I love design.  From architectural design to auto design to web, I love it all. 
Every year, one of the most exciting events is the Design Challenge at
the Los Angles Auto Show, which will take place, this year, between
October 16 and 27. The LA Auto Show is known for bringing some of the
most amazing designs in the auto industry, especially with the LA area
hosting the most auto manufacturer design studios in the world.

While most of us in the USA think that Detroit is motor city - what you do not know is that Los
Angeles is also home to the Art Center College of Design.  It is one of the
world’s foremost transportation design institutions where many of
today’s leading automotive designers began their careers.

This year, the Design Challenge competition is themed “ROBOCAR 2057″ and the 6 judges will announce the winner.

Audi Virtuea Quattro

Audi’s entry is the a single-seater hydrogen-powered vehicle, the Audi Virtuea Quattro. “Virtuea’s
holographic exterior provides a variety of possibilities, allowing you
to choose from the most innovative designs from one minute to the next.
Your vehicle’s image can now proudly be displayed without any
environmental impact, as no physical materials are needed to create
your vision, regardless of size.”

GM's Onstar Ant Concept


Perhaps the most sophisticated design presented, the Onstar features
“Omni-directional propulsion, provided by three independent Nanorb
wheel systems, operate as independent robotsand can arrange themselves
in different configurations, turning virtually anything into a mobile
device. Layered, environmentally friendly, single-walled,
carbon-polymer nanocomposites from the flat surface panels, which
incorporate the carbon nanotube battery.”

Honda Power Four Concept


Honda’s design is a solar-hybrid powered which “allows
carpoolers to take advantage of HOV lanes, share commuting costs and
once near the passengers’ final destinations, robotically transforms
into four separate and unique modes of transportation. Through a
combination of gyros, artificial intelligence and molecular
engineering, each individual vehicles instinctively reconfigures as a
fully functional vehicles.”

Mazda Motonari RX


Named after a legendary Japanese warrior Mori Motonari, Mazda’s entry, the Mazda Motonari RX.  It’s not a vehicle, but more like a driving suit “which
contains millions of microscopic actuators functioning as a haptic
envelope. This allows the driver to experience the road
psycho-somatically, while receiving electrical stimulation to specific
muscle groups.”

Mercedes Silverflow Concept

Mercedes’ entry is a really shiny concept car which features
micro-metallic particles that can be arranged via magnetic fields in
many different forms.

Volkswagen Slipstream


The Volkswagen Slipstream was created by Volkswagen’s Californian
Design Center and it’s a two-wheeled teardrop shaped vehicle , which is
designed to travel in an upright position, this was having only one
fifth the size of a traditional vehicle. The concept is equipped with
rear fins that slide and allow the rear of the vehicle to float like
the tail section of an airplane and this way managing to achieve speeds
in excess of 250 mph. The Slipstream is powered by the energy stored in
the hyper-efficient solar panels that cover the vehicle.