Driving Dreams is about our never-ending love affair with the car. How the car of our dreams is created and marketed; how the modern car travels from the drawing board to the driveway. It’s a tale of technology and psychology, hot design versus the bottom line, and a cultural revolution that’s shaping a country.

Hour 1 – Re-inventing the Wheel
From the design room to the showroom, no consumer product is as complex as a car. It’s a billion dollar gamble played behind closed doors – a high tech battle to win the consumer’s heart that begins with a designer’s dream. Our cameras go behind the scenes to see the making of a Jaguar – one of the great global brands. From the earliest computer sketches to the engineering performance trials, each stage of the process sees the emerging car through the eyes of some of the most daring industry insiders in the world. From concept to final colours, the car takes shape before the viewers’ eyes. The viewer is along for the ride as the new Jaguar is introduced to the world. We go inside the marketing campaign and watch industry leaders spin their magic, not just selling a car but selling a way of life. We’re there with the creative team bringing advertising concepts to life, eavesdrop on storyboard meetings and strategy sessions, observe the shooting of national spots, and ride shotgun with top automobile journalists as they test the new Jaguar in the hills of Spain. High drama, strong characters, and work of astonishing precision - 25,000 parts interlock creating a dream machine.

Hour 2 – Revolution on Wheels
China is going crazy for cars. Car culture is the new Cultural Revolution, as powerful as any change the country has undergone; yet the car buying has barely begun. What happens to a country when the dream of driving is embraced by 1 billion new consumers? Our cameras are in Beijing witnessing the explosion of new drivers in the city without end – traffic mayhem, accidents, and the seduction of four-wheel freedom for the young. We go shopping, Chinese style at the Asian Games Car Market. Half of Beijing’s car buyers come here to kick tires, rev engines, haggle and hand over fat wads of cash. They buy $5000 Chery’s and $200,000 Benz’s. And we follow Li Shufu, chairman of the maverick Geely Motor Company, who’s on a mission to sell the first Chinese car in America. But how many cars can the world afford before the driving dream becomes a nightmare? The race is on to find out.