At the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, Toyota aroused the interest of many car enthusiasts in its introduction of the FT-CH concept. It is a vehicle conceptualized by Toyota’s European Design Center in Nice, France. Makers hope that this and some technological innovations will attract young customers when they introduced this model in 2012.

This FT-CH model is part of the company’s effort to provide consumers with wide-ranging variety of full hybrids, in addition to its plug-in hybrids (PHVs) and battery electrics (EVs) to be also introduced in 2012, and its hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCHVs) in 2015 in global markets.

Refer to the pictures and see how the FT-CH gives its passenger maximum comfort and interior roominess, with a creative sense of style. See the pictures and judge for yourself.

The designers also hope that this design would give its consumers a lively 8-bit generation resemblance. See how savvy it is in these pictures.

Source: CarBodyDesign

There’s something to be said about intuitive and ground breaking design, and there’s also a lot tha can be said about design that’s just nice to look at.  Successful cars usually fall on either one of these categories, but it is the select few, the classics that somehow capture the essence of both design philosophies.   There many people who claim they can tell you, exactly which and what cars can do this, and even come up with awards for them.  With that in mind, does it really give a car manufacturer the excuse to put a $1.75 Million (or £1.2 million) price tag on your little snowflake?  Aston Martin seems to believe that yes, it sure does.

The Aston Martin One-77 debuts in Concorso d'Eleganza, Villa d'Este, Gaydon, Warwickshire

The Aston Martin One-77 was unveiled to the public simultaneous to its winning the Concorso d’Eleganza design award in Warwickshire, England, which we didn’t even know existed.  Probably a society thing in the UK. If that’s not high brow enough for you, it was held in the Villa d’Este, which is probably one of them fancy British hotels that we will never ever visit in this lifetime.  A quick look at this supercar concept will probably give you an idea as to why that just happened.

Nice sleek design and... stitches!? Must be going for the "hand-made" look

There’s really little that can be said about the exterior, and no, it’s not because this blog is only interested in the interiors, but come on look at it, it looks great and sporty.  A supercar that doesn’t even have those two prerequisites has auto fail on it.  Moving on however, the interior is really a little conundrum in a sense that we like it.  Monochrome pallete, leather all around, nice little metal here and there, a futuristic-looking center console which seems to be all the rage nowadays. But the stitches… while exuding that “hand-made” feel just looks a bit… tacky. It might be possible that the finished product will look different, but we’re not really keen on getting rid of the stitches just yet, executed properly it we feel it could give a lot more character than say… adding overpriced crystals on the damn thing.

Oooh... what does this button do?

Overall, the insides of the Aston Martin One-77 does look like the bastard child of luxury car (say, a Rolls Royce) and a sports car (say a Ferrari) but it works. Much can be improved on the seating design, but you have to give props to Aston Martin for at least trying to not use generic black leather seating in this one.  The details as to what else can be found inside this award-winning concept are scarce, so until then, we’ll reserve judgment on whether or not it really is worth the hefty $1.75 million.

The One-77's Interior is confused little thing, but it's lovely

[Source: Jalopnik]

Car concepts are fun in a “what the hell where they smoking?” kind of way.  Although we get a few gems from time to time, it seems a vast majority of them have some sort of sci-fi hard on that leaves most motorist either staring with their mouths wide open or scratching their head, there is of course, the rare kind that happens to do both at the same time, and that’s where the Nissan Qazana comes in.

Either Nissan’s engineers are big fans of speed racer or maybe they had just love futuristic B-movie style on their concepts, or they have a winning idea on hand.  Really, the Qazana is as baffling as it’s name. Look at it, look at that name, how do you even pronounce it? Ka-za-na? Sounds like a rejected 80s hair band female protagonist.  Yes, you heard, it’s feminine, despite looking more like futuristic war SUV.

The girliness doesn’t end with the exterior, oh no.  The hot red interior renders doesn’t help its cause.  This is probably what people thought off when the Toyota Echo first unveiled their interior shots.  But you know what? Girly or whatever, it actually looks like a viable design.  Heck the entire  car looks like it could work.  Of course, red leather is just so vintage and somehow, someway, the Nissan Qazana makes it work in a modern way.

Oh you mean they designed it after a motorcycle? Wait, interior? motorcycle? HOW DOES THAT WORK!? Kidding aside, the interior looks sporty yet cozy, probably giving you the “joy to ride feel”.  And this whole floating seats thing is turning into a trend.  Also, the entire interior just feels so… rubbery, like a pimpin’ caddy back in the 50’s.

Other than that, most of everything is standard fare, high-tech central touch screen for GPS, sounds, other gadgets. Probably controls to whatever new element they’ve added. Maybe Internet? How cares really. At this point in time everyone’s just distracted at just how red the inside is.

