Car Design Fetish

CDF made an appearance on the latest episode (#26, if you’re keeping track) of the RoundAbout show, a podcast about cars, car culture, and news.  The gang at RoAb approaches automotive news from a more light-hearted, entertaining angle, so when we were asked to appear on this week’s episode speaking about the “unique” automotive design at the recent Geneva Motor Show we couldn’t say no.

Have a listen, or the Sbarro concept car will come and get you.

The Geneva Motor Show reminded us that just as “less is more,” the inverse is just as, if not more true: more is definitely less. Aston Martin takes a tiny Toyota iQ and decks it out in full luxury garb and yet: somehow worse. Mansory adheres flashy pieces of golden chrome to a blue Rolls-Royce and creates a monstrosity. And the Sbarro Autobau is an abomination worse than Pontiac could have ever dreamed. Plus researchers come up with an ingenious solution to identifying potholes as asphalt disintegrates in our Blind Spot, and our Stupid Car Trick is a vomit-inducing exercise as a 15-year-old gets a brand new Camaro SS.

Click here to visit the main page (with video!) or play the audio below.

Play RoundAbout Episode 26

Download MP3 | | |

Featuring: Colin Bird, Zach Bowman, Dali Dimovski, Eric Trytko

Two weeks ago, we reviewed Lap of the Gods, arguably one of the best F1 videos ever produced.  Now, Terrific Stuff brings us The Saga of Formula One – Volume 1, a cornucopia of footage, interviews and anecdotes.  Alain Boisnard’s films and the voice of Bob Constanduros comprise two programs:

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Every time I see the front of Cobo Hall (what I like to call the Q*bert facade), the first thing that comes to my mind is the image above:  Nelson Piquet slamming down through the gears as he approaches Washington Boulevard.  After several sharp turns and a quick trip through the tunnel, he unleashes the full fury of his Honda V6 along the Detroit River.  Everything is running smoothly.  Then, out of nowhere, WHAM! A slower car trips up Piquet, sending him into a barrier.  The voice of F1, Murray Walker, quips, “Oh, well.  It can happen to the best, can’t it!  We’ll turn a blind eye to that one, Nelson!”

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Design-Newz is a site that features articles, resources and tutorials written by designers and developers from around the blogosphere.  The site is extemely useful.   There is a broad range of info pertaining to drawing, graphics, photoshop, web, and articles on design.  You can go back everyday since the site updates with 5-10 articles daily.  Design Newz always has something new to learn that can be applied to your everyday work.

Follow them on Twitter (DesignNewz) to see new updates when they happen.  If you have some info worth sharing you can submit it to be published on their site.

Automotive design tutorial websites are a bit of a rarity in the world.  Designer Techniques, ID Sketching, and Car Body Design are probably the most well known of the lot, but none capture the full automotive design experience from start to finish.

Arvind Ramkrishna, CDF’s Contributing Editor and fellow podcaster, noticed the gap.  Utilizing his passion for sketching as a driving factor, this week he launched his automotive tutorial and art website Driven Mavens.  From start to finish, Arvind (and in the future, guest designers) will showcase the optimal techniques for teaching designers and enthusiasts how to sketch, create, and design vehicles.  A sort of “online academy” DM already has a few terrific tutorial videos and will expand to other aspects of the Automitve Design industry down the line.

Join us in giving Arvind a virtual High Five as we celebrate the launch of Driven Mavens!

NotCot is one of those websites where you just never know what you’re going to get.  Which, incidently, is why we love it for inspiration.  NotCot.com is the face of the NotCot website “empire”, spewing information gained from its collection of sites into an easily-readable format focusing on Design-related topics, cool products, and Designers.  It utilizes quirkiness to compell the readers to click around, in an almost exploratory way.

That’s about as much of a description that is needed, really.  Don’t take our word for it: check out the site(s) for yourself and enjoy.

Never the company to ignore students, Autodesk’s ALIAS division has created and ran a web community for students.  The site contains downloads, demos, career opportunities and preparation, students blogs and community message boards.

Whew.

If you’re a student looking to better your ALIAS skills, or just to connect with other designers, take a look.

Find it here: Autodesk Student Community

Everybody’s doing it.

Twitter.

The new social networking craze.

Well, there is actually a terrific amount of use one can achieve from using Twitter, from following up on news, making contacts with others, or the sharing of information.  Recently, we were blessed with the Game Industry Tweet list – a listing of professional members of the video game industry who utilize the blue bird service.

CDF, avid users ourselves of Twitter, decided to compile a list of automotive industry Tweeters (the plural for those who use Twitter… or Tweet, as it may).

Visit our new, temporary page for the slowly compiling list.  And, if you are a Twitter user or are an automotive professional or student utilizing Twitter, let us know!

And, while you’re at it, feel free to follow us on Twitter as well.

CDF – twitter.com/cardesignfetish

Dali – twitter.com/kewlrats

RTT Hosts 10th Annual Visualization Conference in Munich

WHO: RTT USA, Inc. (RTT), a leader in realtime 3D visualization software and services for product design and marketing.

WHAT: Explore the latest developments and trends in the world of 3D real-time visualization at the 10th annual RTT Conference in Munich.

Journalists are invited to participate in this international dialogue with top designers, scientists and virtual reality experts.

This milestone event will focus on sharing visions and stimulating new ideas, covering a wide range of applications for visualization solutions in the fields of product development, design, marketing and sales. The event will also highlight the latest developments in high-end visualization.

World-class speakers from global companies such as Tokyo Design International, ICON Aircraft, Toyota, Ferrari, Porsche and BMW will talk about the design of modern product lifecycles using practical examples to focus on current trends and technologies in high-end visualization. Speakers include artist, futurist and concept designer Syd Mead, a pioneer in CGI who achieved worldwide acclaim for his designs in numerous films including Blade Runner, Aliens and Mission: Impossible III. Chris Bangle, BMW Group’s former head of design, will also present.

RTT will supply photos and arrange interviews with speakers and industry representatives during the event.

For registration, press accreditation and comprehensive information about the program and speakers at the RTT Conference 2009, please visit www.rttconference.com. Please submit your accreditation request by April 30, 2009.

WHEN: May 7 – 8, 2009

WHERE: Old Congress Hall

Theresienhöhe 15

80339 Munich, Germany

Local Motors is going on a Mid-West tour.    They will be visiting Lawrence Tech and College for Creative Studies in Detroit February 10th.  After that will be stops at The Cleveland Institute of Art on the 11th and Art Institute of Cincinnati on the 12th.  This will be a great chance to see what they have to offer the automotive world and for you to ask all those questions of how they are going to do it.

—Lawrence Tech from 11-1

—College for Creative Studies from 2-4

CDf will most likely be at CCS and then hanging out after with the LM crew.  Be sure to check it out and put some faces to all those screen names you see on the Local Motors website.