“Car 2.0?”

It looks like Bloggers and tech start-ups aren’t alone in going for smooth curves, design refreshes, and a new, prioritized take on how things look to the audience just as much as how they feel and what they do: automobile manufacturers have just joined the game! Case-in-point: the new Ford Interceptor. Talk about different!

It’s still a Ford, though it looks more like a cross-breed between a Mustang (the top of the car), a Cadillac (the overly deep body), and a BMW (the wheels and the rear – from what we can see of it). It looks rather eerie, and only too fragile.

According to MSNBC, this is part of a new plan by Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors to attempt to regain market share lost to Japanese automakers. It seems they don’t understand it’s not just about the way things look, it’s also about how reliable they are and how good of a name they have to back them. Give the average American a choice between equally priced BMWs and Cadillacs, you shouldn’t be surprised by the result.

The All New Nissan Pivo “Car”

This is the all-new Nissan Pivo. Its name comes from the 360-degree rotating cabin atop the platform-on-wheels. To us, it looks more like a toy car than a real, live automobile; but it sure is nifty. It runs on pure electricity – from a lithium-ion battery. It uses drive-by-wire the whole way through, so no mechanical brake fluid or steering cables. Here’s a description from Wikipedia:

The Pivo really doesn’t even have an engine. It is powered by a lithium-ion battery. The battery has a super motor that creates one of the lowest emissions yet in any vehicle. The design of the vehicle is very futuristic because of many features the Pivo has shown. The Pivo’s cabin can revolve completely around (360 degrees) and is very easy to maneuver because of it. The Pivo sports very high-tech gadgets, as well. It features Nissan’s Around View Monitor which reduces blind spots by displaying the outside surroundings on screens mounted on the inside of the car’s A-pillars.