Yes its got a kooky name, but it’s also a compact crossover that doesn’t look too ridiculous and is aesthetically pleasing to the eye.  So maybe Nissan was right about saying that the design ideas behind the Qazana may be what the car of the future will be like, maybe not.  But at the very least, the Qazana looks like one of the few viable concepts to come out for a long time.

So here’s the deal Nissan, you make this happen, and maybe just maybe, you’ll make at least one car-loving enthusiast happy.

[Source: ZerCustoms]

A student designer from the University of South Australia has submitted an interesting concept for his entry in the International Australian Design Awards, which is organized by Dyson Appliances Australia.  Kat One-Moo has proposed a modular and customizable dashboard concept which allows consumers to change the orientation and configuration of their dash easily.

The concept’s premise is based on the emergence of new technologies like drive-by-wire controls and wireless internet access. The basic configuration is a detachable, wireless steering wheel that can be attached to either left or right side and a central touch screen console.  The word “modular” is the key term here, as users can easily add, remove and modify the added components in the dashboard.  Software upgrades via the Internet are nothing new, but imagine being able to only have the components you want or a certain add-on from another car model that was unavailable outside of the aftermarket route. Of course, 3rd party upgrades are already available but the problem lies in the cost and the risk of installation.  This little concept does away with that and also provides an avenue for future-proofing.  The steering wheel can be attached to either side depending on the users preference and has a vibrate function (for what purpose other than being predicated by some sort of video game addiction, we don’t really know).

On a design standpoint, well, it’s not really that sleek or classy looking and looks like a carnival bumper car than anything.  Also, if there’s ever a need to prove that brown is the new black of car interiors, this is probably one such item of evidence.

The question lies in whether or not car manufacturer’s will jump on the concept, make something similar on their own, or make it an exclusive.  Being a 3rd party/aftermarket product could prove to be a hindrance to the concept being widespread, never mind the future of wireless technology in the automotive business or the technical know-how required from the end user (it sounds a lot like building your own desktop).  All in all however, the concept is still far away before actual development, but from what’s seen so far, it does show promise.

[Source: Dyson Student Design Awards via AutoMotto]

While the Volvo S60 concept’s interior was more or less, classified as bordering exorbitant, these new shots of the S60 does show a bit of improvement.   While some may argue that the additional touches are more on extravagance than functionality, they certainly shows more promise than what was previously reported.

If one can get past the glass roof which will probably never make it to production due to criticism it’s going to get from motoring press or the gliding doors, the interior remains close to the design direction of the S60 which is based on Scandinavian ethos, whatever the hell that means.

Inside, the most noticeable piece would be the Orrefors crystal-made center console, making it look like its floating.  Another neat addition is the 3D spiral speedometer, which has the displayed numbers going further away as speed increases, giving a degree of immersion. What is not easily visible is the leather seats with center armrests, which are actually attached to the center console instead of the floor to make the illusion of hovering seats.  No word yet on what kind of bonus such a setup would give other than mere novelty, but details might come up once the concept is finalized and Volvo actually outs a working model.

In addition, it seems the S60 has done away with the all-white palette for the interior, and honestly, it seems like a very welcome development.

[Source: Car and Driver]

The engineers at Mercedes must be smoking something fierce or have spent an ample amount of time watching Natasha Hendstridge in Species because this new ganggreen-ish, organic and seemingly alien hybrid is just…. well… just… wow.  One look at this…. thing will probably inspire a lot of hysteria over an hostile alien takeover.

The all-electric concept from the German carmaker, while unorthodox in a lot design facets, does boast some green features that could entice many a environmentally concerned consumer.  Or maybe just maybe, become the butt of all jokes come the Detroit Auto Show, where Mercedes is set to reveal the BlueZero concept.

If the exterior doesn’t already scream hodgepodge of many designs of other models, the interior leaves little to be desired.  Really, it’s like sitting inside a living, breathing spaceship with a mind of it’s own.  While it may be interesting how having a green and black pallette will pan out in reality, this rendered shots really do give a bad impression of the BlueZero will be like. Shame really, considering that few automakers would take such risks on the design standpoint, it’s not like they need to reinvent the wheel… but certainly they shouldn’t be aiming for this.

[Source: Jalopnik]

Mercedes Benz is so excited about revealing the safety technologies that will be included in their upcoming E-class and S-class releases for 2010 that they even forgot to talk about the models themselves.  Of course, this isn’t anything new for the German automaker, but many hope it won’t be a trend of introducing the tech even before the cars, after all, that’s what they sell: cars.

Ranting aside, these so-called safety tech is more or less the car trying to outsmart the driver.  Now before anyone busts out the SKYNET and John Connor jokes, the premise of Attention Assist is basically to help drivers keep awake and dosing on the wheel en route to vehicular manslaughter.  It may not sound like a big deal, but research points out that around 30% of traffic accidents can be traced to drowsiness.  Again, before one rants about how other automakers have already done this by installing sensors that check the driver’s eye movements (which is by far, not really helping considering the weakness of the design logic), Mercedes takes a different approach.

