Mazda Sassou Concept – Behind the Design

One of the most popular vehicles at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show was the Mazda Sassou concept car, designed to hint at where Mazda might be heading with a future B-car. Its conception and realization by a group of young Mazda designers from five countries under the leadership of Peter Birtwhistle, Chief Designer at Mazda’s European R&D Centre, is a great example of the cosmopolitan nature of today’s design studios.

The Toyota Corolla 2010

The Corolla is back – this time with the 2010 model, which Toyota hopes will strengthen their position in the market. The Toyota Corolla is again an affordable set of wheels – as prices range only from $15,350 – $20,050 per brand new unit. Once again, the Toyota brings the standard reliability, good resale value, and relatively good comfort to the table. The only downsides are the standard models really have economy in mind as supposedly standard features like power windows and locks as well as remote keyless entry are not present in the entry level models. The power is just right, both for city driving as well as for the highway. Just remember that it isn’t a race car, so you need to plan your passes on the highway accordingly; if you’re looking for a vehicle with power, this isn’t the car for you.

2008 Tata Nano: India’s pride.

by: Christine Zafra

Although India is a country that is not really into worldwide car competition unlike USA, some European countries and Japan, they have unveiled their new creation: the Tata Nano. It is a four door minivan (right hand driving) that looks so compact it’ll be very beneficial for urban driving. Though the exterior of the Tata Nano measures only about 3 x 1.5 meters, the interior of the car is spacious that it has been branded as a family car. The projected price of the car will be around $2,500 USD, and because of its cheap price, experts forecast that it’ll compete with other minivans and/or hatchbacks such as the Fiat 500.

Photo taken from http://pictopia.com

Jaguar XFJaguar XF

Jaguar has produced an S-Type replacement that’s full of contradiction. The front of the new XF is unmistakably Japanese with a horrible chrome-plated plastic molding for a grille that’s over-large and flanked by fussy headlight assemblies. There is too much nose plastic and fiddily decorative chromed bits. But this is a car that will move the world.

Chinese Car Design

The strangest-looking and most oddly-named cars at the Detroit Show are the three concepts presented by Chinese designer Li Guangming of the Tang Hua design studio in Beijing. The Detroit Fish has a 3.5kW electric motor whose energy is stored in a lithium ion battery pack. It has a possible range of around 93 miles and a top speed of 28mph.