Kia’s New EV9 Is a Modern, 3-Row Electric SUV

The brand new 2024 Kia EV9 marks the beginning of what could be the normalcy era of electric cars.

Sure, there have been EVs on the market for well over a decade now, but until recently, the owners were Silicon Valley techies, early adopters, or eco-warriors doing their best to push the technology forward.

Now, those seeking a 3-row SUV have options in the all-electric world, and by the looks of it, it’s a pretty good option.

The EV9 carries over from its concept version remarkably well, with the unique lines, LED fascia, and boxy-yet-streamlined proportions intact.

It’s clear the Koreans know how to build a popular SUV, with the wildly popular Kia Telluride leading the pack. The fact that an even-more spacious electric version is now coming to market means that soccer moms and dads alike could be swapping their gas guzzlers for something more eco-friendly.

“The world of large SUVs remained firmly in the grasp of the internal combustion engine, but now that grip seems to be letting up.”

The EV9 features the same fast-charging architecture as its brother, the highly-rated EV6. With no word yet on specs, we’ll have to wait to see what the official range and pricing will be.

The interior has a clean look and ambient lighting, and the rear seats feature the ability to swivel fully around to create a type of living room feel.

The Kia EV9 officially launches in April, and should go on sale this summer.

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The Lightship Electric Trailer Is Meant for the Clean, EV Era

Electric cars are here to stay, and soon, they’ll be the majority of cars and trucks on the road. Our planet will thank us for that.

But up until now, electric cars had to deal with vastly decreased range when towing, due to the weight of the trailers, and the consequential impact to car batteries.

The Lightship L1 is designed to change that equation, with a sleek, streamlined design, and onboard batteries of its own, which can power the trailer, or recharge your EV when you get to your destination.

This purpose-built trailer was developed from the ground up with electric vehicles in mind, and uses an entirely electric platform, including built-in solar, and all-electric appliances.  Indeed, the L1 can power your campground for an entire week, giving you ultimate freedom from fossil fuels, or grid power. It’s 80kWh battery gives users a lot of flexibility, even allowing for a carbon-free adventure into nature, while having all the amenities of home.

The sleekly designed L1 expands to ten feet high when parked at a campground, and allows for up to six adults to sleep comfortably.

Available for preorder with a refundable $500 deposit, the Lightship L1 starts at $125,000.

“Moving road trips to the electric age.

We have a bold vision for the future of travel where you can better connect with the outdoors and each other. Lightship’s electric travel trailers allow you to visit new corners of the world while doing your part to preserve it.”

 

Hyundai’s Latest Kona EV Is Sleek, Updated and Affordable

The Korean automakers are on a tear lately, rapidly turning their entire lineup into sleek, well-designed EVs, and showing just how behind some of the Japanese automakers are.

For context, Hyundai and Kia now offer a collective 8 fully electric models, and 14 plug-in hybrids.  Toyota, the global juggernaut who introduced the world to hybrids back in the day, have just one fully electric model, which they share with Subaru.

Hyundai continues their trend with the new 2024 Kona EV, a small, handsome hatchback, which is one of their bestsellers, and one of their more affordable models.

It take design cues from the Ioniq 5, which won last year’s Motor Trend Car of the Year Award.  With thin, sleek headlights and a ‘pixel’ design, the Kona joins its bigger siblings the Ioniq 5 and new Ioniq 6.

With a range of 490 km (304 miles), the Kona should start at around $34,000 when it goes on sale in the fall of 2023.

EVE Odyssey Motorcycle Looks Like it Came From the Future

Bandit9 is a company out of Saigon, creating sleek motorcycles that have profiles that seem out-of-this-world.

Their EVE Odyssey bike pushes the envelope further with a super streamlined profile.

Made from a completely custom-made aluminum alloy, the frame houses the tank, electronics, headlight, and triple clamp in a futuristic, sleek fairing.

Using a small yet powerful Honda 125cc engine, the EVE Odyssey can reach highway speeds with ease, and has great efficiency. An all-electric version of the EVE Odyssey is in the works as well.

Available now from $15,500. 

DKM 2.0 is a Low, Sleek Autonomous EV

Kazakh automotive stylist Vladislav Semenov brings us a sleek concept car called the DKM 2.0, featuring a low-slung design and a stepped, layered profile.

The overall concept is for a rugged, autonomous vehicle, one you might see traversing country roads and off-road paths in the year 2035. As an autonomous concept, you can imagine the passengers relaxing and enjoying the view as the car takes them into the wilderness.

The design feels well considered, with sleek, linear headlights that wrap around the front, with a matching linear taillight as well.

We like the integration of a slim luggage addition on the roof, which adds to the car’s off-road/adventure personality.

This is solely a concept, not from any automaker, but are impressed with the futuristic packaging, and overall appearance.

See more of Semenov’s work on Behance.

 

“Designed as a fully autonomous vehicle, the DKM 2.0’s visual aesthetic immediately stands out as unique. Its silhouette looks nothing quite like any other car. It isn’t as maximal as a sports car, or as minimal as today’s electrified SUVs. Instead, it’s a fusion of the two, relying on multiple forms stacked on one another that have been merged and simplified.

The car features a unique interior with seating designed more like a room than a car. Seats face each other, creating a cabin on wheels that allow passengers to socialize with each other as the car autonomously moves forward. The concept ditches the steering wheel and dashboard entirely too, in a bid to imagine what fully-autonomous vehicles can and should look like.”

