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European design students team up to dream up future Aston Martins [w/VIDEO]

Noah Joseph — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:31:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Europe, Videos, Aston Martin, Design/Style

Aston Martin 2025 Libido: Amore e Psiche design study - Click above for high-res image gallery

Were you impressed by the Aston Martin Volare design study? Then you should get a load of this: Turin's European Design Institute (known by its Italian initials IED) tasked its third-year graduate design students with imagining what Astons will look like in the year 2025. The students went to Aston's headquarters in Gaydon, England, met with the company's designers, then headed back to Turin where they came up with eight original concepts.

The only restriction the instructors gave their students in their brief was that they had to use technologies that would be emerging onto the scene in the next five years. Otherwise, the sky was the limit, and the students came up with some intriguing and captivating designs. The IED pupils named their projects Luxury Cocoon Concept, Libido: Amore e Psiche, Gotha Concept, Pt220609, Symbiosis, Aston Martin Vestige, Aston Martin Sattva and Elate, and you can check them all out in the gallery below and in the videos posted after the jump.

Gallery: IED Turin Aston Martin 2025 Project

[Source: IED via eurocarblog]

Continue reading European design students team up to dream up future Aston Martins [w/VIDEO]

European design students team up to dream up future Aston Martins [w/VIDEO] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IED students imagine a pod-shaped BMW in 2015

Michael Harley — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:27:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, BMW

Click above image for more IED concepts in high-res

While we certainly don't expect BMW to make such drastic design changes to its lineup within this decade, third-year students at the Turin-based IED (istituto Europeo di Design) were asked to interpret what the German automaker's automobiles would look like in 2015. Although they worked from a clean slate, inspiration was to come from natural elements such as the sea, wind, or the earth. Thirty-five students were divided into eighteen teams for the task. Those teams conjured up, and approved, twelve proposals. Of those, eight were developed into 1:4 scale models. To ensure the quality standards of their trademark, each of the stages of development were supervised under the watchful eye of BMW execs Thomas Plath, Anders Warming, and the controversial Mr. Bangle-butt himself...Chris Bangle. Check the gallery below for high-res images of the fruits of their labor.

Gallery: IED BMW Concepts

[Source: Car Body Design]

IED students imagine a pod-shaped BMW in 2015 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fiat may be planning Abarth-only models

Frank Filipponio — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 18:01:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Convertible, Fiat

Ever since the Fiat 500 showed up in concept car form, there was inevitable talk of resurrecting the Abarth version for the sports-minded motorist. When we saw THAT concept, we offered up our first-born children. But there is some doubt that the U.S. will ever get these Fiats, let alone the Abarth editions. Bad news for us, but there is actually even better news for those in Europe. It seems Abarth might be established as its own marque within the FIAT kingdom, with sport models of the 500 and Grande Punto an almost certainty. But according to this piece in Caradisiac, the Abarth brand might even get unique vehicles unto itself.

In a conversation with Director of FIAT, Luca De Meo, it came out that besides making Abarth a separate division, they would also get exclusive models, maybe even something along the lines of the Abarth roadster seen here. It could easily be built off of the 500 Abarth platform and give the brand a halo car of sorts to visually represent what the marque is all about. The Abarth SS Concept seen here was designed by IED, and although just a styling exercise, could realistically reach the market as a production vehicle. Rumors of 185-hp versions of the T-Jet have swirled, but even the 145-155 hp mills would make this tiny barchetta fly. Just one more reason to move to Italy.

[Source: Caradisiac]

Gallery: Abarth SS Concept by IED

Fiat may be planning Abarth-only models originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 02 Aug 2007 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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"Road rage" may be result of mental illness

Eric Bryant — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 18:59:00 EST

Filed under: Etc.

A recently-released study by the National Institute for Mental Health claims that five to seven percent of the population - perhaps up to 16 million Americans - suffers from Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED), or what could be colloquially referred to as "road rage syndrome".

Symptoms of IED include multiple bouts of anger that are out of proportion to the situation and which include a threat of violence or actual aggressive action towards a person or property. Said to be related to improper functioning of serotonin in the brain, the average age of onset is 14, with an average of 43 outbursts over one's lifetime. For what it's worth, we suffered from at least that many violent episodes while changing the head gasket on a GM Quad 4, but we're pretty sure that could have been addressed by dropping the car off at a junkyard instead of visiting a psychiatrist.

[Source: Yahoo!]

"Road rage" may be result of mental illness originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Jun 2006 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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