I’ve heard of people taking meetings from the backseat of their car, but what the Caro is proposing is pretty wild – turning your driver seat into a makeshift desk for quick in-car productivity. Designed as a stand that locks into your steering wheel and gives you a tabletop surface, the Caro Stand & Table lets you turn your driver seat into a makeshift table for pretty much anything. Work on emails, take quick meetings, watch a movie, get stuff done on road trips, create content on-the-go, heck you can even eat an entire meal on the stand’s tabletop accessory so you don’t accidentally get barbecue sauce on your pants because you kept your food on your lap. The idea, as bizarre as it sounds, is perfect for a whole variety of scenarios – especially for remote work, road trips, city commutes, on-the-go content creation, or just anyone who needs to quickly get stuff done between car rides whether it’s checking a document or checking your make-up.

Think about it – your car seat is nothing more than a comfortable chair – so why not have a table along with it? That’s what the Caro Stand & Table sort of addresses. When parked, the stand slips right into your steering wheel, locking into place so you can dock a laptop with near-perfect precision and work from your seat without moving. Want to ditch the laptop for your Chipotle bowl and Jamba Juice shake? The Caro Stand has a four-part folding table that locks into place, giving you a perfect place to eat a meal, place a Nintendo Switch, or even work with a laptop and a mouse on the side. Necessary? Well, maybe. Genius? Absolutely.

Designer: Yun Seok Shin (caomobi CEO)

Click Here to Buy Now: $79 $119 (34% off). Hurry, only 174/200 left!

Car desks have existed for a while now, but search the internet and you’ll see how childish they look. Designed to feel like the kind of tray attached to a child’s high chair, these are mostly designed for holding food and drinks – anything else feels weirdly out of place. The Caro, on the other hand, is designed differently. A minimal, foldable, slick device, the Caro opens up and locks into your steering wheel, giving you a very stable place to dock your laptop. The metal design feels intentional – it’s strong, dissipates heat, and allows the Caro to be very compact. You can dock your laptop in a variety of angles, or ditch the laptop entirely to dock a four-part table that turns your car into anything you want it to be – a dinner table, a vanity table, a place to get a quick nap – it’s entirely your choice.

The Caro Stand is rather clever, with its tiny, yet hyper-adjustable form factor. Sort of like one of those laptop stands you’d use on your desk, the Caro Stand is optimized for your steering unit. It unfolds, locks into your steering wheel, and rests against the housing of the steering shaft. The base of the Caro Stand can then rest a laptop on it securely, going from anything as small as an 11″ tablet to a mammoth 18″ laptop.

Why not just place the laptop on your lap instead? You could, but anyone who’s tried actually working that way will tell you that the Laptop (despite its name), isn’t really comfortable on the lap. Your neck bends too low, the laptop heats your thighs, and your eyes get strained because of the angle. It isn’t ergonomic at all – which is why most desks are at least a good 6-inches higher than the average lap. The Caro Stand does that too, stably balancing your laptop on the same level as your steering wheel. This is perfect because your neck is used to looking at the steering wheel or the speedometer behind it, and your hands are used to the angle of the wheel itself.

Studs let you adjust your laptop, so you’re not limited to just one angle. Sit the laptop flat for the basic version, angle it once and you have an even more ergonomic setup with a lifted display, and angle it further and you can actually slide a keyboard in and work in ways that you wouldn’t even think possible with existing car desks. If you want to take your setup even further, the Caro Stand supports dual-monitor use, simply by allowing you to tilt your laptop upwards and fit an extra portable monitor in place (like the setup shown below).

If the stand isn’t enough, the foldable table is Caro’s pièce de résistance. It locks into the stand and folds out into a versatile table that you can use for pretty much anything. The table’s four-part design means you can fold out half the table if you want a compact space at just 13.1″ wide. Open the panels further and it goes up to 23.4″, while being 8.2″ deep.

The table sits perfectly flat and has a fairly matte surface that prevents items from sliding around. It also holds a respectable 33lbs (15kg) of weight, so you could easily use it to place your work setup, your lunch spread, or even vlogging gear in case you’re the kind to vlog from your car. Moreover, integrated supports in the center hinge let you angle-adjust your laptop even on the table, giving you a perfect combination of ergonomics and space efficiency.

A fair warning: the Caro clearly isn’t meant to be used while the car’s on. It locks INTO the steering wheel, which nobody should do while the car’s running or not parked. It does, however, allow you to freely enter and exit your car without needing to disassemble your setup (so you can pop out for a quick break or grab an extra soda from the drive-thru restaurant).

The Caro’s parts are designed to be compact and resilient, docking into the steering wheel with silicone pads that prevent the wheel’s leather from getting damaged, as well as around the laptop docking section to prevent scratches on your device. That being said, it fits most steering wheels and even yokes and should work with almost every car. For pretty much anyone who needs a quick workspace between home and the office, the Caro Stand & Table offers a great alternative to scrambling and struggling with your laptop or your lunch in your car. When all’s said and done, the entire thing folds into a compact format small enough to fit into your glove box. Pretty smart, no?

