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Happy 80th Birthday, Syd Mead!

Take a poll among car designers to name their greatest influence, and one name is sure to appear at the top of the list: Syd Mead. The car designer, illustrator and futurist has inspired generations of the men and women who shape the cars we drive or admire. Syd has created the designs for the movies Blade Runner and Tron, while the illustrations published in his books such as Oblagon and Sentury (sought-after collector items today) depict the vision of a future dominated by superior technology and aesthetics.

Skoda Rapid Spaceback (2013) at Frankfurt motor show

This is the new Skoda Rapid Spaceback that’s basically an estate version of the Rapid hatchback that was launched in the UK last year. Skoda wants its miniature Audi A3 Sportback-lookalike to appeal to young buyers and trendy youthful families when the car goes on sale this October, and it shouldn’t cost much more than the regular Rapid, which starts at £12,905. Skoda Rapid Spaceback – more space you-know-where, then?

2014 Hyundai Genesis: First photos ahead of Detroit debut

First photo of the new Hyundai Genesis However far Hyundai has come in the UK and Europe in the last few years, they still don’t think Europe is ready for their range-topping saloon – the Hyundai Genesis. But that could be about to change with the arrival of the 2014 Hyundai Genesis, which Hyundai has started to tease with the release of the first photos of their new car ahead of a debut at the Detroit Auto Show. Looking like a slightly tamer version of the Hyundai HCD-14 Concept we saw at Detroit at the start of the year, the new Genesis gets Hyundai’s latest Fluidic Sculpture 2.0 design language which brings with it a new Audi-esque front grill (well, Hyundai/Kia’s design guru, Peter Schreyer, did come from Audi) as well as a sleeker, more elegant style.