Stretchy neck distinguishes Kassou concept car

Don’t raise your eyebrows! Kassou looks freakishly different but that has contributed to it winning 2nd place in professional category, Car Design News Contest 2008. Kassou means ‘glide’ in Japanese and the reason why British designer Nicholas Lee Dunderdale named his concept as such is easy to see. Running on three wheels, this concept car incorporates several novelties in its form. The fact that the sitting consists of a single bench (much like a motorcycle) or that it has rear splitting doors are not as amusing as the fact that Kassou has a flexible rubber neck! You heard right, Kassou has a cockpit that can be extended or contracted for more headroom or just to improve the aerodynamics of the vehicle. The designer also envisages a little ‘side-car’ that can be attached via car’s lower section, which otherwise holds in luggage and other stuff. The vehicle is rendered beautifully and looks remarkable. Pity it won’t render easily to actual realization. Check out some more images after jump.

Designs for the Crowded Globe

The world of Japanese car design set against the backdrop of Japan's unique culture is explored in a sophisticated new exhibition at the Science Museum, from 29 November 2008.

Japan Car, an exploration of the car as a "mobile cell", has been conceived by two world class names from outside the world of automobile: Kenya Hara, the man responsible for much of the success of Muji, and Shigeru Ban, the distinguished Japanese architect currently designing a new satellite gallery in Metz for Paris' Pompidou Centre.



The exhibition, sponsored by seven Japanese car manufactures, shows how Japanese car design reflects the 'soil and the spirit of Japan', shown through concept cars and special home market models. Japan Car explores three themes while examining the future of mobility in cities. Japan, being both highly innovative and densely populated, can be seen as the driving force behind transport solutions for twenty-first century cities.

The exhibition will explore:
Size - small yet sophisticated vehicles and special kei cars, which are both compact and technologically advanced
Environment - climate-conscious hybrids intended to reduce carbon and other emissions
Moving urban cells - the future of transport as integrated systems rather than individual vehicles

As an exhibition of cars, alongside Japanese bonsai, art and design, Japan Car will display 14 unusual cars from the past decade and conceptual models, including the Nissan PIVO2 and Toyota i-REAL. When entering the exhibition, visitors will be greeted by an intriguing display of small model cars juxtaposed against live bonsai trees, the model cars taking the place of the natural stones which the Japanese often use to accompany bonsai trees. A specially commissioned painting by Akira Yamaguchi will conclude Japan Car. Yamaguchi's work uses traditional Japanese painting techniques to convey his vision of the future of mobility.

"Japan Car is a new look at Japanese car design by two innovative thinkers - the graphic designer Kenya Hara and the architect Shigeru Ban," said Andrew Nahum, the Science Museum's Principal Curator of Technology. "The Science Museum is delighted to be working with these international figures to present the British public with an entirely new and original exhibition. The exhibition will allow many people to see for the first time unique cars that are special to Japan. These cars intrigue us and prompt us to ask whether this is a glimpse of the future of road transport."

"The Japan Car exhibition has been created to give a clear and comprehensive view of the characteristics and circumstances behind Japanese cars today," added Kenya Hara, curator of the exhibiton. "Although the history of cars in Japan began with an attempt to emulate the West's automotive technology and culture, the context of Japanese lifestyles and Japan's particular route to industrial development has given Japan's cars their own unique characteristics and individuality."

Mitsubishi Motors Japan Plans To Launch 6 Green Car Models By 2015

Mitsubishi Motors Japan has officially planned, that it will launch 6 green car models by the year 2015. The models will be plug-in hybrids and complete electric cars, as the company told the media. Mitsubishi said that by the fiscal year 2015 they will have at least 6 green vehicles being produced at their plants, for their next generation customers.

One of the first green cars is scheduled to launch in the year 2011 itself, making an official debut of their future plans. The company has been giving stress to design, manufacture and produce green or electric vehicles for the future, and this was seen with the i-MiEV electric car, the first electric car of the company to be produced commercially.

Mitsubishi targets to sell 1.31 million green vehicles in the global market by the fiscal year 2013, which may not seem impossible. Mitsubishi has a reputation of producing quality vehicles around the world, similar to Toyota and Honda, as a result the company wont need to apply force in its marketing strategy. As per the financial forecast of 2013, the company expects to have a turnover of ¥2.5 trillion out of which ¥90 billion will be operational profit for Mitsubishi.

Nissan Nuvu: Future Car Using Solar Powered

In the Paris Motor Show on this year, NISSAN showcase the future of their car is the Nissan Nuvu. Car passenger capacity of 3 (2 +1) is the electric car easy to use and easy to find parking places because the length this car only 3 meters).

As the City Car, Nuvu using solar energy (solar powered) as a source of energy by putting solar panels on the top and some materials used can also be recycled.

Nuvu planned to begin in 2010 will be manufactured in Japan and United States and in year 2012 will be sold to the world.

Nissan Townpod

In the future, our working and living lifestyle will evolve with the opportunities afforded by the digital age. A new generation of entrepreneur will be born, these new professionals prefer to work for themselves from their own homes. The lines between business and social lives are no longer existed, so their transportation must follow.

Nissan Townpod combines casual and business in one stylish and futuristic vehicle. Townpod provides a simple platform for any kind of users, be they a musician with their kit, or an architect carrying drawings to a client, or an interior designer, this vehicle can adapt the interior according to the user’s needs.

While Nissan Townpod has been created with the world’s entrepreneurs in mind, its appeal is likely to go beyond this expanding demographic to new families building their first home or retirees turning a hobby into a business. In other words, anybody who appreciates the customizable utility of its van-like abilities coupled with a chic and stylish cockpit designed with the future and not just today, in mind.

Wireless Charging System For Electric And Hybrid Cars

Charging an electric or a hybrid car is all set to become as easy as parking it in a garage or a parking lot. Delphi Automotive and WiTricity Corp are working in collaboration to develop a wireless car charging system which juices a car as it lay embedded in a paved parking spot or sits on a garage floor. The WiTricity’s wireless system can efficiently transfer over 3300 watts of power to fully charge an electric vehicle.

Futuristic Automobile: Mitsubishi i MIEV soon to vroom on the roads of Iceland

Mitsubishi’s zero-emission “i MIEV” launch in Iceland might help the country achieve its target of being fossil-fuel free in the coming years. Iceland has been trying real hard to convert to sustainable energy. Currently, most of the country’s electric power needs are met by hydroelectric and geothermal sources.

Iceland signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Mitsubishi Motors Corporation regarding acquisition of a fleet of its zero-emissions i MIEV electric vehicle. The electric car is said to have a traveling range of 100 miles on a solitary charge, so it ought to be more than enough to equip the nation with a convenient and green vehicle. (The i MIEV has gone through testing in Japan and did well, and will be available there next year.) If any small European country can pull off EV’s with domestic energy it would probably be Iceland.

The Dark Side:
Just release the car worldwide and I will stop complaining! I have no other qualms about the potential of this beau.