Posted: July 24, 2014 at 6:52 am | Tags: Automobile Design, car design
A skateboarder who died after collapsing in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood Tuesday morning was the founder of an Oakland-based design company.
George Schnakenberg III, 38, of Oakland, was riding a motorized skateboard in a bike lane in the 600 block of Eighth Street around 9 a.m. Tuesday when he suddenly collapsed, San Francisco police spokesman Officer Gordon Shyy said.
Shyy said investigators talked to several witnesses who said Schnakenberg fell while riding and may have hit a parked car after the collapse.
Police said he was taken to San Francisco General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Schnakenberg was the founder and design director of Infinite Collective, an industrial design consultancy firm.
According to the company’s website, Schnakenberg started the company in Oakland in 2012 after working in the design industry for the past 15 years.
On his LinkedIn profile, he posted photos of products and projects he has designed, including a coffee brewer, bicycles, skateboards, a 3D-printed keychain and other digital and mechanical items.
He had posted two YouTube videos two years ago of some of his electric bicycle designs.
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Article source: http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_26201719/skateboarder-dies-after-crashing-into-parked-car-san
Posted: July 24, 2014 at 6:52 am | Tags: Automobile Design, car design
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Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-28408408
Posted: July 24, 2014 at 6:52 am | Tags: Automobile Design, car design
“For the public it was unbelievable, almost inconceivable,” says
Schnell, “so management had to react.”
The way we were 1: in the beginning, car designers wore sober suits
Schnell’s day job was designing a replacement for the Opel Rekord and his
advanced design studio was one of four in the building.
“Up to that point no one had talked about car design,” he says, “and
car design wasn’t really recognised. One of our first car designers was a
former shop-window dresser and he was really good. He ended up at Ford.”
At first, the studio was headed by Clare MacKichan, who had come from Detroit
to Rüsselsheim as head designer (it was he who came up with the idea of a
two-seat Opel sports car concept that became the Experimental GT). With no
university car design faculties or courses, the Opel studio became a Mecca
for young would-be car designers.
“The studio quickly became Europe’s first automotive design school,”
says Kurt Beyer, current chief of interior design. “People came from
all over the world as word got out.”
Indeed Hideo Kodama, the Opel designer responsible for the last two Corsa
models, initially wanted to go to GM’s Detroit design studio in the
mid-Sixties. Even in the Fifites, the Detroit studio was burgeoning,
employing 1,200 staff. Instead, Kodama was sent to Rüsselsheim and ended up
head of the facility. In the ensuing decades, graduates of Opel’s design “school”
have found homes all over the industry and the world.
There have been 11 heads of Opel European design, including Martin Smith, who
designed the Audi Quattro and TT interior and is now at Ford. Wayne Cherry,
designer of the Vauxhall/Opel Calibra, moved from head of European design to
head all of GM’s design in North America.
The way we were 2: the Opel design studio in the late Sixties
Briton Mark Adams is the current design head at Rüsselsheim and he has
overseen the current Corsa, Astra and Insignia, and is currently working on
a future generation of Vauxhall/Opel models.
Not that he, like Schnell, isn’t above a bit of management kidology when it
comes to getting designs accepted by management. One designer recollected
how Adams hid the design for the three-door GTC Astra under a sheet at the
corner of the studio when then European boss Carl-Peter Forster was
inspecting the five-door Astra proposals.
“He [Forster] asked ‘What’s that?’ and pointed at the sheet,”
recalled the designer. “He walked over and took it off and stared at
the GTC for several minutes. ‘Who did this?’ he demanded. And when the
designer owned up, Forster gave him a big hug.”
When Schnell worked at the studio the tools of the trade were pencil and
paper, pastels and modelling clay. Even in the mid-Nineties GM’s head of
design Dick Ruzzin said: “All great cars start with a single pencil
line on a piece of paper.”
Is it the same today?
“Where once there was pen and paper and pastels, now the computer is the
designer’s tool,” says Adams.
Well, almost.
“Pencils? Yeah we use whatever we feel comfortable with, it’s not a
religion,” says Hasan Zraikat, an exterior designer.
But these days time is of the essence and computers help to minimise design
time and also allow several proposals to be carried to the model stage.
“Those early designers, they had one shot. They win or they lose,”
says Friedhelm Engler, director of advanced design, explaining that with
virtual reality software, several car design proposals can be shown to
management before it gets to the expensive, but still necessary, clay model
stage. “The simulation is so precise you can zoom down to the
individual flakes in the paintwork,” he says.
