2008 Lexus IS F

by Ami Kealoha

Lexus' bid for the mid-life crisis market is finally coming to fruition in the form of the new IS F, a sport performance vehicle with a 416-horsepower V8 engine that's due to hit the market next spring. We had the opportunity to be some of the first to experience the prototypes when Lexus brought us out to California last week to test the vehicle on the Laguna Seca raceway.

With the body's "muscular" design (we could do without the sculpted fenders) and the pleasing low rumble of the engine while idling, it's clear this is a car meant to appeal to would-be racecar drivers—much like BMW's M series with which the IS F is obviously in competition.

On the drive to the track, the car was butter-smooth around sharp curves and accelerated forcefully with all the aggressive confidence that you'd expect from a luxury sportscar. The set up at Laguna Seca provided several opportunities to see what else this car can do.

Four operational modes, full assists, sport mode, no assists and snow, provide a driving experience for everyone from the casual enthusiast to the driving aficionado. We tested it in all modes and overall were impressed by the ability of the assists to provide the utmost stability during tight cornering and in wet conditions. A few other journalists in attendance weren't quite convinced by the zero-to-60 mph in 4.6 seconds claim, but we weren't counting.

While the transmission, the first "eight-speed Sport Direct-Shift," seemed to perform well in automatic mode, we found the paddle shifters mounted on the steering column for manual use to be awkward to use at high speeds.

Other than those minor details, with IS F Lexus has met its goal of making a car that's "everything you thought we weren't." The first car to earn its internal esteemed "F" (for Flagship) marking, the story behind it shows some real passion and dedication on the part of Lexus engineer Yukihiko Yaguchi who, in 2004, set out to build the kind of car he wanted to drive. With help from Toyota Technocraft, the team that usually develops police vehicles, race cars and the like, Yaguchi developed the impressive engine. After extensive testing on top racetracks around the world, four years later the IS F is the kind of car "that drivers will not want to stop driving after 10 laps on a circuit course"—which I think I did.

Cut and Paste 2007 World Tour Update

by Letizia Rossi

The International Cut and Paste Digital Design Tournament which kicked off on 8 September has been hosting live design events in various U.S. and European cities over the last couple of months with an Asian and Australian leg of the competition still to come. Watching Cut and Paste grow from their start in NYC, we're happily impressed to see of how far they've come in the couple years they've been around. A big part of their success is an ability to throw a great party and on the global tour the parties are bigger than ever.

Based on the idea that immersive design is good cause for cultural gathering, each event features eight designers going head to head to create an original design in 15 minute rounds while projectors stream their living designs across the venue and as a webcast.

Audience members and home viewers are encouraged to vote in real-time by text message or online and the prizes include a Adobe CS3 Master Collection.

Having completed events in Boston, New York, Portland, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, London and Berlin, exciting events in Tokyo (this Saturday, 3 November), Hong Kong (11 November) and Sydney (17 November) are still to come. After the jump see more photos of the events and a few of the winning designs.

Brain Bag

by Tim Yu

Known for stretching the fashion limits with his avant garde design for the label Undercover, Jun Takashi recently came out with this Brain Bag. An intricate knit of wool resembling the three-pound jelly structure encapsulated by the skull, it's playful but also looks mature and sophisticated and holds its own among other designer handbags.

I will spare you most of the puns, but for any of you needing or wanting a bit more brain, the one-off handbag is available at Someday.

Rhodia Meeting and Reverse Books

by Ami Kealoha

Rhodia's waterproof orange covers have long been the notebook of choice for creative types. The French brand's two new spiral bound options, Meeting and Reverse, are sure to win some followers as well. We're torn on the whole spiral vs. bound debate (spiral lays flat and flips around while binding slips into a bag easier), so we're glad to see Rhodia getting in on the game.

The reverse notebooks (above left) feature the same pleasing gridded paper that's found in their classic flip-style pads, but here the square shape lends itself to use in any direction (hence the name). It has perforated pages and is available in either a black (new for Rhodia) or orange coated cover for $7.50 from Alko or Wet Paint.

Like Behance's line, the pages of the Meeting series have a pre-printed layout to help organize thoughts with a section for notes and a sidebar for action. Also in black or orange (about the closest we'll get to a Halloween post today), they come in two sizes, 14.8cm x 21cm and 22.5cm x 29.7cm, for $12 and $17 respectively from Alko.

Eco Pneumo Dry Sack

by Ami Kealoha

by Passa Chattra

If you've spent anytime hiking or camping you know the value of keeping your stuff dry. Nothing can be worse than having to sleep in wet clothes after crossing two rivers, hiking a few peaks, and the temperature has dropped 20 degrees.

There are lots of high tech dry bags that will do the job, but the fact is the materials that make up those bags are also great land fillers. Pacific Outdoor Equipment has designed a dry bag to satisfy the tree hugger in every outdoors person.

They based their new Eco Pneumo Dry Sack on their existing high performance dry bags but with a green twist. Made of a non-dyed, single coated bamboo based fabric, they’ve even used recycled aluminum for the purge valve. To top it off, POE buys wind energy to offset the carbon footprint in manufacturing these bags. They seem to have it covered.

The Eco Pneumo Dry Sack comes in three sizes: 5L, 15L, and 25L with prices ranging from $30 to $45.