Here at the fetish we are quite enthusiastic for the holidays. Giving gifts, seeing friends, partying, and no work for a week and a half make us all jolly inside. To honor the Christmas holiday we will be giving gift ideas for the car design enthusiasts and counting down the 25 days till the fat man comes around. Feel free to pass on the our site to your wives and girlfriends for hints as to what you want under the tree.

AUTOart is a site that has a huge selection of die cast cars, but the best part is their lifestlye products that creatively use automotive styling. This tape dispenser below is simply awesome. Who wouldn’t want this. Check out below for a couple other items in their portfolio.

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Autoblog is reporting on BMW’s new Espresso machine for StarBucks.

BMW’s DesignWorks created what they are calling an “iconic” design for this product. Although it may in fact be less than memorable (we’ve seen far more creative interpretations of coffee-makers) it does show off some of Bimmer’s design capability.

In a world where automotive studios are venturing more into the product design world (read: hard drives, laptops, mobile phones) this is BMW’s way to keep pace with everyone else.

Follow the link to Autoblog’s article.

Image courtesy Autoblog.

Well this probably won’t help but it will look like you know what your are doing or look ridiculous trying. In todays “formless” design world this is pretty extreme. Could organic design be coming back?  I hope not but I am sure it will happen some time. Just like the dull uninspiring eighties fashion style is coming back. Why, do we have nothing better to offer. This is a pretty cool piece to have laying on your desk….. for someone to swipe, and at $150 bones that makes for one lucky swiper.

More pics below…..

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For those of you that know me, you probably know that I am addicted to my Wii. Well, apparently so is the rest of the Design community as the Wii has just won the G-Mark (Good Design Award) — a coveted Japanese design award by the Japan Industrial Design Promotional Organization. The annual selection included over 1000 products this year. Out of that group a separate 15 were given a “Best 15″ designation, among which the Wii was also included.

Nintendo, now the #2 company in Japan behind Toyota (even besting giants Honda and Sony) continues to look more and more like the Apple of the gaming world, both design-wise and rabid fanboy-ism.

Include me in that group as well.

Sorry for the lack of posts, but some of us have been out enjoying the mental end of summer. Yes there are a few weeks left but when the yellow blocks come out and add on fifteen minutes for the morning commute, it’s all over. I had the pleasure of spending my last summer weekend on a boat soaking up the sun and the adult beverages. I saw some sweet wakeboard boats while I was out floating and growing less and less sober. I noticed that boat design has really progressed over the past few years. Colors, forms, and features have really changed with the new generation of buyers coming into play. Who would have thought speakers would become a focal point on a boat?
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Well I know it isn’t a car, but when that hot blond drives by and smiles you want to return the favor without that big black seed between your teeth from lunch. And it is covered in chrome. This is the best traveling toothbrush I have ever seen. I have even purchased a few of these as gifts, but somehow never got one for myself.

The brush is enclosed in a vented or non-vented cap to keep things clean and stores toothpaste in the handle. A simple twist and the toothpaste emerges from the bristles. Yes it is refillable as well as comes with extra brush heads. It is the most handy travel item ever and it doesn’t look like it came from the dollar store.

Start thinking of those stocking stuffers now. It will be here before you know it. Check out the site, goohso.com

I found this on Core 77 and thought it was interesting. Sombody is going to figure this fuel source thing out.

Segway inventor Dean Kamen has spent roughly US $40 million developing his next passion project, the Stirling engine. A Stirling is different from a typical internal-combustion engine in that it’s “closed-cycle”; while it still uses expanding gas to drives pistons, it’s completely sealed, emitting nothing. The gas stays inside, expanding and contracting when needed.

Kamen’s version of the engine generates spare electricity and runs on, well, anything. Two of his prototypes are currently providing power to two Bangladeshi villages, using cow manure (you read that right) as fuel.

Mass production would make Kamen’s Stirling engine affordable to the developing-nations people who need it most; in active pursuit of this goal, Kamen is currently trying to install a Stirling in the Think, a Norwegian car. Read all about it here.

So, I know you have seen pics of the R8 before, but nothing beats seeing one in person, and then taking many many pics of it. Yet another CDF exclusively unexclusive exclusive spy photo shoot……. I am not even going to type words, just view……..

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Now that summer is half way over (damn it!), forget buying a BBQ on clearance. Make your own. This is definitely the hottest and most powerful looking BBQ out there. This is also one BBQ you wouldn’t mind taking up some of your gear head garage.

Thanks for the pics Aaron!

Check out this bike done by Herald Cramer (recent graduate looking for work). Some great work creating a fluid form and integrating everything for a clean aesthetic. Here is the info from Core 77….

Harald Cramer’s ORYX design won him a $1,000 scholarship from the 2007 Dimension 3D Printing Group Extreme Redesign Contest. The ORYX bicycle is a custom-made time trial bike designed to be shockproof without loosing traction. The one-sided wheel suspension and crank have been shifted to the inside, which Cramer says adds to the overall aerodynamics. The crank itself has been integrated into the bicycle frame, and includes an enclosure for the chain to help prevent injuries. Cramer’s concept also finds a solution to the challenge of changing tires. One push of a button makes it possibly to easily slide the wheel off from one side of the bike and cut down on the repair time and hassle.

Take a peek at Cramer’s work over at Coroflot.

Note to Cramer…put some sketches in your portfolio. Glamor shots only get you so far. Employers want to see your development skills. It’s what you will be paid to do.