Ford and IDSA to host 'Designing Innovation' live design panel discussion tomorrow

Freeman Thomas, strategic design director at Ford, will take part in a live design panel discussion on Wednesday 7 May. The panel, hosted by Ford and the Industrial Designers Society of America, will also include CEO of industrial design firm Fuseproject Yves Béhar, and Christopher Williams, business development director at product design and company Lime Lab. Topics will how technology plays a role in design; how designers shape consumer behaviors and responses to innovative products; and how products both stand out from and fit in with the world around them.

India turns the screw on luxury car makers

Land Rover will still be sending CKD to India despite the rise in import duty India’s economy is growing almost exponentially, as a result of which it has a big, rising middle-class with much the same aspirations as the middle-class in the West. Those aspirations include the accumulation of status symbols considered worthy of representing their success and new wealth, none more so than a good set of wheels. So it’s no surprise that the mainstream luxury car makers – Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes, Audi and BMW – are ready, willing and able to provide exactly what India’s middles classes are looking for.

Richard Petty Experience branches out, adds exotic-car driving programs

Stock-car legend Richard Petty is in the market for a few new cars: a couple of Ferraris, a pair of Lamborghinis, an Audi R8 and a Porsche 911 GT3 RS. That's because the Richard Petty Driving Experience is branching out from offering rides and drives in NASCAR-style stock cars. Beginning in January, at least one of the Petty facilities will offer rides and drives in exotic cars.