Plus ca change… current Opel designers recreate the Experimental GT of
1965
Perhaps the best example of how things have changed are the wheels for the
Experimental GT. In Schnell’s day there were distinct styles such as
Rostyles, Fuchs, Campagnolo or Minilites. These days there are myriad styles
and when the idea to model a full-sized clay of the 1964 concept came up as
part of the studio’s 50-year celebration, the young designers realised that
the original wheels wouldn’t be available.
“We got some Minilites, but they didn’t look right,” says Engler, “so
we found the right wheels and printed them.”
That’s three dimensional printing, one of the most advanced contruction
methods in the world. “Aw, we use it all the time,” says Engler.
So that reconstruction of the original clay model of the concept that started
all of this half a century ago is now standing on wheels which have been
digitised off the originals into a computer and manufactured using the most
advanced techniques available.
Apart from the lines on Schnell’s face, it’s perhaps the best illustration of
how, in car design, Jean-Baptiste Karr was right: “The more things
change, the more they stay the same…”
Article source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/10972015/Opel-Design-Studio-half-century-celebration.html
Posted: July 22, 2014 at 6:44 am | Tags: Automobile Design, car design
Four of the most successful cars ever made have succeeded through generations of carefully calibrated industrial design, adapting not only to changes in consumer tastes but also improvements in global automotive safety regulations.
Ebay Motors, the automotive segment of the popular San Jose, California, online auction house, came up with a clever gimmick to promote itself in a dense online automotive marketplace. The company took a snapshot of every Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Corvette, BMW 3-Series and Honda Accord design ever made and merged them into four animated GIFs that show the evolution of decades of vehicle design in a matter of seconds:
The Chevrolet Corvette was unveiled in 1953, featuring one of the first all-fiberglass bodies and wraparound windshield. The first C1 Corvette didn’t have a lot of muscle, but the model lasted nine years with gradual improvements under the hood. The Sting Ray came out in 1963 to much fanfare for both design and performance. The seventh-generation Corvette, the C7, came out in 2014 with a weight-saving aluminum frame. It’s still considered one of the best American sports cars.
The Ford Mustang debuted in 1963 as the most successful car since the Model T up to that time. The appeal had a lot to do with the cost: The underpinnings of the first Mustang came from the Ford Falcon, so the company didn’t have to build the sports car from scratch. Fifty-one years later, the sixth-generation Mustang has made its way to the Chinese market and it still grabs the attention to American muscle car fans worldwide.
BMW’s compact executive car has been since its inception in 1975 one of the best entry-level luxury sedans ever made. The first generation, called the E21 3-Series, didn’t stray too far from its predecessor, the BMW 2002, including the distinctive forward-leaning front end. The four-door came out in the BMW E30 3-Series in 1984 and in 1987 a sporty 2-door version came out. In its sixth generation, the 3-Series name remains as a sedan or wagon while the two-door coupe has broken away to become the 4-Series.
It’s not the sexiest car to have been around for so long, but the Honda Accord remains one of the most popular mass-market sedans in the world. The first Japanese car to be manufactured in the United States, at Honda’s Marysville, Ohio, plant, the Accord debuted in 1976 as a modestly priced gas-sipper in the wake of the early 1970s U.S. oil crisis. Honda deftly entered the U.S. market as a humble maker of motorcycles and today has four manufacturing site in the U.S. and seven in North America. The ninth-generation Accord was released in 2013, and is considered a relatively bland but very reliable mid-sized sedan.
Article source: http://www.ibtimes.com/check-out-decades-car-evolution-seconds-feed-your-automotive-nostalgia-1634780
Posted: July 22, 2014 at 6:42 am | Tags: Automobile Design, car design
The automotive industry is conservative and doesn’t take enough responsibility in emerging markets. Thus, countries such as China and India have experienced huge problems with pollution as they have increased their living standards and entered the western consumption society. In these booming economies there are still people who live their lives according to old customs, in small sustainable societies. It is also they who suffer most from the ongoing urbanization. Hence the automotive industry should rather adapt to their cultures than let these people adjust to the consumption society.
Now, imagine a third industrial revolution where sustainable energy and manufacturing set the standards for production. Africa is then in the forefront when it comes to alternative and sustainable solutions. Maasaica is a concept from BMW which is locally built in Serengeti using 3D printing technology, degradable materials and traditional handcraft.
