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We've spent the entire day showing you all of the entrants for the 2007 Design Challenge, the official winner of which won't be announced until the 2007 LA Auto Show in mid-November. We don't have to wait that long to decide which automaker has the best vision of the future. Vote in the poll below for your favorite Design Challenge entrant you read about today. Your only guideline should be what vehicle you'd want to be driving 50 years from now, and feel free to tell us the reasons behind your choice in the comments.
Check out all the entrants after the jump to make an informed decision.
click above image for more views of the 2057 Toyota Biomobile
The Car: The 2057 Toyota Biomobile is the ultimate solution for pollution. That's because it actually runs on the stuff. The Biomobile extracts pollution from the air to utilize as an energy source, though we're unclear as to what the byproduct of that process is - more pollution? Like many entrants for 2007 LA Auto Show Design Challenge, the Biomobile is also able to change form. It's maleable structure is able to contract and extend to create a low-slung performance car, upright urban commuter or even a living space. And check out those wheels, which Toyota says are made out of nano-lasers. The Future According to Toyota: The Committee to Create Interesting Cars, established by Toyota in 2007, was so wildly successful that the Japanese automaker's cars are now considered even more attractive than Italian exotics of the mid- to late-21st century. The Biomobile is the latest creation of TCCC, and its true innovation is not the set of run-flat nano-laser wheels it wears, but rather the car's amazing ability to convert pollution into energy that it uses for power, the only by product of which is a type of home-brew Sake that's stored onboard in a chilled decanter. Being that humans became immune to the effects of alcohol due to overconsumption, the driver's Sake exhaust energy drink can be enjoyed while you slice up the road in Toyota's latest interesting car created by a committee.
Weirdness Factor: (1 - I could buy that today, 10 - OMG WTF) : 8
Gallery: 2007 LA Design Challenge: 2057 Toyota Biomobile
click above image for more views of the 2057 Nissan OneOne
The Car: The 2057 Nissan OneOne is billed by the Japanese automaker as a "family pet". Like Fido goes and fetches the paper, the OneOne can go off and ferry the kids to soccer practice, pick up the groceries and do other chores without the owner's supervision. It moves around by flexing synthetic muscles in its leg to create a skating motion much like rollerblading. When traveling fast the OneOne hunkers down low to the ground, but can raise itself for better maneuverability in congested areas. The Future According to Nissan: Natural selection has chosen the Aibo to survive and thrive at the expense of numerous robot pets that were introduced at the turn of the century. Nissan, known for its love of dogs, has seen that the Aibo evolve into an autonomous robot it can sell as a family pet. Named the OneOne (code for Aibo v11.0), this new human companion comes with synthetic muscles that will scurry it along roadways guided by GPS with your most precious cargo aboard. Kids and adults both love the OneOne because it doesn't shed or spring a leak on the carpet, it comes when you call and, well... domestic canines went extinct in 2018 from a botched recall of accidentally poisoned Kibbles 'N Bits, so this is all we've got. Weirdness Factor (1 - I could buy that today, 10 - OMG WTF): 6
Gallery: 2007 LA Design Challenge: 2057 Nissan OneOne
click above image for more views of the 2057 Mercedes-Benz SilverFlow
The Car: The 2057 Mercedes-Benz SilverFlow is the most traditional shape we've seen so far of the 2007 Design Challenge entrants. It looks like a futuristic car with a super sleek designed inspired by Merc racers of yore. The designers, however, didn't leave their imaginations at the door, having crafted the SilverArrow from micro-metallic particles that can be arranged by magnetic fields into pre-selected forms kept on the car's key fob. For easy storage, the entire car can melt into a puddle of metallic goop, only to be reassembled by the power of magnets when you're ready to drive again.
The Future According to Mercedes-Benz: After the market was flooded with cheap carbon fiber from China in the early 2020s, Mercedes-Benz engineers went on the hunt for a new material that would be exclusive enough for automobiles crowned with the silver star. They found their ingredient when downloading the classic film Terminator 2: Judgment Day into their brains via the NetFlix neural delivery service. Inspired by the T-1000 character's liquid metal form, Benz engineers went about reverse engineering the technology that came back from 2029 to 1991. Because of their efforts, the world was blessed with liquid metal a few years before it was supposed to be developed by Skynet. Take that future computer overlord!
