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Anthony Spark
Self-proclaimed 'AUTOMOTIVE ENTHUSIAST'. Automotive industry expert with almost 20 years experience and extensive knowledge of international marketing in the automotive world.
OEM Signature Lighting
OEM Signature Lighting
June 6, 2013 | Posted by Anthony Spark in Consumer, Design, Factors, Lighting, Societal & Cultural Trends, Style, Systems, Topics, TrendsOne comment
Luxury brands are usually wary of introducing accessories to accentuate exterior branding. High-efficiency LED lighting became one of Audi’s design signatures. The brand was hardly alone in using LEDs, but no one has adopted them as widely and successfully as Audi, which uses them to give every model a branding advantage. Naturally, when Mercedes chose to produce such an accessory for their cars, they wanted to refrain from adding something that could be seen as garish and keep it decidedly simple. Read more
Shalom Better Place, Shalom Tesla © image: betterplace.com
Shalom Better Place, Shalom Tesla
More bad news on the EV front as unfortunately Project Better Place pulls the plug. We are sure the decision by Project Better Place to file for liquidation, which was announced on Sunday, wasn’t an easy one. We loved the ideals, mantra, and people at Better Place – although we always doubted the business acumen surrounding the concept. We guess Israel just wasn’t the promised land for Better Place. Read more
Upcycling Car Parts
Upcycling Car Parts
March 14, 2013 | Posted by Anthony Spark in Commodities & Other Resources, Design, Environment, Factors, Manufacturing, Needs & Demands, Style, Substitute Products & Services, Topics, TrendsNo comments
Upcycling Car Parts: Taking a car part that would otherwise go to waste and finding a way to make it into something else/useful. Two of the most basic terms in the automotive Eco-Design field are ‘Cradle to Grave’ and ‘Cradle to Cradle’. They relate to the product life cycle from the raw materials (Cradle) to disposal (Grave). Cradle-to-Grave A term used in life-cycle analysis to describe the entire life of a material or product up to the point of disposal Cradle-to-Cradle A model of industrial systems in which material flows cyclically in appropriate, continuous biological or technical nutrient cycles. All waste materials are productively re-incorporated into new production and use phases. Read more
Tesla vs NY Times
Tesla vs NY Times
The Elon Musk (Tesla) vs John M. Broder (New York Times) saga still rumbles on quietly. Musk accuses Broder of sabotaging the road test. Broder claims he drove normally. Tesla revealed all media test cars are equipped with data logging technology that allows the company to monitor vehicles – blame Top Gear – LOL. Read more
January 17, 201312 years ago
Sergio ‘Nostradamus’ Marchionne European Doomsday Prophecies
The US market is now riding high, therefore the concern is still Europe and Fiat’s boss, Sergio Marchionne, had some words of warning at the Detroit Auto Show. Marchionne, who also heads up American car firm Chrysler, drew parallels with what happened in the US industry when the economic crisis hit in 2007. Read more
January 17, 201312 years ago
Upbeat Detroit Motor Show
Rarely was a discouraging opinion heard at this year’s Detroit Motor Show, with every major global brand generating solid profits and a positive forecast for 2013. Apparently, the days of doom and gloom are over, and at least on the surface everything is perfect with our beloved automotive industry. Read more
ID4Motion Digital Instrument Clusters
ID4Motion Digital Instrument Clusters
November 20, 2012 | Posted by Anthony Spark in Consumer, Design, Electrical, Factors, Infotainment, Media, Needs & Demands, New Entrants, Systems, Technology, Technology Trends, Topics, TrendsNo comments
Enter the ID4Motion MotionGraphic Design Digital Cluster into the market. More and more car brands are favouring LCD instrument clusters over analogue gauges; therefore it was only a matter of time before an aftermarket company came up with an option of its own. The instrument cluster has been virtually free of aftermarket accessories for a long time. ID4Motion has set out to change that. Read more
Glowing Infotainment Roads
Glowing Infotainment Roads
November 5, 2012 | Posted by Anthony Spark in Design, Factors, Infotainment, Substitute Products & Services, Systems, Technology, Technology Trends, Topics, TrendsNo comments
A smart-road design that features glow-in-the-dark tarmac and illuminated weather indicators. Smart Highway is a futuristic concept that incorporates glow-in-the-dark technology into the road to make them safer for drivers. Although this would seem like something straight out of a sci-fi movie, the Smart Highway is set to be realised mid-November 2013 in the Netherlands. In addition to the glowing roads, it will boast Dynamic Paint, Interactive Lights, an Induction Priority Lane and Wind Lights. Read more
Silvercar Airport Car Rental
Airport Car Rental 2.0
November 5, 2012 | Posted by Anthony Spark in Consumer, Factors, New Entrants, Substitute Products & Services, Topics, Transport, TrendsNo comments
Silvercar aims to streamline the car rental process by offering a new disruptive business service The brainchild of one of Zipcar’s founders Silvercar has raised a first round of funding to in its attempt to disrupt the dismal airport car rental experience. There’s been a lot of excitement in Silicon Valley lately over new disruptive automotive business ideas. We are witnessing a new generation of companies breathing new life into everything from taxi services to auto repair. In particular, startups like RelayRides, GetAround, Wheelz, Zipcar, RideJoy, SideCar, Lyft and Uber – to name a few – are leveraging collaborative consumption and peer-to-peer models to bring a new buzz to traditional automotive business models. Read more
Nissan Steering-by-Wire
Steering-by-Wire Reaches Nissan Production
Nissan plans to sell cars controlled by steer-by-wire technology within a year. Finally automotive x-by-wire reaches production stage, after decades of developments and delays. Now Nissan is taking electronic steering to its logical conclusion by eliminating any direct connection between the steering wheel and the front wheels, except in an emergency, with the first fly-by-wire steering system in a production car. Read more