Click Here to Buy Now: $79 $119 (34% off). Hurry, only 174/200 left!

The post Weirdly Awesome Car Laptop Stand Turns Your Driver’s Seat Into The Most Versatile Workspace Ever first appeared on Yanko Design.

The Lotus Elise S1 was one of the most popular sports cars in the mid-90s, appreciated by purists and motorheads for its distinct design backed by performance. Although the car has been lost in time, overshadowed by names like Porsche 911, it still manages to turn heads. Now, passionate motorsports photographer GF Williams turned car builder has crafted a restomod version of the Elise dubbed Project Safari with a rally race character.

Under the Surrey-based company Get Lost, Williams and his team of fabricators and engineers have beefed up the sports car for off-road-ready adventures. That’s almost like changing the racing DNA of the sports car and morphing it into a beast that can take on dirt trails without any iota of hesitation. With this mod, the track-hugging Lotus retains its featherweight character and a compact footprint. However, the conversion isn’t just about slapping on body panels or increasing the ride height. According to George Williams, “This is not a modified Elise, it’s our interpretation of what the platform had to offer. Everything has been considered – from the design to the drive – all in the pursuit of creating something fun.”

Designer: Get Lost

The visual aesthetics are noticeably different from the original with a 100mm lift, and the underbody is reinforced with maximum protection to make the car ready for the unforgiving tracks. The large fenders hug the all-terrain tires, bespoke suspension coated in Cerakote for protection from rocks and debris. The round headlights have been replaced by the rectangular ones to give the Elise an aggressive personality.  Rally car element is exemplified by the yellow auxiliary lights mounted on the hood, which make the dusty tracks well lit. For maximum control on the roads, Willams’ team added a rally-style limited-slip differential and a hydraulic handbrake.

Get Lost has added a mid-mounted roof scoop with an intake that splits into two ducts, feeding air into the engine. The makers inform that the Project Safari is loaded with a different powertrain, suggesting the original 1.8-litre Rover K-Series has been swapped for something with more meat. The zircon-coated twin exhaust further cements the fact that the Project Safari has more power than you could bargain for. The roll bar and the rear deck hold the spare tire, which is integrated with floating wings that are reminiscent of a WRC rally car. On the inside, the modded Project Safari Elise has bespoke seats trimmed in leather and tweed.

According to Williams, every element of the modded Lotus Elise doesn’t work in isolation; rather, “enhances the character and capability of the entire car.” The production of the Project Safari is slated to begin by the end of this year. There’s no word about the pricing of the car yet, but more could come on that in the future.

The post Project Safari is a comprehensive Lotus Elise restomod turning the sport car into off-road racer first appeared on Yanko Design.

General Motors is rethinking its most sacred nameplate. The new Corvette EV concept, revealed at GM’s Advanced Design Studio in Royal Leamington Spa, England, trades rumbling V8s for an all-electric platform wrapped in something far from retro. The silhouette still squats low, still signals speed, but does so with no exhaust and with a profile that barely glances backward. Corvette’s identity hasn’t been erased—it’s been redrawn with electricity in mind, targeting a global audience without bowing to nostalgia.

Designer: GM Advanced Design Studio in Royal Leamington Spa, England

The move is more than symbolic. GM has planted this concept in European soil with deliberate purpose. This isn’t a car built for one continent. It’s aimed at drivers from Stuttgart to San Francisco, designed in collaboration with studios across the globe. It doesn’t pander. It announces.

Rewriting the Corvette Shape Language

What you see first is the roofline. The entire upper half of the vehicle tilts toward sculpture, not memory. Those gullwing doors aren’t there to echo a Mercedes or to turn heads for novelty. They exist because the body sits so impossibly low that they’re the most rational way in. And yes, they make a dramatic entrance without being theatrical.

The front grille is gone. EVs don’t need them, and GM doesn’t pretend otherwise. In its place, light signatures define the fascia with a shape that still looks aggressive, but with intention. Sharp contours across the hood and fenders don’t decorate—they redirect airflow, visually and physically.

Out back, a single horizontal light bar stretches from edge to edge, tying in with active aero elements that morph based on driving conditions. It feels more like a low-slung hypercar than a traditional coupe. But the Corvette DNA lingers—most noticeably in the split rear window, a nod to the 1963 Sting Ray, done without dipping into retro design.

Battery, Torque, and the EV Transition

Underneath that form sits GM’s Ultium platform. Expect a tightly integrated battery chassis, structural rigidity baked into every panel, and a center of gravity pulled toward the Earth. The likely AWD layout and dual- or tri-motor setup translate to explosive torque and surgical traction. This isn’t an adaptation. It’s a rebuild.