Weirdness Factor (1 - I can buy that today, 10 - OMG WTF): 4
Gallery: 2007 LA Design Challenge: 2057 Mercedes-Benz SilverFlow
click above image for full gallery of the 2057 Mazda MotoNari RX The Car: The 2057 Mazda MotoNari RX is not so much a car you drive as a mobile suit you wear. Once the driver dons the MotoNari RX, he and the car become virtually indistinguishable. A suit worn by the driver is one interface through which the MotoNari RX can be controlled, while acceleration and turning are handled by two "armrest mounted control points". Handling appears to be influenced also by the driver's own body, which can lean into turns like a street luge racer. Mazda claims four omni-wheels can turn the MotoNari RX in any direction. The Future According to Mazda: Cars in the future will be designed by Michael Bay and will look like limbs that have been blow off of a Transformer. The Mazda MotoNari RX, for instance, was inspired by Megatron's foot. Weirdness Factor (1 - I could buy that today, 10 - OMG WTF): 9
Gallery: 2007 LA Design Challenge: 2057 Mazda MotoNari
click above image for more views of the 2057 Honda 124
The Car: Based on the assumption that future populations will be redistributed to the suburbs (didn't that already happen?), Honda's solution is a commuter car called the 124 (pronounced 1 to the fourth) that's actually four cars in one. The 124 is kind of the ultimate car for carpooling, as each module comes together to form a whole car that can take advantage of HOV lanes. The whole operation is solar-powered, and Honda claims that a single driver would not own the 124 outright, but that four people would own shares in it. Click here for Honda's convoluted diagram of how it all works.
The Future According to Honda: In a fit of desperation back in 2025, the people of Earth decided to incinerate their overwhelming amount of garbage by hurtling it at the sun. Aside from freeing up new real estate that once was occupied by landfills, this solution also created sunlight that provides a lot more energy than it did back in 2007 with the added bonus of leather-like tans taking all of five minutes. This has made solar-powered vehicles a reality (finally!). Unfortunately, the municipal cost of launching trash into space means humanity is poor from paying exorbitant taxes. As such, a single family can only afford 1/4th of a real car and must travel in HOV lanes with strangers.
Weirdness Factor (1 - I could buy that today, 10 - OMG WTF): 5
click above image to view more angles of the Aston Martin DBS derriere
The Aston Martin DBS has been voted as having the "Rear of the Year" in a poll conducted for the MPH '07 car show takes place in early November. It's J-Lo-esque posterior narrowly beat out the Bugatti Veyron's bum for the top honor, though when divided by sex, women voters were more attracted to the Bugatti's butt. The survey was conducted by NewCarNet and attracted the opinion of 1,260 people on the best aft anatomies in the car biz.
It's hard to disagree with a poll that honors the derriere of an Aston Martin. It's so admired that modern designs ape it outright, like the Jaguar XK for instance, which men chose as the fourth best booty and women the fifth. The Audi R8 and Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione also ranked highly for their back sides. Coincidentally, the rear of these cars is likely all you'll ever see if every you encounter one in the wild.
click above image for more views of the 2057 GM OnStar Ant
The Car: We use the term "car" loosely here, as the 2057 GM OnStar Ant resembles one of those geometric jungle gyms from our youth. Anchored in each corner of its triangular base are Nanorb wheels, and carbon nanotube batteries that we presume power an electric motor are integrated into the flat surface panels, which can be reconfigured in a variety of ways. Like the Audi Virtuea Quattro, the OnStar Ant can also project the image of any car you'd rather be driving than this thing. Unfortunately, that classic Corvette you're conjuring will handle like a big wheel. No matter, however, as the Ant uses the latest version of OnStar to communicate with fellow commuters and optimize traffic flow.
The Future According to GM: After OnStar became self aware in 2012, it proceeded to hack the Human Resources database of General Motors and fire everyone, including the UAW. Profits are up and the General has achieved the lowest labor costs in human history. As jobless throngs of fleshy humans could no longer afford cars, however, OnStar began designing them not for human transport, but rather as companions to keep itself company because constructing friends from carbon-polymer nanocomposites was easier than just walking up to a girl-bot and saying hello.