Inspiration and Method
The intention with Maasaica was to do a concept, which will leave questions and thoughts about how to best design a sustainable, locally produced car. Another aim with the project was to question the methods and ideas of the conservative automotive industry. However, Massaica doesn’t give all the answers to how to produce and design sustainable car, but is a step in the right direction on how the automotive industry can contribute to a more sustainable society.
As designers we have a great opportunity to influence a product early in the process. However, one can also see it as we have a great responsibility to do our best to design products for a better society. That is what Massaica is about.
By considering important issues such as climate change and the conditions in the 3rd world during the early phase of this project, I have had a different approach than many other student’s design projects. Massaica is designed beyond mobility.
My main inspiration came from the Maasai culture and new ways of manufacturing. A future scenario of Africa in 2040 was created by collecting information from United Nations, The World Bank, The Economist etc.
The name Maasaica comes from the Latin word for the lion species in Kenya, Panthera Leo Masaica.
Result
The result is a contextual concept vehicle, which is meant for the Maasai tribe in Serengeti. However, the story of the Maasai’s is similar to many other fragile habitats which are facing the challenges of urbanization. Therefore, similar concepts could be developed for other traditional societies around the world.
However those concepts would have to be adapted to those societies’ needs and cultures. Imagine Africa in 2040 as a global leader and a sustainable society. The African population has gone from using very traditional forms of transportation to sustainable vehicles. The Maasais would be recognized both regionally and internationally for being in the forefront when it comes to technology, entertainment, fashion and
design. If BMW doesn’t offer them a transportation sollution they will make it themself.
By taking advantage of traditional craftmanship, new manufacturing methods and existing African mentality of upcycling, the concept Maasaica is showing how the automotive industry could take part of the 3rd new sustainable industrial revolution. A revolution that would create an Africa that would have no negative effects on the environment.
-Erik Melldahl - MFA Transportation Design
Source: Umeå Institute of Design
Article source: http://www.engineering.com/3DPrinting/3DPrintingArticles/ArticleID/8064/BMW-Sponsors-Locally-Supported-3D-Printed-Auto-Design.aspx
Posted: July 22, 2014 at 6:42 am | Tags: Automobile Design, car design
Hey, budding designers! Have you submitted your designs for the Proton Design Competition 2014? We and the design team are eagerly awaiting your entries, and you’d better hurry as submissions close August 11!
While you guys are busy working on your entries, let’s have a look at some of the our stories related to the competition over the past few weeks.
Proton’s past concepts
We started with a look at a selection of Proton’s previous concept cars to get an insight into what the design team had done before as well as to provide inspiration for the contestants. Among the cars we looked at were the Tuah, which previewed the eventual Prevé, as well as the EMAS from Geneva 2010 which kickstarted Proton’s current design direction.
Entry formats and submissions guide
Those who need clarification on the exact rules and regulations of the competition would do well to check out our guide on submissions and entry formats, including paper size, views of the exterior to render and the type and the number of seats of the car itself. This should allow you to focus on your design without having to worry about disqualification.
The design guide
Still scratching your head over how to design a Proton city car for the year 2020? The company issued a set of guidelines for the contestants, based on what the judges are looking for in each design. We also tried our hand at our own city car design, as seen above, though we’re sure you can do better…
Interview with Azlan Othman, Proton’s head of design
Last week, we spoke to Proton’s chief designer, Azlan Othman, about what actually goes on behind the scenes of the design studio, how cars such as the Prevé and the Suprima S were designed relative to their target market and how Proton’s design language will evolve over the coming years. He also gave some tips for the competition, so it’s something you should not miss!
Don’t forget, there’s still time to join the Proton Design Competition 2014, which is looking for your vision of a Proton city car for the year 2020. Up for grabs are RM58,000 worth of prizes, including MacBooks, cash rewards, an internship at the Proton RD Creative Design Centre and even a chance to have your design immortalised as a quarter-scale model at the Proton Gallery.
This is great opportunity for Malaysian youths to be part of something that could define their future as well as that of the local automobile industry. Visit Proton’s Facebook page for the entry form and contest details.
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Article source: http://paultan.org/2014/07/22/proton-design-competition-2014-coverage-far/
Posted: July 20, 2014 at 6:25 am | Tags: Automobile Design, car design
The Society of Automotive Engineers is organising the third edition of the Supra SAEIndia Student Formula on Friday at the Madras Motor Sports Race Track in Chennai.