 -Yanko Design

All images © Copyright Vladislav Semenov.

Cars Designed Through the Style of Famous Architects

Some of the most famous architects in the world left a lasting impression on our built society. Their contributions to our cities will be remembered for generations.

What if they designed cars, as well as buildings? Would they look like the architect’s famous creations? Would the car embody their trademark style?

We’ve enlisted AI to help us explore the ‘what if?‘. We used the program MidJourney to help visualize what an architect-derived car might look like. It was a fun visual journey, creating images that fit the time period and overall style of the famous architect in question.

 

Check out the collection below, and let us know if the cars embody the signature style and feel of the architects’ work.

 

 

Frank Lloyd Wright  (1867-1959)

 

 

 

Zaha Hadid  (1950-2016)

 

 

 

Eero Saarinen  (1910-1961)

 

 

 

Antoni Gaudí  (1852-1926)

 

 

 

Santiago Calatrava  (B. 1951)

 

 

Kengo Kuma  (B. 1954)

 

 

Frank Gehry  (B. 1929)

 

 

 

Renzo Piano  (B. 1937)

 

 

 

Norman Foster  (B. 1935)

 

Interested in automobiles? Check out our collection of posts, and our sister site, Electric Future for even more.

Aptera’s Small, Teardrop Shaped EV Launches After Years of Promises

Aptera is finally releasing their production-ready car, after many years of testing, revising, stalling, and finding financial backing.

Their Launch Edition features Aptera’s trademark teardrop shape, a solar-clad exterior, 400+ mile range, and a 0-60 time of less than 4 seconds. The small, three-wheel design and sleek profile has a super aerodynamic shape and claims a drag coefficient of just 0.13.  That, combined with the solar exterior, generating up to 40 miles of charge from the sun per day, make for a highly-efficient package.

Aptera claims a safety cell made from composites that make it stronger than steel, and a small yet usable 32.5 cubic feet of rear storage.

The two-seater certainly looks unique, and starts at an affordable $25,900. But whether there’s an audience interested in it, remains to be seen.

Nissan’s Surf Out Concept Is a Sleek, Fun EV Meant for Adventure

The world of EV trucks is rapidly expanding, with entrants from Ford, Tesla, GMC, Rivian, Chevy, Canoo, Ram, and others.

Nissan is joining the party, with a sporty new concept called the Surf Out, which shares some of their latest design language, in a smaller, more nimble package.

We haven’t seen a smaller electric pickup on the market yet, and are eager to see something like this hit the roads.  Featuring a streamlined body with full frontal light bar, the truck has oversized wheels, minimal, high-tech cabin, and even a customizable LED tailgate, which is meant to communicate personality.

The truck also features an optional pickup cap, which is sleekly designed to make the vehicle feel more like a coupe than a truck.

For more on the world of electric vehicles, make sure to check out our sister website, Electric Future. 

It’s refreshing to see a truck concept that is diminutive and sporty versus the ever-growing SUVs and trucks that are hitting the road.

The roof has a sleek overhang which gives it a fun appearance and should help with aerodynamics.

The glass front of the Nissan shows you direct access to the cabin, and also plays up the fact that no engine or transmission is needed. This flourish is unlikely to make it to production.

The rear of the truck has a customizable LED tailgate, giving users the ability to share messages, emoji and more.

The interior is minimal, and has a wraparound drive display, which feels appropriately concept-like for this vehicle.

For more on the world of electric vehicles, make sure to check out our sister website, Electric Future. 

Peugeot’s Inception Concept Cuts Like a Knife

The Peugeot Inception is the type of concept car that excites us, full of design-forward ideas, exaggerated angles, and technology on the cutting edge of what’s next.

This EV concept is sharp and angular, both inside and out, feel like it’s been sculpted with a scalpel, and made to cut through the wind.

A huge glass windshield dives down into the bonnet below the belt line, accentuating the car’s haunches, and giving accessional light into the cabin.

The interior has a dramatic tilted form, utilizing square and triangle forms that feel brutalist and minimalist, even while comforting passengers. We like the way the interior echoes the sharp, knife-like feel of the exterior.

A steering wheel is replaced with Peugeot’s “Hypersquare”, a steering device that speaks to a coming era of autonomous driving.

All in all, an exciting concept car that we imagine will inspire the next ten years of automotive design for the French brand.

Sony’s High Tech Afeela Marks Their First Entry Into the Car Market

Afeela is the name of the new joint venture between Honda Mobility and Sony, who is officially launching their first car. The EV is a refinement on their concept launched in 2020, and is a clean, if somewhat generic-looking jellybean shape.

The sleek ride is, of course, outfitted with the latest in digital technology, with a pillar-to-pillar display in the front, packed with infotainment and entertainment options. It even boasts advanced AR graphics created with Unreal Engine, a powerful videogame computer.

The intro video for the Afeela features the sleek styling and features of the car, which feel up-to-par of the latest and greatest EVs coming onto the market.

The car’s UX features are pretty impressive, featuring a number of welcoming gestures, from a front bumper display that is customizable with personalized colors or messages, to biometric technology that recognizes the driver and adjusts settings accordingly.

The car is still in prototype mode, but testing and certification is underway, meaning we can expect a version of the Afeela on the roads in 2024 or 2025.