The Corvette EV shares electric bones with the Hummer EV and Cadillac Lyriq, but application matters. Here, the same 800V architecture will be tasked with delivering speed between corners, not climbing rocks. Fast charging becomes a pit stop, not a feature.

Cooling ducts carved into the body hint at motorsport roots. This isn’t a heat-trapped city cruiser. GM has shaped the chassis and airflow to handle repeated high-speed stress. Expect lessons pulled straight from Corvette Racing’s back catalog, translated into venting, ducting, and thermal control.

Driver-First Cockpit, Digitally Rewired

Inside the concept, analog thinking meets digital interface. A squared-off steering wheel cuts visual clutter and consolidates tactile inputs. You keep your hands planted at 9 and 3. Augmented reality overlays your data in motion—speed, g-force, track line—but only when needed.

Materials matter. Recycled composite trims don’t cheapen the cabin. They focus it. Upholstery swaps indulgence for precision. The carbon-backed seats don’t pad you in leather; they clamp you in position. The center spine of the cabin flows between seats, eliminating the transmission tunnel and adding usable space without drawing attention to it.

The layout is purposeful, the materials selected with restraint, and the controls placed for use under pressure, not for show.

The Corvette Goes Global

GM didn’t pick Royal Leamington Spa by accident. The UK design hub brings European proportioning and urban sensibility to a traditionally American platform. The lines are leaner. The angles more decisive. This design didn’t pass through Detroit untouched—it was shaped in dialogue with Seoul, Melbourne, Shanghai, and beyond.

It also shows GM’s strategy: bring American icons into a design vocabulary that speaks internationally. Performance EVs are no longer niche in Europe. Regulations, infrastructure, and consumer appetite are already in place. This Corvette concept signals GM’s serious intent to sell electric performance on a global stage.

Where Concept Meets Reality

Don’t expect gullwings on the production model. They make a point here, but crash regs and cost constraints tend to win that argument. The same applies to some of the show-car detailing. But what matters is the architecture, and that looks production-ready.

GM hasn’t committed to a launch window, but the hybrid E-Ray was the opening act. A fully electric Corvette landing by 2026 isn’t off-script. When it arrives, it won’t be a re-skinned Stingray with batteries stuffed in. It’ll be a purpose-built machine.

The EV space is full of promises, missed timelines, and brand pivots. What this Corvette concept offers is a clear signal: GM plans to make performance EVs with teeth. And if the production car looks and drives anything like this concept implies, that future’s going to be loud—even if the engine isn’t.

The post GM’s EV Corvette Concept Strips Down the V8 Legacy first appeared on Yanko Design.

E-bikes are having their ‘Raspberry Pi’ moment, and I’m absolutely here for it. You know how the Raspberry Pi allowed pretty much anyone to build their own computing device? You didn’t have to rely on larger, bulky models – you could literally put together your own computer and configure it to be exactly the kind of device you wanted it to be – whether something as complex as a robot dog, or something as simple as a single-sensor IoT device. Verge is bringing that plug-and-play simplicty to electric bikes by practically open-sourcing its own e-bike framework. Their new B2B arm, titled Verge Next, will help pretty much any third-party (whether it’s a one-off hobbyist or a mobility company) build their own e-bikes directly on Verge’s open platform.

If you’ve seen Verge’s bikes, you already know they don’t play by conventional rules. Their hubless rear wheel, powered by the company’s famed Donut engine, is both a visual showstopper and a functional revelation. By integrating the motor into the wheel rim, Verge eliminates traditional drive chains or belts, resulting in fewer mechanical losses, a cleaner design, and notably smoother torque delivery. And now Verge is making it available to everyone.

Designer: Verge Motorcycles

Verge Next is where this transfer of power happens, figuratively and literally. It’s a tech licensing arm that operates like a sandbox – a space where manufacturers can play with proven hardware and software stacks, build on them, tweak them, and get to market without reinventing the wheel. Quite literally.

At the core is the Donut engine, developed by Verge’s partner company, Donut Lab. It’s scalable, adaptable, and designed for integration across a range of vehicle formats. Need a compact version for an urban commuter bike? Done. Want a higher-output variant for a sportier electric motorcycle? Also done. Verge has even demonstrated how the system integrates seamlessly into two-wheelers of multiple types, from sportsbikes to cafe racers to scooters and even more skeletal dirt bike-style riders.

Verge has been fielding inquiries from companies around the world, all eager to tap into its tech. Instead of gatekeeping, Verge is choosing to be the bridge. Verge Next gives these manufacturers access to a constantly evolving ecosystem of performance tools, software integrations, safety enhancements, and drivetrain tech. Think better battery management systems, smarter traction control, and optimized chassis balance—all available as part of the Verge Next package.

Verge Motorcycles CEO Tuomo Lehtimäki is pretty clear on the why. Verge paved the path with its own bikes, but now it’s time to expand the impact. While the parent company keeps pushing the envelope with its own electric motorcycles, Verge Next will focus exclusively on licensing and supporting integration across the industry. This isn’t Verge walking away from its core—it’s Verge scaling it.