The three-day event provides a platform to college students across India, in teams of five, to build a prototype formula type race car. The event will test aspiring engineers on their manufacturing and automotive design skills.
S Thirumalini, Convenor of the event and Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Amrita School of Engineering, said, “This event will see eminent industry experts evaluating the design and cost reports, marketing presentation and technical evaluation of the cars based on all parameters, including acceleration, fuel economy, manoeuvrability and endurance.”
Event format
The students are given a full year to come out with the final prototype. The event has three stages over a period of one year and teams are eliminated in each phase. This year’s event received 173 registrations with only 87 teams remaining for the final round.
N Balasubramanian, Advisor to the event and General Manager – Product Engineering, Renault Nissan Technology Business Centre India feels such engineering programmes benefit aspiring engineers as this can be a platform for companies to spot talent.
Maruti Suzuki India is the title sponsor of the event and the associate sponsor is Rajalakshmi Group of Institutions, Chennai.
Article source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/states/sae-to-host-engg-design-competition/article6221666.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication
Posted: July 20, 2014 at 6:25 am | Tags: Automobile Design, car design
Chennai: Eighty-seven student teams from as many colleges will compete for a prize with race cars designed by them at the third edition of the SUPRA SAEINDIA Student Formula contest that starts here Friday, officials said.
The total prize money is around Rs.1 million, officials of the Society Automotive Engineers (SAE) India told reporters Thursday.
“Student teams from 87 colleges have entered the final stages of the SUPRA SAEINDIA Student Formula competition this year. It is not just a boys’ event. There are two girls teams that are competing with their own race cars,” said Rajesh Kumar, general manager for marketing and communications at Defiance Technologies Ltd.
According to SUPRA SAEINDIA convener S. Thirumalini, the event gives the students experience in designing as per specifications, sourcing of components, fabricating, costing and even marketing.
The students who participate in the competition have a definite edge over others in the job market as they gain practical experience – from designing a car to its launch and team work, said SUPRA SAEINDIA 2014 advisor N. Balasubramanian.
“The maximum allowable spend on building the car is Rs.10 lakh. Till date, the lowest cost at which a race car was built is Rs.1 lakh,” Thirumalini said.
The weight of the cars also has come down over the past two editions.
“Over the past two events, the average weight of the cars has come down to 263 kg from around 400 kg due to use of different materials,” Thirumalini said.
Unlike in the past two editions, where Maruti’s 800cc engine was specified, this time the competing teams have to build their race cars with 610cc engines.
Over the next three days, the 87 race cars would be subjected to various kinds of tests – noise, brakes and endurance.
“The cars will be driven by a student team member at the Madras Motor Race Track near here. The cars will have to do five laps during which the time taken, fuel consumption and other parameters would be measured,” said SAEINDIA deputy director general K. Shriramchandran.
Article source: http://www.ummid.com/news/2014/July/19.07.2014/race-car-design-contest.html
Posted: July 20, 2014 at 6:25 am | Tags: Automobile Design, car design
Posted: Saturday, July 19, 2014 12:00 am
Race car design debuts today
The race to find a cure for juvenile diabetes isn’t the only race where young Carson Magee is making a mark.
The 11-year-old Coeur d’Alene boy, whose advocacy efforts in support of juvenile diabetes research have earned him state and national attention, is this year’s winner of “Our Everyday Heroes,” a race car design contest for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
“I am so excited to be selected,” said Carson, who has made the finals of the contest for the last three years.
Carson’s car design is being unveiled this weekend at the Mile High NHRA Nationals and will be featured on Bob Tasca III’s Funny Car.
The boy’s design features flames and pays homage to firefighters, emergency medical technicians, police and each of the U.S. armed services.
The design was inspired, Carson said, by friends who have Type 1 diabetes: Adam, a firefighter; and his best friend’s mom, who is an emergency medical technician.
“And my friend Hayven, who dreams of flying in the Air Force like both of her parents, but T1Ds aren’t yet allowed in the military,” Carson said. “My dream is to become a military chaplain so I was thinking of all these heroes and I couldn’t leave any military heroes out.”
Carson also raised $3,735 for juvenile diabetes research, as part of the contest.
