04 Monterey Fuel Filler Door 189033 on 2040-parts.com

After much hype (and one van), Mazda rethinks design plan

After four years of hyping its curvy, fluid Nagare styling philosophy--but developing only one production vehicle with the look--Mazda has changed design course. Now the Japanese carmaker wants to go with a simpler, more upscale style. So the design language seen in the Shinari concept car being unveiled at the Los Angeles auto show this week represents Mazda's future.

Mercedes-Benz reveals first C-class details

Mercedes-Benz has revealed limited details about its new fourth-generation C-class sedan, more than two months before it is due to make its world debut at the Detroit auto show. Although the new BMW 3-series and Audi A4 rival is yet to official unveiled -- in fact, all we have so far are interior renderings -- Mercedes-Benz says the new C-class will be a significantly more advanced car than its predecessor in terms of construction, with a “best in class” weight figure and a level of structural integrity that it describes as being “unparalleled” in its class. Among its features is a new lightweight body structure that uses a newly developed aluminum hybrid construction process that Mercedes-Benz claims will shave as much as 220 pounds over the current model depending on the engine it uses.

College Exhibition: IED Fiat/Chrysler project

Second year students at the Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) in Turin, Italy, recently completed a Fiat/Chrysler sponsored project, which began in February 2009. Conceived as a didactic exercise to think about the recent alliance between Fiat and Chrysler, 37 students were asked to design a vehicle capable of combining the technical know-how, platforms and values of both brands in order to generate interesting and competitive new products for the European and the American markets. In creating their concepts, students were asked to take into account the style, economic accessibility and the low environmental impact of Fiat vehicles as well as the new platforms and major industrial and production capacity afforded by the Italian automaker's alliance with the Chrysler brand.