Hollywood Aroma for 2011 LA Auto Show Design Challenge Concepts

For the past eight years, the LA Auto Show has been playing host to a design contest aimed at automaker design studios. Each year, a new Design Challenge theme is chosen with the studios showcasing their conceptual ideas during the press days of the show.

For 2011, the motorshow organizers are asking six automotive design studios from around the world, including Honda, Hyundai, Subaru, Mercedes-Benz, Smart and Maybach to come up with Hollywood’s next hottest movie car.

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Seven Major Carmakers Agree on a Common EV Charging Protocol

ACEA, the European car manufacturers’ association, recently called for a common electric vehicle charging standard to be adopted by all automakers. This would be the ideal solution for a unified infrastructure, which in turn, would further boost EV sales.

No sooner had the association’s call been published and seven major manufacturers from Europe and the U.S. but oddly enough, not from Japan, namely Audi, BMW, Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Porsche and Volkswagen, announced an agreement to support “a harmonized single-port fast charging approach” for electric vehicles in Europe and North America.

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