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Honda Jazz Si Limited Edition launched in the UK

Honda has revealed a limited edition Jazz for the UK – the Jazz Si – with sporty looks as standard. It’s a bit of a cliché, but Honda’s customer demographic, certainly in the UK, is generally past the first flush of youth. So we’re not sure if a limited edition ‘sporty’ Jazz – the Honda Jazz Si – is aimed at trendy wrinklies or whether Honda are hoping to appeal to their grandchildren, but whatever it is the UK gets a sporty limited edition Jazz offering in showrooms next month.

Mazda design chief Ikuo Maeda brings new meaning to zoom-zoom

Ikuo Maeda, the new design chief at Mazda Motor Corp., earned the nickname "Speedy" for his lead-footed driving on the race course and off. He may be the only standing auto executive to have had his license revoked--twice. It's only natural then that Maeda, who took the design reins last April, views himself as the rightful guardian of Mazda's zoom-zoom brand heritage.

Infographic: How much clay do Ford’s design studios use each year?

Ford has offered an insight into its clay modeling processes with a series of videos and an infographic that charts the process involved in turning a designer's sketch into a full-size model. The infographic uses data taken from all of Ford's global design studios in 2012 to give an idea of how much clay is used in a year, plus how much paint and di-noc film is used to cover each model. Ford has also released a video that gives a behind-the-scenes look at the firm's clay modeling studio in Merkenich, Germany, including interviews with members of the modeling team.