Yes, this is for real (if not brand-spankety new). Multimedia artist Soomi Park swears that her LED eyelashes are a comment on cross-cultural notions of beauty, explaining

The LED Eyelash project is brought into the world from a simple question: Why do women want larger and bigger eyes? Asian women tend to have stronger needs for bigger eyes as a standard of beauty, but relatively few of them are born with naturally big eyes. Those without big eyes can only look for alternative ways to make their eyes look prettier, i.e., larger, by using a repertoire of skills such as putting on makeup and wearing jewelry. Sometimes, the desires for bigger eyes can become almost obsessive, and many women opt for plastic surgery in order to make their dream come true. Soomi calls this, the fetish of Big Eyes.

We prefer to think of the idea as being inspired by the Audi-led proliferation of LED mascara… but that’s just us. [via Michael Banovsky]

If you had to guess what vehicle underpins this Guangzhou GAC Trumpchi, what would you guess? Here’s a hint: if you’re basing your answer on exterior styling, you will definitely get this one wrong…

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Does this new BAIC BC301Z remind you of anything? How about the Mercedes-Benz B-Class (with perhaps a touch of Opel Meriva in the headlights)? Sure, it’s about a foot shorter than the B-Class, and it uses old Mitsu motors, but the resemblance is tough to deny. Still, whether you see the connection or not, Daimler probably does. After all, BAIC is supposed to be Daimler’s Chinese-market partner. But with partners like BAIC, who needs competitors? [via AutoBild]

Nissan has partnered with the telemetry firm Carwings for years, but with the electric-drive Nissan Leaf, what was once a way to suggest efficient navigation routes and driving techniques has become a game. Yes, Carwings allows you to track every trip in your Leaf down to the last nauseating detail and helps prevent the creep of “range anxiety,” but it also ranks you against all other Leaf drivers in your region. In short, the Leaf isn’t just a car, it’s a competition for the “Platinum” Leaf Cup. The fanboys at MyNissanLeaf.com are all abuzz over the competitive feature, which Nissan hasn’t done much to publicize otherwise. But do the early adopters who buy Leafs need a competition to encourage efficient driving, or is this just going to turn the Leaf into a posterboy for antisocial hypermiling? Sometimes getting where you need to go on time is competition enough.

Still, based on the forum chatter, telemetry data is hugely popular among alt-fuel adherents and hypermilers alike. Carwings-style telemetry reporting will definitely be a significant trend in future automobiles… even if the Leaf’s competition aspect gets left by the roadside.

On the list of things that should not have survived the last two years of Carpocalypse, Maybach pretty much takes the cake. Even before global credit markets froze up and luxury car sales plummeted, Maybach’s appeal was wearing thin: as one TTAC writer put it, the brand built on lavishly trimmed S-Classes was born old hat. Or, as another Maybach gravedigger put it,

To paraphrase Kurt Vonnegut, the Maybach experiment was a conspiracy between Daimler and the rich to make the rest of us feel smart.

Well, get ready to feel extra-smart. While Aston is prepping a new look for the brand, the old Maybach is having one last hurrah, thanks to the German custom house Xenatec, and the Saudi-based Auto Kingdom. This “Cruiserio” Coupe is the product of a €70m Auto Kingdom investment, and was built by Xenatec with cooperation from Daimler. And with 100 units planned at €715,000 each, Auto Kingdom stands to make €1.5m profit on the project… provided they all sell. And if they do, this garish, gargantuan coupe is just the beginning. According to Jameslist,

The AutoKingdom’s investment in the project is but the first in a series of projects the company is working currently on, [Auto Kingdom Chairman Waleed Abdullah Al-Hokair] noted, adding that details of 3 such projects will be revealed in the near future.

While Brabus digs deep for ideas to keep its tuning business relevant in the EV era, Nissan has a less sophisticated approach to electric car tuning: the bodykit. According to Nissan, the Nissan Leaf Aero Style Concept includes new wheels, skirts, mirrors, front bumper and LED daytime driving lights. Because, in the words of the firm’s press release:

Equipped with an aero body kit that accentuates Nissan LEAF’s distinctive silhouette and character lines, this concept car expresses an image of futuristic sport EV driving.

Emphasis on “image.” The rest of the EV tuning equation is still largely a mystery.

Kia has been targeting Scion for some time now, having built a better xD with the Soul, and taking on the tC with its Forte Koup. Now Kia seems to be going after Scion’s last (relatively) uncontested model, the xB, with this NAIAS-bound concept called KV7. And though there are clearly some concept elements to the design which won’t make production (hello Gullwing), Kia’s statement accompanying this teaser image notes

For the past several years Kia Motors’ design-led transformation has been delivering production vehicles – such as the Soul, Forte Koup and Sportage – that bear a very close resemblance to the original concept designs that preceded them. At the 2011 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Kia will make another dramatic design statement with the world debut of an all-new, convention-challenging concept vehicle named “KV7.”

European auto executives have been freaking out about a possible Chinese invasion for some time. In fact, Fiat’s Sergio Marchionne has even admitted that he “bought” into Chrysler in hopes of forming a company capable of selling five million units per year globally, the number he felt an automaker needed to hold off the Chinese. And though Chinese production certainly has its advantages, Chinese brands haven’t had much luck in mature markets. Brilliance left Germany under a cloud after its cars failed crash tests, the Jiangling LandWind became infamous after its run-in with the ADAC crash test crew. But, as Bertel has noted, no Chinese automaker can give up on the idea of attacking Europe. Great Wall, which has already been banned from Italy for copyright infringement, has committed $130m to a Bulgarian plant from which it plans to build knock-downs of its suspiciously-familiar vehicles for the European market. But, as these Great Wall promotional images prove, even if GW’s low-cost (€5,000) Chinese cars are up to snuff, the brand still has a long way to go on the marketing front.

