Forget fine-grain leather and seamless connectivity—although the latest iteration of Audi’s A8 executive sedan certainly has that, too. But the next frontier in luxury, according to the German automaker, is mental clarity. The 2019 Audi A8, the brand’s fourth-generation flagship sedan, is fitted with a “brain-supportive” environment, an exercise in how design can impact calmness. The interior lighting, textures and configuration conspire to “take off …
Tag: Auto
Test Drive: 2019 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF
Immediately recognizable, but now with more power
There are only a handful of vehicles that have achieved eternal pop-culture status thanks to their distinctive, immediately recognizable design—and a name that stays on the tip of almost anyone’s tongue. In this class you have legends like the Mustang, Camaro, 911, Testarossa, and Countach, to name a few. They are verified icons, hallmarks of 20th century design and they’ve each spawned entire subcultures. But, there’s …
Smart’s Forease Concept Car
Design Director Kai Sieber shares the emotion in smart's new design language
Smart, the brand known primarily for its functionality and rationality, is embracing its personality through design. The Forease concept car—just-announced at the Paris Motor Show—is decreasing the distance between the vehicle and the world around it. For starters, the Forease operates on an entirely electric powertrain. Its abbreviated windshield and roofless cabin invite the environment in, and the yellow is a nod to the original smart …
Test Drive: 2019 BMW X5
Off-roading through Georgia in the new mid-size SUV
Somewhere on a farm 30 miles southwest of Atlanta, the all-new 2019 BMW X5 falls into a rhythm—skirting around trees, up dirt hills and across bubbling streams. This is the fourth-generation of BMW’s beloved mid-size SUV, but it’s the first to come with an off-road package that enables it to tackle an hour-long off-road course with ease. The car’s quartet of drive modes (for rock, …
Lincoln’s Senior Color and Materials Designer on the 2019 Nautilus
We discuss the revival of the all-American brand
“There is a story behind everything we choose,” Marcia Salzberg tells us.