2002-2004 Nissan Pathfinder/qx4 Oem Roof Rack Rail on 2040-parts.com

Car Design of the Year 2008

As the year draws to a close, it's time once again for us to ask you, our readers, to vote for your favorite car designs of 2008. Your votes will decide which design teams will be presented an award by the CDN team at the Geneva auto show in March, with prizes being given to the best vehicle in the concept and production car categories. We've selected our picks of the production and concept vehicles unveiled since the 2008 Detroit Auto Show, and now it's up to you to decide which ones gain the accolade of Car Design of the Year.

Autodesk European Automotive Days 2008

The 2008 Autodesk European Automotive Days conference was held last week in Munich, bringing together 200 automotive design and visualization experts. Autodesk presented their strategy and vision for industrial design, with an emphasis on 'digital prototyping', where even at the concept stage the digital model is treated not just as a set of surfaces, but is integrated within the engineering process as as a functional digital prototype, with the aim to eventually replace physical models entirely. There was also a recognition that traditional techniques continue to have an important place alongside digital workflows, as the workflows and technologies continue to evolve.

Fisker Automotive begins hiring blitz

Fisker Automotive will hire 120 workers in the coming months to staff the former General Motors factory in Wilmington, Del., that will build Fisker's next plug-in hybrid sedan, due in 2013. Code-named Project Nina, the future car will join the plug-in Karma sedan in Fisker's lineup as the company expands its portfolio of premium hybrid cars. The Karma is launching this year, and production of the future sedan--expected to be priced at about $39,000 after government incentives--would begin late next year.