Karl Smith
Karl is the Car Design News correspondent in the United States. He lives near Los Angeles. He has written for Car Design News since 2013, as well as our sister publications, Interior Motives, and Automotive IT International. He has also been a contributor to our bespoke publications for Volvo and Nissan, as well as our annual Car Design Yearbook.
Karl has written for design journals for over 30 years and has been published in books and magazines in the US, Europe and Japan. Karl is also a practicing architect in California, with projects across the United States and in Europe.
Karl.smith@cardesignnews.com
Contact info
- Email:
- Karl.Smith@cardesignnews.com
- Website:
- www.KarlSmithStudio.com
ArticleArtificial intelligence and the car designer of the future
CDN’s Karl Smith asks if artificial intelligence is the existential threat to car design we think it is
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First sight: Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray
CDN takes a look at the new Corvette, which despite its name is in fact a hybrid
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Inside Tesla: a retrospective at the Petersen museum
LA’s famous Petersen Museum has a hot new exhibit that documents Tesla’s brand milestones
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Round-up: LA Auto Show 2022
Karl Smith tours the 2022 LA Auto Show, which shows signs of a move toward greater public engagement
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How batteries will shape car design
Electric skateboards are an interim step to battery-chassis-body integration and the implications for car designers will be enormous. New packaging designs are possible and old ones will be renewed. Car Design News’ Karl Smith investigates the near future
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Rumpler Tropfenwagen – the first streamliner
Car Design News’ Karl Smith investigates the Rumpler Tropfenwagen, an innovative pre-war car that inspired new approaches to aerodynamics
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Leadership transition at GM’s California Advanced Design Studio
Frank Saucedo retires after a long, successful tenure at GM; Brian Smith assumes leadership of the studio in North Hollywood
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The unlikely resurgence of the MPV
The multi-purpose vehicle has shuttled families around for decades in comfort, but never in style. That is starting to change, writes Karl Smith
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Metasketching: an interview with Mike Jelinek
Michel Jelinek is an artist, designer, and researcher practicing in Czechia near Prague. He has a strong automotive design background having worked with Škoda, Volkswagen, PSA, and General Motors Europe. Jelinek spoke to Car Design News about advancing the next generation of design tools via his work at Wacom
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The expanding universe of the pick-up truck
Times, and powertrains, are changing – Karl Smith investigates how the pickup truck is finding itself in the middle of an ever-expanding universe of products
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Book Review: Roots and Wings – Peter Schreyer: Designer, Artist and Visionary
Peter Schreyer, the man who steered Audi and Volkswgen through the 80s and 90s, and completely transformed Kia, Hyundai and Genesis, is now the subject of a stellar monograph examining his work
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Do these GM concepts signal the return of the personal luxury car?
Two futuristic concepts, the Buick Smart Pod and the Cadillac Innerspace Concept recently introduced by General Motors, point to a revival of a classic format
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The three-box sedan: requiem or revival?
Stateside, the three-box sedan seems to be in retreat with VW withdrawing the Passat and Lincoln phasing out the Continental. Is it all over for this time-honoured format, or does its future simply lie elsewhere in the world?
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Karma SC1 Vision & SC2 - interior design development
Karma Automotive, now owned by the Wangxiang Group, made a bold statement at the Shanghai auto show with its SC1 Vision Concept, a dramatic roadster previewing the evolution in design language for the brand. Its design drew inspiration from Karma’s California home: its climate, its culture, the glamour of Hollywood, the dynamics of surf and hot rod culture, and the state’s heritage of innovation in both the aerospace and automotive sectors all found a place in the styling of the SC1.
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General Motors and Bollinger introduce new EV platforms
EV startup’s new platform now faces growing competition from large OEMs
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Interior Motives: Nissan IMk
A deep dive into the design of Nissan’s IMk concept, exploring concepts like ‘Timeless Japanese Futurism’ and minimalism
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Concept Car of the Month: Lamborghini 400 GT Flying Star II (1965)
Revisiting the shooting brake that proved the swansong of an Italian coachbuilder’s heyday
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Hyundai launches the 2021 Elantra
Hyundai has launched its seventh-generation Elantra compact sedan for the US market, in Los Angeles
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Buick reveals production version of GL8 Avenir luxury MPV
Buick has revealed the production version of its China-only GL8 Avenir luxury MPV, and, to no one’s no surprise, it looks much like the concept introduced at the Shanghai Auto Show last year.
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Hyundai teases 2021 Elantra
Hyundai has released teaser images and a video previewing its new Elantra sedan for 2021
