CAR interviews Mazda design chief Ikuo Maeda (2010)

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 02 September 2010 13:30 CAR has been out to Italy to see the world premier of the new Mazda Shinari concept car. It's the car that ushers in chief designer Ikuo Maeda's new Kodo design mantra, a sharper, faster stylistic treatment that will take over from Laurens van den Acker's Nagare vision. Maeda is the first Japanese design boss for a generation – it seems that Mazda has looked within after a series of European creative brains who each stayed for five years or less, arguably not long enough to see through any substantial aesthetic change.

Mercedes to make E-Class Coupe Estate?

The Mercedes ConceptFascination - Could make it in to production as an E-Class Coupe Estate Car makers are searching for every niche they can fill with their cars, particularly at the premium end. Audi and Mercedes are big players (we still think the Mercedes R-Class a niche too far), and BMW play the game too, with cars like the BMW X6M and the new BMW 5 Series GT. If the Mercedes E Class Coupe Estate does go in to production it will bring to five the number of models based on the same Class – the saloon, the coupe, the cabriolet and the estate plus this new Coupe Estate.

Porsche Steps Up Vintage Motorsports Activities

With the famed Monterey Motorsports Reunion as backdrop, Porsche Motorsport North America (PMNA) announced Saturday it will expand from serving teams and owners of contemporary 911 race cars to providing a similar service to the large number of collectors of vintage Porsche race cars in the United States and Canada. PMNA has established a partnership with a new historic motorsports department that is now being established within Porsche AG's Motorsport Division in Weissach, Germany. The new department will provide expert restoration services to the Porsche Museum for many of the vintage competition cars the company owns well beyond the ones displayed in its riveting exhibition center.