And if you’re wondering about Donut Lab’s role in all this, Marko Lehtimäki—Donut’s CEO and also Verge’s chairman—makes it clear. They’re not just handing over parts. They’re giving manufacturers the full blueprint for innovation, wrapped in a high-competence team and backed by years of road-tested experience. This isn’t about flooding the market with Verge clones. It’s about setting a new standard.

So the next time you see an electric scooter zipping down your street, or a sleek e-bike carving through traffic, take a second look. That torque you feel, that silence, that seamless drive—it might just be powered by a Donut.

The post Verge just open-sourced electric bikes the way Raspberry Pi did computers first appeared on Yanko Design.

What if the very salt you use to season your food is the same that powers your gadgets? Yes – it seems like Lithium’s time in the sun has ended as CATL – the behemoth that manufactures 40% of the world’s lithium batteries – plans on pivoting half its future business to sodium-ion technology. When the company that built an empire on lithium starts looking elsewhere, you know something big is happening.

Every person owns roughly a minimum of 5 objects that are powered by lithium-ion batteries. They’re in everything from your phone to your video doorbell to your earbuds to even your electric car. Lithium-based batteries literally power the world today, but there’s a fundamental problem with them – they’re unstable, fairly scarce, and difficult to acquire without completely ravaging the environment. That’s why the world’s largest battery maker is looking at the next best alternative – the same stuff you line your margarita glasses with. That’s right – salt, or as scientists call it, Sodium Chloride.

From Table Salt to Battery Powerhouse

Sodium sits one row below lithium on the periodic table – the overlooked middle child to lithium’s golden boy status. Both elements share a crucial trait: they readily surrender electrons, making them perfect battery materials. But sodium atoms are pudgier and heavier than their lithium counterparts, creating the technology’s Achilles’ heel: energy density.

Current sodium-ion batteries pack roughly 160-200 watt-hours per kilogram compared to lithium’s 300 Wh/kg. When it comes to building EVs, the disadvantages stack up pretty quickly, given how heavy existing EV batteries are. Swapping out Lithium for Sodium would make these batteries nearly twice as heavy, severely impacting the car’s overall weight and therefore, its range. Yet, despite this handicap, sodium is increasingly finding adoption in battery tech.

The reason becomes obvious when you look beyond the spec sheet. The Earth’s oceans hold approximately 180 billion tons of sodium – a supply so vast it makes “abundance” seem like an understatement. Lithium, meanwhile, exists primarily in remote salt flats and hard rock deposits, concentrated in geopolitically complex regions like the “Lithium Triangle” of South America and conflict-prone areas in Africa.

Extracting lithium demands intense water usage in often drought-stricken regions, creating environmental flashpoints and community tensions. Sodium, by contrast, can be sourced from seawater or common salt deposits through simpler, less resource-intensive processes. The environmental footprint difference is stark.

Cost also plays a significant role in this pivot. Salt is dirt cheap – actually, cheaper than dirt. While lithium prices have ridden a rollercoaster that threatened to derail EV adoption, sodium remains stable and abundant. BYD (Tesla’s most formidable global competitor) projects sodium batteries could eventually undercut lithium costs by 30-70%. For an industry where pennies per kilowatt-hour determine market winners, that’s not just an advantage – it’s potentially game-set-match.

The Great Salt Rush of 2025

CATL isn’t merely pontificating about sodium’s theoretical potential – they’ve already commercialized it. Their Freevoy battery pack combines lithium and sodium cells in a hybrid system for long-range EVs, threading the needle between sodium’s cost advantages and lithium’s energy density.

Their second-generation sodium battery, launching later this year, promises energy density exceeding 200 Wh/kg. While still trailing lithium, this represents a remarkable leap from the first generation’s 160 Wh/kg. The gap is closing faster than many expected.

BYD, meanwhile, is making an even bolder play. Their sodium-ion gigafactory under construction will churn out 30 gigawatt-hours of batteries annually when fully operational in 2027 – enough to power roughly 600,000 electric vehicles. For perspective, that’s more than the entire UK electric vehicle market in 2023.

The sodium rush extends beyond the Chinese giants. Zhejiang Hu Na Energy recently fired up a 4 GWh production line with plans to quintuple capacity. Across the Pacific, American startup Natron Energy is building a 24 GWh facility in North Carolina after establishing a beachhead factory in Michigan.

Sub-Zero Superstar: Why Winter Loves Sodium

Beyond cost and sustainability, sodium-ion batteries offer a performance advantage that anyone who’s driven an EV in Minnesota will appreciate: exceptional cold-weather resilience.

Lithium batteries and frigid temperatures mix about as well as cats and bathtubs. Below -20°C (-4°F), lithium ions struggle to intercalate properly into the anode, instead plating onto its surface. This “lithium plating” reduces capacity, damages the battery, and in extreme cases, creates safety hazards.

