Parts Unlimited - Trailerable Snowmobile Underliner - 4003-0073 4003-0073 on 2040-parts.com

Tokyo motor shows: past, present and future

By Tim Pollard Motor Shows 20 August 2009 09:30 As bets in this topsy-turvy, unpredictable industry go, it’s a banker: of all the motor shows on the global calendar, the Tokyo exhibit is always the barmiest. Although the Chinese shows are rising in importance – and amusement value –  there’s something peculiarly bonkers about the biannual Japanese bash held in downtown Tokyo. So strange is the exhibition at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba City to westerners, that you don’t bat an eyelid at talking cars, vehicles with feelings, or cars designed for dogs.

Frank Stephenson on the importance of color in design

During the announcement of the McLaren Automotive's partnership with paints and coatings company, AkzoNobel, Car Design News took the opportunity to discuss the importance of color in design with design director Frank Stephenson. According to Stephenson color's ability to invoke emotions and communicate with viewers, he described just how big a part it has to play in the design process and how it inspires designers when developing products. "The first thing color does is influence the brand – it gives the customer an identifiable element to what we're talking about.

Hyundai shifts Santa Fe production to Kia plant to get more Sonatas

Hyundai Motor America is shifting production of its Santa Fe crossover to the Georgia plant of its corporate cousin, Kia Motors America, to free up production for more high-demand Hyundai Sonatas in Alabama. New workers have been hired at Kia's plant in West Point, Ga., to build the Santa Fe on a second production line, said a source familiar with the situation. The Santa Fe is now built at Hyundai's Montgomery, Ala., plant, which also builds the Sonata sedan.