Automotive Addicts

---

Land Rover DC100 Penned As Defender Replacement Posted: 31 Aug 2011 07:54 AM PDT The Land Rover DC 100 concept. Image: Jaguar Land Rover With apologies to Jeep, the Land Rover Defender is perhaps the world's most iconic go-anywhere, do-anything vehicle. It's the one vehicle in the Land Rover catalog that is most directly related to the original Land Rover, proven in the harshest terrain all over the world. It's more pack mule than status symbol, and you're more likely to see a mud-caked Defender in a British farmer's field than you are to see a sparkling clean Defender parked outside of Harrods. Only in America is the now-banned Defender considered a plaything for the wealthy. Land Rover has announced that a new Defender will hit the market in 2015, and they've provided these images of their DC100 concept as a starting point for the next Defender's development. I'll try not to be too critical, but the cute-ute pictured here has as much in common with the iconic Defender as Rosie O'Donnell does with Kim Kardashian. Take the wheels, for example, which would get caked with mud as soon as you hit standing water. They look appallingly fragile, too, as if one good impact on a rock would leave you with a shattered wheel, potentially miles from civilization. Image: Jaguar Land Rover On the plus side, the narrow front and rear overhangs ensure that you have the best possible approach and departure angles, and the short wheelbase should keep the DC100 from getting high centered on obstacles. It looks like the truck has a reasonable amount of ground clearance, too. Maybe the biggest problem I have with the DC100 is it's appearance. It looks about as rugged as Justin Bieber, and as pictured will appeal more to teenage girls than to those needing rugged and dependable transportation out where the busses don't run. I know it's just a starting point, but I hope the next images released by Land Rover show a truck with a bit less flash and a bit more attitude. Source: Jaguar Land Rover

Ford’s Evos Concept Reveals The Future Of Ford’s Styling Posted: 31 Aug 2011 06:59 AM PDT Ford's Evos concept. Image: Ford Motor Company I'll give you the bad news up front: the stunning concept car you see here, the Ford Evos, won't ever see production. No matter how badly you want to buy one, no amount of letter writing, begging or pleading will get this car into a Ford dealer any time soon. Ford is debuting the Evos at the Frankfurt Motor Show, and it will undoubtedly be making the global auto show circuit in the coming year. Image: Ford Motor Company Now the good news: the Evos is a styling exercise, meant to represent Ford's new global design language. You can't buy the Evos, but every Ford penned from this point forward will borrow (in some cases, heavily) from the styling pioneered on the Evos. The inverted trapezoid grille, dubbed the "new face of Ford," has already been seen on the upcoming Ford Focus Electric and the much-anticipated Ford Focus ST. Image: Ford Motor Company Other design elements that Ford will use moving forward include minimized roof pillars and aerodynamic designs that make the car look "light on its feet," silhouette innovation to distinguish Ford's profile from competitors, refined surface styling to add subtle detail (and perceived quality) and minimized headlamps and tailights (which Ford calls "technical graphics"). Image: Ford Motor Company Since the Evos is a concept car, it also pushes the boundaries of existing automotive technology. It's powered by a plug-in hybrid drivetrain (although no specifications for power or performance were given) and it uses cloud computing to ensure the driver has the same access to information as he would at home or in the office. The Evos monitors a driver's health as well, and can remind you when you're too tired to drive or alert you if a sudden medical condition is detected. Image: Ford Motor Company While some of the styling elements are a bit over the top (like the four gull-wing doors. for example), overall the Evos is a styling home run for Ford. It appears to be influenced by Aston Martin's current designs, but copies none of them. Stare at the Evos long enough, and you'll see new interpretations of existing Ford styling; the bold character lines used on the doors come from the Mustang, and you can see a bit of the current Ford Taurus in the front end. Image: Ford Motor Company There's more good news, too: J Mays, Ford's group vice president of design, tells us to look for a new model release, heavily influenced by the Evos concept, in four months time. That's just about the right timing for the 2012 North American International Auto Show, and it's just about when we expect to see the introduction of the Ford Focus ST. We'll be counting down the days. Source: Ford

You are subscribed to email updates from Automotive Addicts To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610