Vintage Jaguar Automobile ~ Baseball Cap on 2040-parts.com

AW Design Forum: Ralph Gilles talks technology - with style

Chrysler Group is known for its rough and tough trucks and menacing muscle cars, but its design boss said technology is going to be the game-changer for car designers going forward. Ralph Gilles, who is also CEO of the Dodge brand, said cars must be able to adapt to evolving technologies while remaining striking and pleasing to the eye. Smartphones, touch screens and colorful interfaces are all becoming common inside cars.

Volvo S60 DRIVe & V60 DRIVe launch

The Volvo V60 DRIVe This week we’re out playing with a Volvo DRIVe model, although our car is the S40 DRIVe. DRIVe models are Volvo’s push at all things green (or all things blue if you’re German) and take a regular Volvo and eco the bejesus out of it with stuff like stop-start, low rolling resistance tyres and the plethora of eco-toys car makers use to make the headline economy and emissions unbelievable. The result is a Volvo that drives pretty much the same as any Volvo but which can – as long as you play the eco-driving game – run almost on fresh air, and because cars like this are designed to hit emissions targets on official cycles, they’re also good on stuff like VED and BIK. And if the S40 DRIVe we’ve got this week is anything to go by, you can still drive with enthusiasm and enjoy it as long as you don’t mind the economy suffering.

Ford's net profit slips to $1.65 billion for the third quarter

Ford Motor Co., hurt by accounting changes related to commodity prices, said third-quarter net profits fell slightly to $1.65 billion from $1.69 billion a year earlier. Pretax profits fell to $1.94 billion from $2.06 billion a year earlier. North American pretax operating profits were essentially flat from the year-earlier period at $1.6 billion.