concepts

DETROIT--Chevy wants the nation's youth, and it built two Hot Wheels-esque concept cars to use as bait.

The two concepts, unveiled at the 2012 North American International Auto Show, go by the names Code 130R and Tru 140S. Chevy cites the potential market of 80 million people in their '20s as the impetus for these two design studies.

The Tru 140S is intended to evoke an expensive exotic car in its styling, although its profile brings the old Pontiac Sunfire to mind. And based on the Chevy Cruze platform, with front-wheel drive and a turbocharged 1.4-liter engine, it is unlikely to provide supercar performance. … Read more

Lexus brought the game of teasing upcoming car show unveilings to new heights by issuing a third photo of the LF-LC 2+2 Hybrid Sport Coupe concept ahead of the 2012 Detroit auto show.

The first photo came out, with few other details, almost a month ago, and was followed more than a week later by a slightly more revealing photo. Now we get a clear, full-frontal shot along with a more detailed side view of Lexus' concept.

The concept takes the sharp, some would say ugly, styling of the Lexus LFA supercar to more extreme levels. The long, lower … Read more

In the week before the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Toyota and Nissan both release videos on the Internet that show virtually nothing of the new concepts the companies will show.

Nissan previously released a photo of its dramatic (its word, not mine) new Pathfinder concept. Today, Nissan released a video on the Pathfinder micro-site. But the video shows so little it actually seems to take away some of the previous information offered up.

Over some pleasant music, Nissan's video shows a sky view through different terrains, going from day to night. I can only conclude that … Read more

"Star Wars" is great, but "Star Wars" on your head is much better. The Crave team discusses this idea in depth in this first episode of 2012, along with Jell-O dispensers for grown-ups, StarCraft in Legos, and harmonizing hobbits.

Subscribe in iTunes SD Video | Subscribe in RSS SD Video … Read more

Today's smartphones are already pretty smart, but New York-based designer Julius Tarng thinks they can be smarter.

Imagining a mobile device that's more human than machine, Tarng came up with a concept phone called the Modai that learns from your behavior and adapts itself to different environments.

For example, it would know when you're at work and when you're at play, and adjust the contents of your home screen accordingly to present the most relevant information at that time.

Tarng also sees the Modai giving contextual prompts based on location, so if you're at a bus stop or out grabbing lunch, the phone could help out by displaying a bus schedule or today's lunch specials while you wait. … Read more

Last week Lexus teased with a partial shot of the new sport coupe concept, but today a little more was revealed.

Lexus released this side view of the LF-LC 2+2 sport coupe, but the company is still holding out on any under-the-hood details. The sport coupe concept will be unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next month.

"Crafted from a clean sheet of paper at the request of Lexus headquarters in Japan, the LF-LC blends both high technology and organic shapes to connect the driver to the machine," Mark Templin, Lexus group vice … Read more

For our last Crave of 2011, Bonnie and Donald revisit the '80s with a retro Walkman case, bad Apple fashions, and a look at Crave photo submissions that have been Instagrammed into blurry, oversaturated works of art.

And whether it's by ground or by sea, Crave has the latest high-tech methods for risking your life in pursuit of fun. In Geek News, Lego goes LOTR, and Batman goes Lego.

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OK, the words fun and commute will never go together, but one Sweden-based designer is hoping to make the ride to and from work a little less painful with a new gaming concept.

Figuring one can't escape the long wait times of a commute, Jiang Qian came up with idea of the Strap Game (or Game Strap), a gaming system built into the safety handles found on trains and buses. The dangling gaming handhelds would provide entertainment to those who are bored or stressed and hopefully make the time go by faster.

Qian imagines that the Game Strap would be powered on as soon as the user touches the handle, and a button on the side of the device would allow for easy one-handed game play. A swiveling strap also ensures that the system can move with you, so you don't find yourself in an awkward position if the bus or train makes any sudden stops or turns. … Read more

Lexus today teased fans with the promise of a new concept vehicle that will be unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on January 9, 2012.

The concept car was designed by Calty, the company's design studio in Newport Beach, California. Calty also designed the FT-SX, Scion t2B, Scion FUSE, FT-HS, A-BAT, and Lexus LF-Ch concept vehicles.

No other details were revealed in the press release.