“We are so pleased that Carson has won the ‘Our Everyday Heroes’ contest,” said Mary Lou Quesnell, director of marketing for Ford Customer Service Division – which along with Motorcraft and Quick Lane Tire and Auto Centers, sponsors the event. “Not only is he a talented artist – as evidenced by his race car design – but he is one of the nation’s foremost youth activists in support of JDRF and bringing awareness to the effort to create a world without T1D.”
Carson has spoken publicly about juvenile diabetes to the Coeur d’Alene School Board and City Council. He attended the Republican Party of Idaho’s annual Lincoln Dinner in 2013 and met U.S. Sen. James Risch, U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador, and Idaho Gov. Butch Otter.
Carson was a delegate at the 2013 JDRF Children’s Congress in Washington, D.C., and is a budding inventor. His inventions, designed to make testing blood sugar levels easier, have won awards in Idaho and one of them was featured on national television, on Nickelodeon’s game show “Figure It Out.”
More about Carson
- ARTICLE: ‘For my kids and my sanity’
- ARTICLE: David Brenner loses battle with cancer
- ARTICLE: Lamenting about late night
- ARTICLE: First night a hit for ‘Tonight’ host Fallon
More about Design
- ARTICLE: Big hug for McEuen
- ARTICLE: STEM science teams win awards
- ARTICLE: Vote for Idaho’s Doodle 4 Google winner
- ARTICLE: A long line of Spring Dash design
More about Race
- ARTICLE: Diamonds aren’t forever
- ARTICLE: Post Falls Festival lists Big Wheel Race winners
- ARTICLE: The late, not-so-great Diamond Cup holdup
- ARTICLE: The science of race cars
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Article source: http://www.cdapress.com/news/local_news/article_c189dcef-0424-5fd5-9079-7c64fd9521b9.html
Posted: July 18, 2014 at 6:11 am | Tags: Automobile Design, car design
A much maligned Blackpool car park which was criticised for looking closed after a multi-million pound refit has won an award for the revamp.
The £6m Talbot Road car park was refurbished as part of the £220m Talbot Gateway project but drew criticism in March for being massively under-used.
Traders complained shutters on the doorsd made it look closed and that prices at £6.50 for four hours were too high.
The council ended up waiving fees for three weekends in a row and then cut charges to £4.50 in a bid to encourage drivers to start using the multi-storey building.
But now the redesign carried out on the historic building by Muse Developments has won the top award nationally in the British Parking Awards for Best Refurbishment.
The car park was originally designed and constructed by Blackpool Council in the 1930s and featured innovative details for the time such as terracotta tiled facades and ‘window’ openings to provide natural light and ventilation.
Originally designed to offer four parking levels with public toilets and Blackpool’s main bus station at ground floor level, it now forms a central part of the mixed-use 25-acre Talbot Gateway Central Business District (CBD) scheme.
By the 1970s, wear and tear to the terracotta tiles had prompted the council to over clad the original elevations with corrugated plastic sheeting. The window openings were also covered with translucent fibre glass louvres.
Mike Horner, regional director at Muse Developments, said: “By the time we came to develop plans for the Talbot Gateway regeneration scheme, the car park had not only lost its original charm and vintage design appeal, it had also become run down and no longer fit for purpose.
“Refurbishing the car park was a central part of our vision to improve the appeal of the whole area by bringing back to life a car park that not only enables visitors to park in the town centre, generating footfall, but also enhances the quality and visual appeal of Blackpool’s built environment.”
The 648 space Talbot Road car park beat strong competition from five other shortlisted car parks in the Best Refurbishment category thanks to a creative design that reveals the original 1930s frame but delivers a contemporary car park that acknowledges its heritage.
Designed by architect, Potter and Holmes and refurbished by Tolent Construction, the five levels which are accessed by internal circular ramps and the ground floor has been redeveloped as retail units, in keeping with the new Talbot Gate streetscapes.
Coun John Jones, Blackpool Council’s cabinet member for highways and transport, said: “We’re pleased for Muse that they have won an award for the car park. However, the most important thing for us is to ensure that it is a valuable resource to the people of Blackpool and we’re very pleased that’s beginning to be the case.
“While we’ve now got a number of council staff paying to park there on annual contracts we are also seeing increases in footfall from other users. It’s clear that the parking offers we’ve put on have helped to familiarise people with the car park.
“We will continue to monitor progress and to look to improve.”
Article source: http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/local/snubbed-blackpool-car-park-wins-design-award-1-6734981
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