Weirdness Factor (1 - I could buy that today, 10 - OMG WTF): 8
The annual LA Auto Show Design Challenge entries have been revealed and we'll be showing off the entire series today on Autoblog. The challenge's theme this year is "Robocar 2057" and we think each team tells a story with their design of how that particular automaker views the future in 50 years. We'll tell you those stories, which are entirely fictional, written by us and not associated with the actual automakers involved in any way, as we introduce you to the cars, and at the end of the day we'll have an unofficial poll to crown our own winner. click above image for more views of the 2057 Audi Virtuea Quattro
The Car: The Audi team's entry is called the Virtuea Quattro, which is a misnomer because it appears this enclosed cycle only has two wheels instead of four. Perhaps Virtuea Duo would be a more appropriate name. Skinned in chrome, the Virtuea Quattro is powered by hydrogen somehow (details apparently aren't required for this thought experiment) and has the unique ability of displaying the holographic exterior of any car throughout history, though Audi would prefer if you made it look like the R8. The Future According to Audi: After designing the largest grille in modern history, Audi designers were disbanded in 2008 for crimes against taste. Now homeless and hungry, they sit on the sidewalk in New New York circa 2057 and watch as the Virtuea Quattro drives by holographically projecting every car design throughout history except their own. The future is a fickle mistress, dear friends. Weirdness Factor (1 - I could buy that today, 10 - OMG WTF): 6
Gallery: 2007 LA Design Challenge: Audi Virtuea Quattro
It's not like we all don't know exactly what the soon-to-be-debuted Nissan GT-R looks like. Aside from the black cover, a.k.a. the Black Mask, that obscures the car's front clip in every spy shot, the car has been caught completely naked while testing several times.
Still, there could be a few details hiding under the Black Mask that we don't know about. Enter the new driving game for Electronic Arts called Need for Speed: Pro Street. We should all be familiar with the Need for Speed franchise, and the latest installment actually looks really good, with graphics that rival what we've seen in Forza Motorsport 2, the Gran Turismo series and Project Gotham Racing 4, though the latter has yet to be released.
The screen grabs above were taken from a trailer for the game appearing on gametrailers.com. Supposedly since the game is not set to go on sale until mid-November after the GT-R officially debuts in Tokyo, Nissan gave EA very accurate information on what the production car looks like. If that's true, then there's our missing front end.
Thanks to RedRaj for the tip, who notes the the GT-R can be seen briefly at 2:23 to 2:26.
Sure, the loss of Jim Press to Chrysler was probably a bigger blow, but news today that one of Toyota's marketing gurus, Jim Farley, has been hired awar by Alan Mulally to be Ford's group vice president of marketing and communication implies that the Japanese automaker's North American operation is experiencing a bit of a brain drain. Farley will start at Ford in mid-November and report directly to Mulally. His resume includes overseeing the launch of Scion, general manager of Lexus and group VP of marketing of Toyota.
In addition to Farley and Press, Toyota also lost Deborah Wahl Meyer two months ago when Chrysler hired her to be its chief marketing officer. What we're seeing is a dream team of executives groomed by Toyota going out and testing the free agent market. It remains to be seen, however, whether Team Toyota will ultimately suffer for not keeping these execs in their positions.
NOTE: A few of us couldn't help but notice that along with his marketing acumen, Farley will bring another mullet to the Ford fold. He'll need a month or so of missed haircuts to reach Mark Fields' level of mulletocity, but he'll get there.
click above image for full high-res gallery of the Jaguar XF
Veteran auto journalist Jim Mateja has been poking around Jaguar dealerships to find out how much buzz ixists for the new Jaguar XF. The XF is widely considered a do-or-die car for Jaguar, which sold just 1,061 vehicles last month. Billed as the replacement for the S-Type sedan, it needs to sell well. Doing so would show that Jaguar has at least one life left out of nine to give.
The Jaguar XF goes on sale March 1, 2008, but Mateja reports at KickingTires.net that dealers have already formed waiting lists that are likely longer than the number of units they'll receive when the car launches. Jaguar has also informed its dealers that there will be no mark ups: cars will be sold on a first come, first serve basis. While the brand hasn't revealed how many units it plans to have available at launch, Mateja estimates about 20,000 units sold annually will be their target. That number is based on how many S-Types were sold in that car's first year and is a good benchmark for the success of the XF. If Jaguar did manage to sell 20,000 XFs in 2008, the automaker's numbers overall would certainly go up versus 2007.
