Austin Healey Sprite Mg Steering Wheel on 2040-parts.com

Nissan opens new North American design studio

Nissan Design America Inc. has opened a new design studio in Farmington Hills, Michigan, on the grounds of Nissan Technical Center North America. The $14 million investment represents an expansion of Nissan's design capabilities in Farmington Hills as well as a shift in design capabilities.

Degler's 2015 calendar pays tribute to Cuba's unique automotive landscape

The 2014 Degler calendar mounted on the wall of the Car Design News office serves up a nicely-shot image of one of Bertone's significant concepts each month. But next year's calendar has taken an altogether different direction: 'Carros de Cuba - a tribute to the cars that have survived over half a century on the island thanks to the inventiveness of the Cuban people.' The Degler calender is the work of automotive photographer Piotr Degler Jablonski. For the 2015 edition, he spent a month traveling across the island of Cuba, meeting mechanics and car enthusiasts and documenting the eye-catching automotive landscape.

New Mercedes A Class: A 180 BlueEFFICIENCY Edition models launch

Mercedes are launching two new eco versions of the new A Class – the A 180 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY Edition and A 180 BlueEFFICIENCY Edition. Mercedes has had a play with the aerodynamics on the new A Class to lower the Cd value from an already very low 0.27 to 0.26 by partially covering the upper section of the radiator grill, adding aerodynamically shaped spring link coverings that improve the flow of air along the underbody at the rear axle and lowering the suspension by 15mm. Mercedes has also tweaked the generator management for more efficiency and had a play with the gearbox to make the ratios longer (which will help economy, but won’t do much for responsiveness).