Automotive

In-car DVD players and handheld game consoles have proven a godsend to parents looking to avoid the regular cries of “are we there yet?” from kids in the back seat. Similar to Toyota’s “Window to the World” concept, GM’s “Windows of Opportunity” (WOO) project looks to advance back seat entertainment even further. The project saw the automaker giving researchers and students from the FUTURE LAB at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Israel free reign to design applications that rear seat passengers would interact with through their side windows, which act as interactive displays. Read More

It's a lot easier to keep a customer than to get a new one, at least that's how the sales force maxim goes. So what then does the newly released J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Customer Retention Study say about the automotive brands and their ability to sell the same customer another car. For starters, something incredibly positive is happening at Hyundai - just two years ago, Hyundai was below the industry average in customer retention - now the Korean brand has flown past Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, Lexus, Infiniti and Acura to become the stickiest brand in the business. Which isn't hard - one in two motorists defects to another brand with their next purchase. Read More

Five years ago at the Tokyo Motor Show, Nissan unveiled its clever NV200 minivan concept that incorporated a mobile office and a slide-out cargo compartment. It has since gone into production, losing the office and slide-out, but boasting what Nissan claims is the largest load space in its class. Last year, the automaker announced that it would begin testing of an electric version of the van. Now, the public can get a feel for what a consumer electric NV200 might be like, up close and in person, as the e-NV200 concept makes its world debut at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Read More

New names dominated the Dakar Rally from start-to-finish this year - MINI being the most obvious with a 1-2, but also Iveco broke the Eastern Block stranglehold on the truck section. Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel won his tenth Dakar (six on motorcycles, four in cars) ahead of MINI teammate Nani Roma (a prior motorcycle winner). MINI's new owner BMW must be delighted to add the world's toughest race to its illustrious heritage, even if that MINI looks a tad bigger than your average Countryman. Read More

Even without taking into account Japan's recent natural disasters, Honda has struggled of late, seemingly having lost its prominence as a technology innovator. With much riding on next year's models, there was a lot of interest when Honda took the covers of the new Accord Coupe Concept at the 2012 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) recently, revealing the first official glimpse of a new styling direction, as well as revealing a host of claimed new technologies for the all-new, ninth-generation 2013 model, set to go on-sale this fall in America. Read More

Honda's new N Box platform was purpose built for Japanese domestic market Kei car regulations - the idea was to create a comfortable, spacious passenger environment for four adults using the available real estate of a minicar platform. The whole N Box package is designed to be customised and the Wa Concept, which took a bow today in Tokyo, has patent leather seats and a traditional Japanese lacquerware exterior. It's gorgeous! Read More

Toyota's NS4 advanced plug-in hybrid concept that was unveiled this week at the 2012 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit is the brainchild of Toyota engineers who were given the task of designing a new mid-size concept for potential launch in markets worldwide by 2015. While the NS4 concept is a dedicated plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), Toyota says it isn’t part of its Prius family, with a next-generation Hybrid Synergy Drive plug-in system that is not only smaller and lighter, but is also more fuel efficient, boasts better acceleration and a longer all-electric range than the current system. Read More

If you were one of the people who were hoping to turn some heads when you drove your Aptera down the street, well ... you may still get your chance to own a truly eye-catching electric car. SIM-Drive, a collaborative of 34 Japanese tech companies and institutions, presented its SIM-LEI prototype EV at the 2011 Electric Vehicle Industrial Exhibition late last year. While you probably either love or hate its looks, there's one thing about it that everyone should like - it can reportedly go about 305 kilometers (189.5 miles) on one charge of its battery, traveling at a constant speed of 100 km/h (62 mph). Read More

Bentley has introduced its long-awaited V-8 engine developed in conjunction with Audi. The V-8 will give Bentley owners a smaller, more economical alternative to the more traditional W-12. Read More