane’s guidance system. On Bing: see pictures of autonomous cars Find out how much a used Tesla costs on Auto Trader However, while Musk claimed that 90% of distances driven today would be able to be completed autonomously in three years’ time, he also admitted that fully self-driving vehicles may be a “bridge too far” in the near future.

Porsche Cayman Shooting Brake Fake +video

The fake Porsche Cayman Shooting Brake - rendered in Maya Turns out that it was all a bit of viral fun created by Jared Holstein, the outgoing editor of TopGear.com. He came up with the idea and got a bunch of Summer Interns in the States to do the donkey work. A digital design student called Matt DuVall used Maya (a digital 3D rendering programme) to create the original image (actually, I’ve been trying to master Maya for ever – must get some tips from Matt!) which incorporated lots of Porsche design themes, and even used a Porsche ‘Mule’ license plate.