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Help Kickstart this book of 75 top designers' innermost thoughts

New material from interviews with over 75 of the world's most talented designers of all disciplines will feature in a new book from the maker of the design documentaries 'Helvetica', 'Objectified' and 'Urbanized'. For the three documentaries director Gary Hustwit recorded over a hundred hours of interviews but less than three hours were used. But instead of keeping the treasure trove secret, he has collated them into a new book, ‘Helvetica/Objectified/Urbanized: The Complete Interviews' so designers in all fields can share in them.

Better Place EV Battery Swap business goes bust

It seemed like a good idea: take the cost of batteries out of the cost of buying an electric car and instead charge EV owners to use ‘Battery Swap’ stations where depleted batteries could be swapped for fully charged ones in the time it takes to fill an ICE car with petrol. But it’s all gone a bit Pete Tong. Better Place – which partnered with Renault in 2009 to make the battery swap technology viable – has failed to find anyone to add to the $750 million already involved in the project and has filed for bankruptcy.

Cash for clunkers: Is it ready for prime time in America?

One proposed solution to prop up new-car sales in the United States involves paying bonuses to owners of older vehicles who send their cars to the scrapyard and buy new ones. Proponents say that not only does the auto industry benefit, but so does the environment, as emissions decrease and fuel economy typically improves in newer models. Critics, however, say that scrapping older vehicles hurts collectors by reducing the number of older models available and also hurts those least able to afford to buy newer vehicles by driving up the price of used cars.