Sodium ions, with their larger size and different chemical properties, resist this plating effect. CATL claims its second-generation sodium batteries function reliably down to -40°C (-40°F) – the point where Fahrenheit and Celsius converge and conventional lithium batteries essentially give up.

For drivers in northern climates, this isn’t a minor technical distinction – it’s the difference between reaching your destination or calling a tow truck during winter months. For fleet operators, it means consistent range regardless of season.

Sodium batteries also demonstrate superior thermal stability at the other end of the thermometer. They’re less prone to thermal runaway – the battery equivalent of a chain reaction that can lead to fires. For grid storage installations in hot, fire-prone regions like Australia or California, this safety profile could prove decisive.

TAQ Team: The MIT Breakthrough Changing the Game

While commercial sodium batteries advance rapidly, researchers are attacking sodium’s energy density limitation from another angle. Scientists at MIT’s Dincă Lab have developed an organic cathode material called TAQ (bis-tetraaminobenzoquinone) that could fundamentally change the sodium battery equation.

Traditional cathodes rely on metals like cobalt and nickel that are scarce, expensive, and environmentally problematic to extract. TAQ replaces these with carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen – elements so abundant they form the backbone of life itself. The researchers claim performance rivaling cobalt-based cathodes at one-third the cost.

What makes this development particularly intriguing is its industrial backing. The initial research was funded by Lamborghini – not exactly a company known for investing in technologies without performance potential. When a manufacturer of 200 mph supercars takes interest in sodium batteries, it suggests the technology’s limitations might be more temporary than fundamental.

When Salt Gets in the Wound: Challenges Ahead

Despite the momentum, sodium-ion technology faces significant headwinds. The dramatic collapse of lithium prices – down 70% over the past three years due to production increases – has temporarily weakened the economic case for alternatives. The battery industry is notoriously cyclical, and sodium’s cost advantage looks less compelling when lithium is cheap.

Sodium battery manufacturers also remain too small to benefit from economies of scale, creating a classic chicken-and-egg dilemma. They need volume to drive down costs, but struggle to achieve volume without competitive costs. This challenge claimed a victim in Swedish manufacturer Northvolt, which unveiled a promising sodium battery in 2023 before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The technology also faces entrenched interests. The lithium supply chain represents trillions in investments, from mines to processing facilities to battery factories. This industrial momentum creates resistance to change, even when the alternative offers compelling advantages.

The Sodium Stratification: Finding Each Chemistry’s Sweet Spot

The most likely future isn’t a wholesale replacement of lithium but strategic deployment of sodium in applications where its strengths matter most and its weaknesses least.

Grid-scale energy storage represents sodium’s most promising beachhead. When batteries are stationary, energy density becomes secondary to cost, safety, and longevity – all areas where sodium shines. As solar and wind deployment accelerates, the demand for affordable storage will explode, creating a natural market for sodium technology.

For electric vehicles, a segmented approach seems probable. Budget models and urban delivery vehicles could adopt sodium batteries first, leveraging their lower cost and excellent cold-weather performance without requiring the energy density of long-range vehicles. Premium cars might retain lithium for years longer, or adopt hybrid systems like CATL’s Freevoy that combine both chemistries.

This market segmentation parallels what we’ve seen with lithium batteries themselves. Different formulations – NMC, LFP, NCA – have found niches based on their particular strengths rather than a single chemistry dominating all applications.

Worth Its Salt: The Future of Sodium Power

Battery technology evolves through persistent iteration rather than dramatic breakthroughs. Sodium-ion batteries exemplify this pattern – they don’t render lithium obsolete but complement it by addressing specific weaknesses in our current energy storage ecosystem.

When the world’s largest battery manufacturers bet billions on a technology, I pay attention. CATL and BYD have built empires by recognizing inflection points before they become obvious. Their aggressive sodium expansion suggests they see a major shift coming – one that could reshape the energy storage landscape over the next decade.

For consumers, this transition promises more affordable electric vehicles that perform better in cold climates. For grid operators, it offers cheaper, safer energy storage solutions. For the planet, it represents a more sustainable path forward, reducing dependence on problematic mining operations and making clean energy more accessible globally.

The sodium revolution won’t happen overnight. Technological inertia, existing investments, and ongoing improvements to lithium batteries ensure a gradual transition. But the trajectory seems increasingly clear: that humble white crystal seasoning your food is poised to power our electrified future.

Next time you reach for the salt shaker, consider that you’re handling what might become the lifeblood of tomorrow’s energy systems. In a world obsessed with exotic materials and complex solutions, there’s something beautifully elegant about powering the future with one of Earth’s most common elements.

The post Your Next EV Could Be Powered By Salt – Why Sodium-Ion Batteries Are The ‘Next Big Thing’ first appeared on Yanko Design.

