Skoda drives along Popular memory lane

A EUROPEAN car enthusiast is recreating a remarkable British journey first completed 90 years ago by a famous Czech writer, and is driving a 77-year-old Skoda Popular. The milestone car, Skoda's first to sell in big numbers across Europe, is well into a three-week journey around the UK in the hands of car nut Zdeněk Vacek, starting and finishing at the Czech Embassy in London and visiting many of the cities featured in famous Czech writer Karel Čapek's 1924 tome Letters from England. The Popular itself can celebrate its 80th birthday at the same time, having first appeared to widespread acclaim in 1934.

College Exhibition: CCS - American Iron and Steel Institute Challenge 2004

Transportation Design students at Detroit's College for Creative Studies recently presented the results of a project sponsored by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The unveiling of the students' concept vehicles is the finale of the 16th annual AISI/CCS Summer Internship Program that set the transportation design students the task of designing functional, innovative 'Hollywood-inspired' vehicles that integrate environmental responsibility, cost efficiency and innovative steel materials. "The AISI/CCS summer internship was created to inspire a new generation of automotive designers to develop alternative fuel vehicles, lightweight steel structures and a flexible platform base, all of which are real goals for today's automotive product developers," said Brian Aranha, vice president of commercial for Dofasco Inc.

Local Motors Announces Alaska Motors Competition Winners

Startup American independent car company Local Motors has announced the winner of its Alaska Motors competition, which called for entrants to design a concept vehicle for the Wrangell Mountain Extreme, a made-up race that takes place in the grueling Alaskan frontier.   Challenged to design a conceptual vehicle for the most difficult environmental conditions, designers competed for Wacom prizes and the finalists were then chosen by the community, as they have been for the last 17 competitions. Coming in first place was recent Strate College graduate Anthony Colard for his 'B-Polar' concept, a vehicle that features a unique moving chassis with a rotating axis around its fuel tank allowing it to easily maneuver through rough terrain.