Attention Assist monitors the steering behavior of the driver.  By using several extensive tests, the mad scientists at Mercedes concluded that a conscious and very aware driver makes smoother and slower steering movements as compared to their quasi-narcoleptic counterparts.  Drowsy drivers tend to fight off the Sandman and as a result jerk the wheel or make sudden turns, which kind of makes a lot of sense, except all the car really does is tell the driver to take a break.

Other features include Pre Safe, which is basically functions that prepare the car for an iminent crash like auto tensioning of seatbelts, gradual braking depending on distance (to avoid sudden falsely triggered panic stops, a new feature), automatic adjustment of headlamp illumination, nightvision modes, HUD indicators like lane assist, blindside assist and the infamous speed limit indicator.  Such state-of-the-art add-ons  basically make the Mercedes interiors like some sort of mini-bridge of some starship… which is either a good thing or a bad thing.

Now all Mercedes needs to do is come up with the cars already.

[Source: Car and Driver]

Taking a page out of Ford’s playbook, Volvo has decided to release a few teasers of their S60 concept, which is set to be unveiled in Detroit by January of next year. The S60 teaser shots follow the silhouette-behind-a-dark-background approach of Ford’s Mustang teasers, but what’s really making noise is the design decision of the S60’s interior.

Besides going for either a futuristic look or a hospital-clean-room kind of thing (no word whether or not it’s just the sketch or really what Volvo is going for with the S60), the addition of crystals to the center stack makes the all white ensemble interesting.  Yes, crystals, in a car.  and not just any crystal, we’re talking Orrefors crystal here people.  Measuring at 1.6 meters or roughly 63 inches, this wavy and transparent accessory covers the majority of instrument panel and extends to the rear seat backrest.  No word if it’s just for novelty’s sake aesthetics, but Volvo does claim that it will be ergonomically designed for whatever it’s suppose to do.  Nevertheless, it does indeed look cool and creates the illusion that the panel is actually floating.

Volvo goes on to say that the S60 will be only the first of their line of automobiles that will carry crystals in the interiors, the question is whether or not it will have any additional uses outside of looking pretty, then again, being pretty is reason enough for a lot of people.

[Source: CarBodyDesign.com]

Green sports car manufacturer (yes, you read that right) Fisker has just unveiled their inaugural release, the 2009 Fisker Karma during the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) held in Detriot, Michigan.  While the idea of having a hybrid sports car may seem contradicotry, Fisker is confident enough with the Karma that they’re pricing it at a whopping $80,000.

The exterior is enough to make it fit into the sports car genre, and so the specs.  A look inside, on the other hand, may have enthusiasts singing praises or shaking their heads in disgust.

As the initial interior shots show, the buttons are very reminiscent of Motorola’s V3 RAZR clamshell phone, complete flat and stainless steel looking buttons in tow.  Heck, even the speedometer displays follow Moto’s UI color scheme. While the idea would look great in a cutting-edge-car-of-the-future way, it kind of fails to impress, especially against beige leather dash and steering wheel. Maybe other car makers can learn form this little design mistake, silver with red backlighting plus beige upholstery? bad idea.

Of course, if it was in black, maybe the impression would be completely different.  Just imagine the smugness of a hybrid driver coupled with that of sports car owner and you have one heck of combination that would make many a car aficionado drooling.

While Fisker’s Karma may seem overly ambitious, there’s something to be said about what they’re attempting to do.  Rest assured, the vision of a green sports car rest heavily on the karma’s sleek silvery shoulders.

More pics of the Karma here:

[Source: Cartype Blog]

It may be more of a product of good photoshopping skills than impressive design and engineering, but the changes made by General Motors with regards to the 2011 Chevrolet Volt are very welcome.  Very welcome indeed.

As you can see from the old pic, the plasticky LCD display just looks… like the very first iPod than anything.  Not too much detail on the console controls as well, very monotonous looking. Details of the vents and buttons just aren’t as pronounced, obviously making this more of a computer-generated sketch than anything.  And really GM? White? It might work for Apple products, but on cars? Not so much.

Now, looking at the ’shopped photos, gone is the plasticky feel of the dash and LCD.  Also the A/C vents seem to look more like real adjustable vents than say… a bunch of grilles cut out on the dash.  More colors on the buttons and LCD screen, probably to modernize the look.  Although it still looks largely computer-generated, but it is definitely more aesthetically pleasing and car-like than the previous shot.

Here’s hoping that more improvements come for the Chevy Volt, real this time and not some digitally generated images.

[Source: Left Lane News]