2003-2009 Vw Beetle Convertible Passenger Side Flap Assembly W/ Motor on 2040-parts.com

Top international design talent to descend on Czech Republic for AutoDesign Prague 2013

The automotive design industry will head to Prague on 26 September to speak at the AutoDesign Prague 2013 conference at the National Technical Library. Now entering its third year, the one-day conference – organized by AutoDesign and Styling magazine – will be followed by a workshop the next day, which will focus on techniques including sketching and clay and 3D modeling. The speakers and presentation topics haven't been announced yet but last year's conference featured speakers such as Dassault Systèmes' vice president Design Experience Anne Asensio, while the 2011 edition saw presentations by speakers including Fabio Filippini, Pininfarina's vice president design and chief creative officer, and Peter Horbury, then-vice president of design at Volvo.

Second annual ENG Automotive Design Summit held in Rome

European Networking Group (ENG) held their second annual Automotive Design Summit May 12-13. To follow on from the success of last years event in Barcelona, the event was held in the stylish Es Hotel in Rome, Italy. The event featured workshops sessions and business case studies from some of the most renowned designers in the industry, seeking to bring both knowledge and inspiration to the participants over the two day event.

Porsche 918 infotainment system to be based on HTML5

While some automakers, like Ford and General Motors, are beginning to open up their code to outside developers via application programming interfaces, Porsche's taking a very interesting route for the 918 Spyder's infotainment system. The the hybrid supercar's dashboard interface uses the same code that the modern Internet runs on: HTML5. