Jag designer Ian Callum on the XF

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 28 August 2007 12:01 CAR: Tell us how important the XF is for Jaguar IAN CALLUM: ‘At the risk of sounding immodest, it’s the most important new car for us since the 1968 XJ6. That car for me was a real benchmark. It set the Jaguar identity arguably until the present day.

Update: Google self-driving car is really just a transportation pod

Google will launch its own fleet of autonomous vehicle prototypes – with no steering wheels and no gas or brake pedals – as the technology giant begins a new phase of its self-driving car project. Google designed the car and plans to have about 100 test vehicles that are fully autonomous with extra safety features, company co-founder Sergey Brin said during a conference Tuesday hosted by technology blog Re/code in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. > See how Google's autonomous car navigates city streets here The New York Times reported Tuesday night that a Detroit-area manufacturer is building the cars for Google, which declined to name the manufacturer, according to the Times' story.

New Routemaster bus hits London streets

The very first new Routemaster hybrid bus began its first day of service in London today. The bus, whose exterior and interior were designed by Londoner Thomas Heatherwick, retains the distinct character of the old Routemaster – British as the London taxi and red telephone boxes – but is far more modern in its design and construction. The new Routemaster's main design features are its three sets of doors and two staircases, which it is hoped will ease the strain during rush hour in regards to alighting and entering the bus.