All Opinion articles
-
ArticleUnderpromising and overdelivering in the age of the software-defined vehicle
In an era in which brands like Audi, Volkswagen as well as start-ups such as Fisker, are asking customers to put their faith in an entirely new technology, maybe OEMs are better off underpromising and overdelivering, writes Drew Smith
-
ArticleIn praise of pushbuttons (and other physical controls)
Buttons are making a slight return thanks to revised guidance from Euro NCAP. Drew Smith considers what we lost in the move to screens, and what we might gain from the new rules
-
ArticleOpinion: The UX pain of EV rental
By adding EVs to rental fleets without perfecting the end-to-end experience, brands which claim to be customer-focused have squandered an opportunity to build customer acceptance, writes Drew Smith
-
Article‘In the race to be “cool”, quality and coherence are being left behind’
CES 2024 demonstrated that established OEMs like Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes are asking the wrong questions when it comes to user experience
-
ArticleFlashback: Syd Mead's Singer Smart Car
Was this Syd Mead’s Singer the first smart car’ design?
-
ArticleFlashback: From radio antennas to sensors
The radio is so integral to the modern car as to be almost invisible. Karl Smith tracks the evolution of this assumed slice of technology
-
ArticleMotor City Blues for the Detroit auto show
Car Design News editor James McLachlan gives his take on the 2023 Detroit auto show, something he describes as a dispiriting experience but one that could be rejuvinated by design
-
ArticleWatch: Car Design News in Review
Car Design News editor James McLachlan and assistant editor Freddie Holmes discuss the last 3 months in car design
-
ArticleWhy we need designers and creatives in a world of AI
Ex-Mazda designer Tom Matano tells Car Design News that designers should not feel threatened by artificial intelligence
-
ArticleOpinion: Bring colour back to car interiors
Be it vibrant or muted, colour can inject personality and warmth into the car interior so let’s bring it back, says Jens Meiners
-
ArticleArtificial intelligence and the car designer of the future
CDN’s Karl Smith asks if artificial intelligence is the existential threat to car design we think it is
-
ArticleReading between the lines: how much meaning does car aesthetics really carry?
Aidan Walsh considers whether the syntax around car design carries the weight – and intended meaning – that it used to
-
ArticleFrom Paris with love: a comment on French car design
Christopher Butt takes a look at the return of robustness in French car design, as illustrated by two new concept cars in the Dacia Manifesto and Citroën Oli
-
ArticleOpinion: Peak button to peak screen
From peak button to peak screen (and everything in between), Wayne Batty takes a canter through the last 20 years of interiors
-
ArticleTo mark its 20th anniversary Interior Motives returns to print
Twenty years is a long time in design. Interior Motives editor James McLachlan looks back at what was happening in the world at the time and what has changed
-
ArticleBook review: Vintage Works – a car designer’s sketchbook
Tim Pilsbury’s books have charmed us for years at CDN, from his instructive guides to automotive interiors to this series of sketch diaries, Pilsbury brings his perspective to bear on automotive classics as well as his personal favourites
-
ArticleWhat has happened to Audi design?
(Single)Framing the rise and decline of design kings, Audi. Design critic Wayne Batty is unconvinced by the Bauhaus aspirations of the German marque’s ’Sphere series
-
ArticleReview: Motion – Autos, Art, Architecture
Curated by architect Norman Foster, Motion: Autos, Art, Architecture at the Guggenheim Bilbao is an visually stunning and elegiac tribute to the golden age of the automobile
-
WebinarReinventing Luxury with Chris Bangle
At the recent Pratt Institute Design Symposium 2021 on Re-Inventing Luxury held at the Whitney Museum in New York City, car designer and thinker Chris Bangle shared his thoughts on creating a new narrative around luxury design. Car Design News publishes his talk here
-
ArticleOpinion: a brand story untold – Mercedes’ EQS
Telling the brand story will be the most important task for car designers in the future as electrification, urbanisation, congestion and developments around self-driving cars will conspire to curtail the driving experience. Thus, the brand story will soon be the only truly differentiating USP. Niels van Roij examines the Mercedes-Benz EQS in this light