Spotify officially discontinued their first and only hardware product – the Car Thing in December 2024, leaving us entering 2025 with a palpable car media player-shaped void in our hearts. But here’s a question – what if we just had other companies make Car Things instead of Spotify? This new ChatGPT AI feature allowed us to imagine what the Car Thing would look like if it was built by other iconic audio-related brands, both old and new.

Prepare to go on an absolute feels trip as we look at the Car Thing from brands as old and iconic as Sony Ericsson’s Walkman and VLC to fairly new kids on the block like Tidal and Audible. The format is simple – a car-mounted player that lets you, either through touch or through button control, play media on a streaming service of your choice. More analogue systems like the Walkman and the VLC player obviously have local storage playback, while others like YouTube and Audible tap into internet playback.

Designer: Sarang Sheth

This started purely as a nostalgia exercise, inspired by the retro gadgets series from last week. However, it later blossomed into a more rounded ‘what if’ experiment as the idea of a hardware player made more and more sense for most audio streaming giants today. We start with Sony Ericsson Walkman and VLC, absolute behemoths of the media space in the 2000s. VLC had two features – firstly, the ability to handle literally every file format on the planet, and secondly, the fact it was free. VLC Media Player could be found on every laptop and desktop on the planet, which is why making a VLC car media player made sense too. Simple interface – a nice volume knob, and controls that mirrored the skeuomorphic ones seen on the player.

While VLC reigned supreme on desktop, Walkman was the go-to for every non-iPod user on the planet. It was the iPhone before the iPhone was the iPhone. Sure, Nokia had some wild phones back in the day, but nothing beat the cultural impact of Sony Ericsson’s Walkman phones. The car media player mirrors the same cult impact, with a black body and bright orange accents like that gorgeous radial-brushed knob. Finally, the Sony Ericsson logo makes its way at the bottom too, just giving everyone absolute feels!

Sure, Sony had to butt heads with the iPod, which is why we looked at the Car Thing from an iPod lens too, with an iTunes player instead of the newfangled Apple Music. Everything about this player feels classic, from the design to the color finish to the gorgeous jog-wheel on the side that’s highly reminiscent of the iPod. Anyone who grew up in the 90s and 2000s will gush over this beauty.

The next player really needs no branding – the red play button on the bottom is branding enough. This one was a bit tough, because we deliberately didn’t want to include video players in this series – but the thing is a LOT of people use YouTube to listen to podcasts too (I’m an ardent TWiT.tv and Waveform Podcast listener), so we decided to go ahead with a YouTube-esque Car Thing. The screen gets priority here, so we moved the volume knob to the side, and the buttons on the bottom let you do everything from quickly control playback to even toggle video quality settings just in case you’re driving through an area with bad reception.

For me, the first ever truly addictive audio-only platform was Soundcloud. It was THE place for indie music, mixes, playlists, etc. I was quite the EDM lover and artists would upload their remixes, livesets, and entire albums directly onto the Soundcloud website. That’s why this one definitely deserved a player. The screen’s much more narrow, because the only thing that matters is the track itself, and of course you’ve got all the tactile buttons you need to control music playback on your car ride. Let’s just say I also asked ChatGPT to help me manifest my DJ career with a nice Levels remix!

Obviously, you can’t have online audio media today without having podcasts and audiobooks, which is why we took two popular players in this area and gave them their own hardware devices. Most people listen to podcasts or books while commuting, so this made a world of sense The Pocket Casts service gets its own hardware unit, with all the interface controls you need to listen to your favorite pod episode. Similarly, if you’re a book person, this Audible Car Thing is perfect for you, helping you get through your book collection while you’re stuck in traffic! They’re all conceptual, but I’d like to think that these devices do have on-board storage too, so you can listen to your favorite audio pieces even without an internet connection.

Finally, the last in this list is a bonafide Spotify competitor. Run by Jay-Z and a bunch of other Hollywood music execs, Tidal is touted as the world’s go-to for hi-fi music. You don’t stream MP3s here, you stream high-definition audio – which I assume some people definitely pay for. For the folks subscribed to Tidal (I honestly don’t know who you are), this car player is for you, bringing hi-fi audio to your presumably hi-fi car sound system. The design and interface seem very slick with the black-on-black design palette… and given that it’s Tidal, I had to put Beyonce on the Now Playing section… I guess I’ll thank her too, just in case.

Which Car Thing is your favorite? Would you like to see more? Hit us up on Instagram and let us know!

The post If Sony Walkman, YouTube, Audible, and Apple made Car Things, this is how they’d look first appeared on Yanko Design.

Milan Design Week 2025 has just witnessed one of the coolest motorbike mods you’ll come across for its sheer design value. Royal Enfield took to the mega design event with an otherworldly reinterpretation of the Flying Flea FF.C6 model, virtually turning it into a canvas for art. The feat was achieved in a collaboration with Italian-born LA artist Mattia Biagi, who has experimented with bike designs in the past. His unique perspective towards the design world makes him a respected name in the Italian art, fashion, and design circles.