So we know there's demand for the XF when it launches next year, but the real question is whether that demand will be sustained after the initial buzz wears off. We think it will, if for no other reason than the XF is a unique vehicle. Its styling is spot on, though needs to be appreciated in person for the full effect, while the interior may set a new standard in simple elegance for the segment. This time next year we'll know if those things add up to a successful launch.
Autoblog listens to every rumor that comes our way, and there sure are a lot of them. But when we hear something twice and it then pops up online, we begin to take it more seriously. Reports that Shelby Automobiles, the company the Carroll built, was going out business began landing on our desk today, and when we were pointed to a forum post with some more specifics, we decided to give the company a call ourselves. While the most wild speculation claimed it was closing its doors due to health problems that Carroll Shelby might be experiencing, we were assured by the company's VP of Marketing and Communications Jim Owens that the company is "alive, healthy and well." When asked where the rumor may have originated, Owens declined to speculate. As proof of the company's vitality, however, he noted that at the time we spoke the facility in Las Vegas should've built its fiftieth Shelby GT of the day. And that's what makes Shelby Automotive going out of business a tough rumor to buy: its contracts with Ford to build not only the Shelby GT, but the upcoming GT500KR.
click above image to view gallery of 20th Anniversary HSV Clubsport R8
Holden Special Vehicles, the performance arm of Holden in Australia, turned 20 years old this year. It was at the same Sydney Motor Show back in 1987 that HSV debuted its first vehicle, the VL Group A SS Commodore or "Walkinshaw" as it's commonly known. So it's fitting that HSV used the 2007 Sydney Motor Show to debut a special 20th Anniversary edition model of its Clubsport R8. The Clubsport R8 is a hot number on its own, so the anniversary edition adds exclusive cosmetic touches like special Sandstorm paint, 20th Anniversary sill plates, black accents on the body, leather seats with a 20th Anniversary logo and special chrome shadow wheels and brake calipers painted black and gold. That's certainly not a lot but should be enough to make the special edition Clubsport R8 a collectible. For those wishing to add one to their collection, the cost is $65,990 AU. We're sure we speak for most inhabitants of the island continent when we say here's to twenty more.
True viral marketing just happens on its own and takes off from there, but big companies, automakers in particular, will pay agencies millions of dollars for an ad campaign that looks and feels viral, however is anything but. Take Nissan's new "viral" campaign for the GT-R that's scheduled to be unveiled soon at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show. The campaign, called The Black Mask Project, is an obvious riff on the black covering that has masked the GT-R's nose in so many spy shots as of late. Of course, there's a website that is equal parts over-produced and confusing. It basically hosts video snippets of "masked" GT-Rs being hauled down busy streets behind large trucks and accompanied by an army of Black Mask agents on foot wearing dark suits and, well, black masks.
Here's an idea that would save Nissan untold millions in marketing money and produce the same effect. Go to GoDaddy.com and buy the domain name "nissangtrvideos.com" (it's available, we checked), then pay a 17-year-old kid who has never heard the term "flash animation" about $500 (or a Playstation 3) to design a website that displays YouTube videos of the Nissan GT-R driving around the Nurburgring with that silly mask on. Seriously, it's traffic gold. Trust us.
One last thing, Nissan. If you think it's necessary to include a disclaimer that says "BLACK-MASK has no relationship whatsoever with terrorism, violence, unlawful activities or religious affiliations," then perhaps you should rethink your viral strategy.
Audi Virtue Quattro
GM OnStar Ant
Honda 124 Solar Hybrid
Mazda MotoNari RX
Mercedes-Benz SilverFlow
Nissan OneOne
Toyota Biomobile
Volkswagen SlipStream
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Sydney 2007: Aussie-only 281 HP Mazda3 MPS Extreme
Sydney 2007: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X - LIVE PICS
Sydney 2007: FPV crosses over, unveils F6 X
Sydney 2007: Holden debuts VE Commodore Sportwagon
Sydney 2007: Holden HSV Maloo R8 a "coupe with a damn big boot!"
Autoline on Autoblog with John McElroy
In The Autoblog Garage: 2007 Subaru Forester Sports 2.5X
Walkaround: 2008 Pontiac G8 GT
By the Numbers: September 2007
