Luigi Colani - Translating Nature

One of the most influential designers of the past half-century, Luigi Colani, is the subject of an exhibition at the Design Museum in London. With a career spanning almost six decades, Colani has applied his unique design style to produce cars, trucks, boats, aircraft, ceramics and consumer goods, as well as creating futuristic concepts for as-yet unrealized transport systems and architecture. There are Colani tea pots, mineral water bottles and sun glasses, but much of his work remains in the form of dream-like models or photographic montages.

NHTSA upgrades probe of 1.2 million Toyota Corollas, Matrixes

Federal regulators have upgraded an investigation of as many as 1.2 million Toyota Corollas for possible engine stalling. Consumers have filed 1,101 complaints about Corollas and Corolla Matrixes for 2005-07 models, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a filing on its Website. “The engine can stall at any speed without warning and not restart,” NHTSA said in describing the problem.

Four big pickups get low marks in crash tests

Four 2009 full-sized pickups got low marks in side-impact crash tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a research group for auto insurers. Crash protection is "poor" in crew-cab versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and Nissan Titan without side-impact airbags, according to test results the institute released on Wednesday. The Dodge Ram with standard side-impact airbags got only a "marginal" rating, the institute said.