Flying Flea, a new sub-brand of Royal Enfield, brought the one-of-a-kind electric motorcycle that blurs the boundaries between mobility and abstract art to Milan for the world to appreciate. Dubbed Motototem, the bike looks straight out of the Ghost Rider Universe. Perhaps they could have roped in Nicolas Cage for a cameo entry at the unveiling – of course, minus all the blazing flames.

Designer: Flying Flea and Mattia Biagi

Motototem, based on the brand’s first ever motorbike, the FF.C6, is created by a team of over 200 engineers based in India and the UK. The bespoke motorbike retains most of its DNA, while Mattia turns the bike’s skin and muscle into a creative platform. Under the surface lies the same Snapdragon-powered modern connectivity and voice navigation. The magnesium battery case, having fins, is retained to maintain structural integrity, and is painted in black stone element to maintain the visual theme. The artist brings nostalgic elements of the 1940 Flying Flea into play – reviving memories of the brand’s motorbikes, which were air-dropped during WWII to gain tactical advantage on the battlefield. That travertine tank, to be precise, has the telltale inspiration from the years gone by.

The nature-human connection is also present in the final form as the headlights and taillights give way to hand-blown glass forms achieved from high-temperature processes. Bronze handlebars and footpegs with components molded from the artist’s fingerprints alone got me to believe it is some kind of secret Ghostrider bike for an upcoming movie under wraps. The use of natural materials like clay, bronze, stone, and leather flows down to the forged aluminum frame and the magnesium battery case. Fenders get the unique resin-cast leaves, truly making it artistic, and the seat now has a warm walnut block as the saddle. On closer look, even the tires get the art influence with swallows that signify loyalty and homecoming.

Mattia gives the fork assembly the creative treatment with clay-molded inserts that replace the fork guards traditionally found on dirt bikes. The chain guard gets the same treatment.  This sculptural bike will tour the world this year, after its show at the Superdesign Show located at Via Tortona 27 at Milan Design Week commences on 12 April, and we’re looking forward to more clips of the bike in action. Maybe in California it’ll get celebrity attention, or maybe George Miller’s attention for his next Mad Max flick.

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Probably one of the most iconic American-made cars is the Ford Mustang, specifically the original Rangoon Red paintwork that they used when they launched back in 1964. There have been a lot of versions of this landmark car over the years but this original one holds a special place in hearts of car enthusiast and collectors. To celebrate six decades of this car, Ford is releasing something a bit out of the ordinary, at least for their car product line.

Designer: Ford

Instead of releasing a special edition car to celebrate the Mustang’s 60th anniversary, they are instead releasing the Mustang eBike – 60th Anniversary Edition, a sleek and powerful ride that aims to capture the spirit of the legendary pony car on two wheels. The limited-edition eBike is a a fusion of automotive heritage and cutting-edge electric technology and it comes in the iconic Rangoon Red paintwork as well as period-correct badges and decals direct from their archives. It even comes with a 60th anniversary plaque, although this one you probably won’t carry on your ebike.

Just like its four-wheeled namesake, the Mustang eBike packs a punch. Nestled within its frame is a robust 750W rear-wheel hub motor that delivers an impressive 63 lb-ft (85 Nm) of torque. This power translates to exhilarating acceleration and a top assisted speed of 28 mph (45 km/h), allowing riders to effortlessly cruise through city streets or conquer challenging inclines. Ford hasn’t skimped on efficiency either. A high-capacity 720Wh battery provides a generous range of up to 60 miles (96 km) on a single charge, making it ideal for both daily commutes and leisurely explorations. And when it’s time to recharge, the system only takes 3.5 hours to reach full capacity. The eBike offers four distinct power modes, allowing riders to tailor the level of assistance to their needs and conserve battery life when desired.

The eBike is equipped with high-quality components to ensure a smooth and reliable ride. Tektro four-piston hydraulic disc brakes with substantial 203mm rotors provide confident and responsive stopping power. A well-engineered suspension system soaks up bumps and vibrations, enhancing rider comfort. Furthermore, the Pirelli Angel GT semi-slick tires ensure excellent grip and handling on paved surfaces, mirroring the Mustang’s road-hugging capabilities. The connection to the Mustang legacy goes beyond just the name and performance. The eBike features a full-color LCD display that draws inspiration from the Mustang’s driver interface. This intuitive display provides riders with real-time information on crucial metrics such as speed, battery life, and remaining range. The Ford Mustang eBike – 60th Anniversary Edition represents an exciting new chapter for the legendary brand. It successfully blends the thrill and spirit of the Mustang with the practicality and sustainability of electric bicycles. Whether you’re a long-time Mustang fan looking for a unique way to celebrate its history, or simply seeking a high-performance and stylish eBike, this limited-edition model is sure to turn heads and provide an exhilarating ride.

