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Cadillac Aera Concept, Smart 454 tied for Top Concepts at LA Auto Show Design Challenge *update

Filed under: Concept Cars, LA Auto Show, Cadillac, GM, Design/Style

Cadillac Aera Concept wins LA Auto Show Design Challenge

Cadillac Aera Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery

The focus at the LA Auto Show is on new production vehicles as well as concepts that hint at an automaker’s direction for the very near future. One aspect of the show however, looks further into the distance and pushes designers to create their vision of a supplied theme. The LA Auto Show Design Challenge has entered it’s seventh year, and for 2010 the designers had to create a 1,000-pound car that was stylish and performance oriented yet also capable of carrying four passengers. The GM Advanced Design team stepped up to the plate and, with their Cadillac Aera Concept, took the top spot. The podium must have been crowded though because the Smart 454 also claimed a victory as the judges declared the competition a tie.

This marks the third time that the group from General Motors has won this challenge, giving them the most wins out of all automakers that enter. The Cadillac Aera Concept hit on all areas that the judges were looking for and, despite the futuristic styling, still carries some recognizable lines from Cadillacs of today.

smart 454 WWT The Smart 454 took a different approach to this contest, compared to the dark and dramatic Aera. The 454 refers to the weight of the vehicle in kilograms, and it is described as being constructed, or rather knitted out of carbon fiber, by “Smart Granny Robots.” Those robots, or SGRs, can turn the carbon fiber into complex shapes, which allows for the varied forms created to be super strong. Even the wheels are carbon fiber, which would allow for less unsprung weight and a strong rolling platform for the 454 WWT to roll on.

You can read more about both the Cadillac Aera Conceptn and the Smart 454 by reading our preview of the design challenge, and you can see them for yourself in the galleries below.

Gallery: 2010 LA Auto Show Design Challenge Winner: Cadillac Aera Concept

2010 LA Auto Show Design Challenge Winner: Cadillac Aera Concept

Gallery: 2010 LA Auto Show Design Challenge Winner: Smart 454 WWT

2010 LA Auto Show Design Challenge Winner: Smart 454 WWT

[Source: General Motors, LA Auto Show]

Continue reading Cadillac Aera Concept, Smart 454 tied for Top Concepts at LA Auto Show Design Challenge *update

Cadillac Aera Concept, Smart 454 tied for Top Concepts at LA Auto Show Design Challenge *update originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 18:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Toyota settles lawsuit tied to crash that triggered recalls

Filed under: Government/Legal

Toyota floormat/pedal entrapment

For a recap of the various Toyota recalls, visit our comprehensive guide

Toyota owners had been contacting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about unintended acceleration issues for years, but one tragedy put the spotlight on Toyota’s problems. Last August, California police officer Mark Saylor and three family members died when the family’s 2009 Lexus ES 350 rental flipped and caught fire after a trapped floor mat reportedly caused the vehicle to speed out of control. A month later Toyota, officially recalled 3.8 million vehicles for floor mat issues and by February 2010 over eight million vehicles were recalled for unintended acceleration issues worldwide.

Automotive News now reports that Toyota has settled with the family of Mark Saylor for an undisclosed financial sum just over a year after the accident. Toyota reportedly declined to offer any insight into the agreement, and there’s a good chance we’ll never know how much money the company paid to settle the case out of court. Toyota is likely years away from putting all of its legal troubles in the rearview mirror, though. The spate of recalls generated numerous other lawsuits and several previously decided court cases were re-opened after the automaker’s troubles became front-page headlines.

[Source: Automotive News sub. req.]

Report: Toyota settles lawsuit tied to crash that triggered recalls originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 19 Sep 2010 08:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Volvo crowns Paris ‘naughtiest’ city in Europe as part of experiments tied to bizarre S60 launch

Filed under: Sedan, Europe, Marketing/Advertising, Videos, Volvo, Luxury

Vovlo tests the world’s naughtiness – Click above to watch video after the jump

Some habits die hard. Swedish manufacturer Volvo has always been one for extensive research. The company’s reputation for safety is based largely on its understanding of the mechanics of a collision thanks to impossibly thorough field studies. So it should come as no surprise that when we all thought Volvo was putting down the clipboard in favor of a cocktail glass by throwing a slew of parties in some of the world’s most iconic cities, the carmaker was actually studying human behavior. Go figure. Why? The move was part of the quest to unearth the Naughty Capitol of Europe as part of the S60 marketing campaign.

Each of the company’s parties included a few clandestine experiments designed to test participants’ naughtiness, including seeing how many people would try to talk their way into a fake VIP room, hit on an actress who was pretending to be married or sprint through a well-manicured flower bed. Volvo held the same experiments in Berlin, London, Milan, Paris and Madrid. Not surprisingly, the City of Light took the crown by a wide, wide margin. Hit the jump for a look at a video of Swedish sins.

[Source: Volvo]

Continue reading Video: Volvo crowns Paris ‘naughtiest’ city in Europe as part of experiments tied to bizarre S60 launch

Video: Volvo crowns Paris ‘naughtiest’ city in Europe as part of experiments tied to bizarre S60 launch originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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