There is definitely a Blue Ocean for bicycle design.  The untapped market of commuter bikes for the masses is one that has thus far been seldom explored.  What would it take to get a typical short-ride commuter to switch to a bike?

The folks at Bicycle Design want to know as well.  They are sponsoring a contest to create the ultimate commuter bike.  And although not technically automotive-related, bicycle design can be incredibly creative, with little-to-no “top” to keep one from stretching their creativity.

The best part?  The prize: The winning entry receives a Cannondale Bad Boy bike.  Design a bike, win a bike.  I like the trade-off.

Full contest rules after the break (or here)

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Another week, another edition of Sketch P*rn.  My, we have had a ton of them lately!  Leading up to auto show season, we expect to see several more coming through.

This week, we feature work from Audi.  As it begins its next line-up refresh, Audi will be introducing new vehicles and updating older models.  These sketches (ranging from loose marker drawings to tight digital sketches) show some of these.

We start off with a refined theme sketch for an A5 Cabrio.  Nice, loose sketch, focusing on stance and theme.  This sketch shows a few basic principles:  let the white of the paper come through, and have a focal point.  And, huge wheels that are completely out of perspective.

Click the link below to see them all!

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When we are confronted with the ages-old question of where creativity comes from, how do we normally answer?

Is it in our blood?  Is it a learned trait?  Is is happy accidents?

Well, our friends in the UK are exposing the shocking truth:  Creativity is juiced.

Is this the 2010 Tesla Model S?  We can only hope!  Road and Track has the scoop on the Model S, which is set to debut at the next Geneva show.

The vehicle will be an all-electric four-door luxury car, with a base price of $60k, a range of 240 miles on a charge, and pleanty of muscle on the road.  And, if this pic turns out legit, it will be one heckuva eye-catcher.

[Image courtesy Road & Track]

We know: the Volt is a polarizing vehicle design.  Either you long for the days of the electric muscle car concept, or you realize that the actual vehicle looks the way it does because of the technology and aerodynamics.

The head of the Volt design studio, Bob Boniface, had a chance to voice his opinion on the design.  Speaking to the Plain Dealer (out of Cleveland, plaindealer.com) Boniface mentioned how proud he was of the vehicle.

It doesn’t look like a pony car any more. There were probably a small number of people expecting the electric Camaro.

Concept cars are relatively easy to do because you’re designing without constraints.

I’m more proud of this car than I am of the concept car… To make the car still good looking after putting on all of these restricting criteria was tough, and I think we delivered on it.

Exterior designer Gary Ruiz also spoke about the design, mentioning that there were certain obstacles that the concept vehicle didn’t even come close to adressing, such as the shorter hood and the aerodynamic (commonly referred to by those nitpickers as “Prius-like”) body style.

We know each person will have their own ideas about what they do/don’t like about the car, we know we did.  The vehicle, although not the speedster that the concept made it out to be, is still nicely designed and contains a flair that separates it from the Prius.

We always drew cars thinking one day that carbon fiber would be a viable source of SOME part of a vehicle’s development.  In modern times we have been constrained to specialty vehicles, concepts, aftermarket parts, or under the hood as a way to provide a lightweight alternative to metal.

Well, along comes Toray Industries of Japan to make our dreams soon come true.  They have developed a carbon fiber manufacturing process to considerably reduce the time for carbon fiber molding of vehicle platforms from 160 minutes to 10 minutes.  While this reduction is incredible, it is still not enough to compete with sheet metal parts, which take just minutes to be manufactured and cost much less.  Much, much less.  Much.  Less.

Toray is optimistic that their process, still in development, will lead to even more reduced manufacturing times and comparable cost, which could come as soon as 4-5 years from now.

Is Toyota following GM’s footsteps?  How many brands do you want under one company?  It is obvious from what GM is going through that less is more.  Toyota, Lexus, Scion and now Prius.  The first three brands are all very unique brand wise from each other not so much when it comes to the actual cars.  Why have one fuel efficient brand, don’t you want all your brands to be leaders in technology and fuel efficiency?

The worst part of this is that under the Prius brand there would be more…Prius’s.  Not something I am looking forward top seeing on the road.  I am all about supporting the environment but not at the expense of a poorly looking car leaking NIMH all over the road creating a dead zone.

Anyway, in an attempt to go along with the inevitable bad decisions in the auto industry we have come up with some future Prius models to fill out the lineup.  Check them out and see if we are on to something.  Hopefully we are not.

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With the LA Auto Show fast approaching, Design LA has just released the information on the entrees in its annual Design Challenge.  This year, the theme is “Motorsports 2025″.

For those unfamiliar with the Design Challenge:  Each year for the LA Auto Show, Design LA holds a competition inviting studios to submit an automotive concept based on a theme.  The concepts spread the gambit from conservative to wild.

This year’s entrees:

• Audi R25
• BMW Hydrogen Salt Flat Racer
• GM Chaparral Volt
• Honda Great Race 2025
• Mazda Kaan
• Mitsubishi MMR25
• Mercedes-Benz Formula Zero
• Toyota Lemans Racer
• VW Bio Runner

We’ll have all the entrees up this week for your viewing pleasure.

Until then, take a look at last year’s entries.

For more info: http://www.laautoshow.com/DesignChallenge.html

It’s election season, so that means voting is up and running!  Cooper-Hewitt is in on the fun with their National Design Awards voting wrapping up today (21 OCT).

With great designs such as the iPhone, Helvetica: The Movie, various cars, and the Ovetto recycled recycling bin, there are over 250 things to vote for.  Can’t seem to find one you like?  There is still time to submit or nominate one (although I doubt you’ll get very many votes with such short time left).

Voting wraps at 6PM EST today, so get into your air-tight, non-hackable, non-denominational booths!

Cooper-Hewitt People’s Design Awards

Live in Europe?  Fancy yourself some creativity and the possibility at some cash prizes?  GM is beginning its 3rd session of the horribly-named “Young? Creative? Chevrolet!” contest.

The idea is to capture the essence of the bowtie company in one of five disciplines: photography, video, visual arts, music, and fashion.  The vehicles involved include the Cruze WTCC, the Aveo, and others.

Prizes are both at National and European levels, and range from €300 to €1200.

For the full press release, follow the jump.

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