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It’s not every day that we come across camping trailers that are as many toy haulers as they are inhabitable. When we do, we’re eager to feature them here, so you can learn, appreciate, and who knows, even fall for one. And why wouldn’t you, especially when presented with something as fantastic as the new TOPO2 MTB? As the name suggests, it has everything to do with mountain biking. It’s the first purpose-built mountain bike-specific camper ever. At least that’s how Escapod – the builder – claims its teardrop camping trailer is.

Based in Utah, Escapod already has some ingenious universal teardrop trailers in its repertoire. The 2025 Escapod TOPO2 MTB fits more in its tail to make it distinct and special. It is made for passionate mountain bikers/cyclists to have their dream ride in tow, no matter where they go, without worrying about not driving on rough terrains because it could hurt the mounted bike.

Designer:  Escapod

The TOPO2 integrates an e-bike-rated hitch rack and also includes a mobile workstation to keep you prepared for when things go south. The off-road camper features a lightweight, single-piece fiberglass body and a Freeride suspension that prepares it for whatever you may throw at it. Take it for a spin on the country road, park, and unmount the bike in the rear to go on your expedition and return to the comforting base when done.

Of course, when you are out in the wilderness, you cannot predict the weather. And notably, you cannot restrict your adventures by the weather. The husband-wife duo behind Escapod understands this and has therefore insulated the TOPO2 MTB to take care of heating and cooling, rendering it usable in all seasons. The trailer with Feedback Sports Team Edition Tool Kit in the hatch and a Piston Ion platform rack from Küat outside on the trailer’s frame, TOPO2 MTB keeps the trailer mounted with your bike ready for anytime. Seamlessly integrated with the Escopad’s Switchback Hitch, the rack can handle two 80lb e-bikes easily, and its swing-away design offers access to the galley even when mounted with bikes.

Designed to go off-roading with the bike(s) in tow, the TOPO2 comes with 23-inches of ground clearance with a complementing Freeride Suspension that can let it handle the roughest terrain. Together, the suspension and clearance add to the performance and adventure capabilities of this trailer with a comfortable sleeping unit and storage for all your gear, medical supplies, and other belongings. The bull bar with Rotopax is mounted for fuel or water canisters, while the integrated outdoor shower lets you wash up after a muddy ride on the bike. Escapod has priced the TOPO2 MTB at $53,990 and is considering preorders.

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Truck campers and rooftop tents have their own advantages: the former are more spacious and the latter slightly cheaper. Somewhere in the middle of the two are slide-in campers that bag a large overlanding audience. This is because of their versatility, extreme weather durability, and more aerodynamic design, ensuring a better drive range whether you’re carrying it on a gas guzzler or an EV.

Since the slide-in campers are in demand, there are some fascinating options out there, however, a quick search (in eight times out of ten) will lead you to the AT Overland website. To add more options to its increasing list of variants in the Aterra Series, the Arizona-based maker has launched the AT Aterra Slide-In, a hard-sided camper designed for off-road durability and functionality.

Designer: AT Overland

The all-new slide-in camper is by virtue meant for adventures. It has a solid 1-inch honeycomb composite body, which is lightweight but extremely durable making it absolutely useful for those who want lightweight overlanding solutions. The camper arrives in two options: a base variant, which is completey empty and available for DIYing, and the standard model that tips the scale from 757 lbs (in raw state) to 817 lbs with pre-done interiors.

Whether you go with the do-it-yourself camping solution or a standard options, rest assured, they will fit all full-size truck beds from Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota et al. To ensure its functionality with all possible pickup trucks, the camper measures 76 inches wide, 130 inches long, and 84 inches tall (height from the truck bed). Inside, the white-exterior hard-sided shell camper (with UV-resistant polyurea coating inside-out) is well insulated for all-weather camping. R6 insulation for the walls and an R7 for the roof. Being fully closed on all sides, it lends a secure sleeping area with a mattress.

The base model gives you complete freedom to customize the interior your way. All you get as a perquisite are the king-size extendable cabover bed with a 3-inch mattress, four dual-pane Windows with privacy screens, and a solitary door in the back. The standard Aterra Slide-In comes with a cushioned seat, two folding wall-mounted tables, a fan with LED lighting in the roof vent, ample lights and power sockets. The power needs of the lights, sockets and HVAC systems are taken care of by a 185-watt solar panel and a 105 Ah battery.

The camper is equipped with Starlink Mini support for the working professional to work on the go, or for anyone else to simply remain connected with their loved ones. The Aterra Slide-In camper is not only for sleeping or working, it includes a lot of storage solutions, a sink with a prep platform, and box to hold the portable toilet. A nice travel choice for off-grid explorers, this hard-shell slide-in camper from AT Overland starts at $30,000 for the DIY shell. The standard one elevates the price by roughly $2k (it costs $32,000).

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