India Vehicle Design Summit 2014 announced for April

The India Vehicle Design Summit 2014 will be the first in its history to focus exclusively on the ‘design and styling' of commercial and passenger vehicles. Taking place at The Corinthians Resort and Club in Pune from 24-25 April, the summit will feature speakers from brands including Jaguar, Ferrari and McLaren and industry experts from companies such as Volvo, GM and Tata as well as institutions such as the National Institute of Design in India and London's Royal College of Arts. Confirmed speakers include Volvo China's chief designer Gustavo Guerra, renowned designer Peter Stevens and Anil Saiini, director of design at GM India.

Toyota FT-86 Concept – say ‘hachi roku’

The Toyota FT-86 Concept will preview at Tokyo The FT-86 (hachi roku is Japanese for 86) is a small (13′ 8″ long) rear-wheel drive sports coupe which is going to turn up not just as a Toyota but also as a Subaru. It uses the 2.0 Boxer engine found in the Impreza, but by the time it finds its way to market in 2011 – as both a Toyota and a Subaru – it’s likely to get the next generation Boxer lump. The FT-86 is Toyota’s way of launching itself back in to the sports market – a market it once did well in with cars like the MR2 – and gain some credibility, and custom, from younger drivers.

Infiniti reveals hood of the JX crossover

The slow reveal of the Infiniti JX crossover ahead of its debuts at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in August and the Los Angeles auto show in November continued on Thursday with a photo showing the seven-seat crossover's hood and grille. Infiniti plans to put the JX on sale in early 2012. The crossover will be built at Nissan's plant in Smyrna, Tenn., and will share its platform with the Nissan Altima, Maxima and Murano.