The team running Lotus’s turnaround doesn’t seem to mind being perceived as overambitious. The British outfit is developing an IndyCar engine, a family of V6 and V8 engines for its road car, and is considering building an engine for F1… and that’s in addition to developing a modular platform (and everything else) for five different world-class performance luxury cars. And on a certain level, there’s nothing wrong with a little brashness, especially if the goal is to turn a tiny specialty marque into a Porsche-beater. But when it comes to announcing product, Lotus’s over-eagerness does real harm to the firm’s prospects. [Gallery after the jump]

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There’s a strange rumor afoot, which traces back to mibz.com, and it goes a little something like this:

Fiat plans to introduce a European version of the Chrysler 200. But the model will be sold by Lancia, with the Fiat logo on the front grille.

It looks like Fiat is not sticking to their initial plans, saying they will sell the Chrysler models under the name of Lancia. Unofficial sources say that the New Chrysler 200C will be sold on the Old Continent under the Fiat logo and not Lancia, as was anticipated. The reason is relatively simple, but a fair one: the American brand is not able to match the quality and luxury level of Lancia, a brand seen by many as a premium competitor.

We’re not yet completely convinced by this rumor, which flies in the face of Fiat’s plans for a Lancia-Chrysler co-branding experiment. Still, if the facelifted Sebring, pardon, 200 isn’t “premium” enough to be a Lancia, is the 300 up to the task? To help you formulate an answer we present Chrysler’s latest dump of high-resolution pictures of the new Chrysler flagship.

When BMW relaunched the Mini brand in 2001 with a modern interpretation of Alex Issigonis’s classic, it made a big splash by proving that high-end customers would pay top dollar for a well-branded subcompact car. The only problem was that not everyone could live with the Cooper’s size limitations, so BMW extended its wheelbase and added an third suicide door, creating the Clubman. The Clubman did not make the kind of impact that BMW hoped, as it turned out that four doors were as important as the Clubman’s extra space. Accordingly, BMW developed a four-door “SUV” for the MINI brand, giving it a potential brand boost in the size-obsessed US market. Now, for reasons that are difficult to fathom, MINI is previewing a two-door concept version of the Countryman known as the “Paceman.” Because customers have been clamoring for the (relative) inefficiency of the Countryman paired with the (relative) impracticality of the Clubman? Or because Land Rover just debuted its own “Sports Activity Coupe” and MINI can’t help but chase the pointless niche with its own me-too offering? No prizes for guessing…

The appropriately-named website Familycarreview.com recently got some seat time in the forthcoming 2011 Nissan Quest, and they’ve found an unusual feature for a family-oriented minivan: an “Adult Entertainment” category in its navigation system. Wildly inappropriate for a family-oriented minivan, or the key to to putting some real swagger in Nissan’s wagon? We report, you decide… [Hat Tip: our strip club-loving pals at AutoSpies]

“Wow,” said my lovely life partner when she saw this picture of the new 1 Series M Coupe alongside an E30 M3 in Evo Magazine, “they really haven’t let it grow too much, have they?” I shot her a look. “You know that only one of those is a 3 Series, right?” She grinned sheepishly. Wishful thinking never looked so cute. “3 Series, 1 Series, what’s the difference?” she asks with the air of someone who doesn’t expect an answer. There’s a slight pause while I wonder what the hell to say to that. Nothing leaps out, so she’s the first to break the silence. “Besides,” she says as she turns the page, “it’s got 100 horsepower on your M Coupe and it’s awfully cute. You know, I could really use one of those.” I silently resolve to keep new issues of Evo to myself in the future. “Let’s look at the Veyron SuperSport,” I say.

In love with the 2011 VW Jetta? It’s tough to imagine, but I’ll certainly concede that it’s possible. Anyway, if you love the new Jetta, you won’t be able to stop yourself falling for its big brother, the forthcoming Passat-replacement. On the other hand, if you think the new Jetta looks like a stock photograph of a vanilla ice cream cone, or if it inspires you as much as an insurance firm’s mission statement, this New Midsize Sedan might leave you a bit cold. On the other hand, there is a silver lining to the Passat’s blandification: Volkswagen has finally figured out how to make the Phaeton look like a distinctive, innovative, upscale design.

In the wild, panthers are endangered. In the automotive world, Panthers will go extinct sometime in the third quarter of 2011, when the last Lincoln Town Car Executive L rolls off the line. If you think Panthers get a lot of lovin’ around these here parts, you should attend a convention of folks for whom those LTCELs are tools of the trade. Chances are that if you’ve used a limousine or livery service in the past 20 years, you’ve sat in the back seat of a Lincoln Town Car Executive L. That’s why it was big news at Limousine Charter & Tour magazine’s LCT Leadership Summit a couple of months ago when Ford’s fleet marketing manager, Gerry Koss, announced that replacing the soon to be dearly departed Town Car in Ford’s livery fleet fleet will be livery and stretched limo versions of the Lincoln MKT.

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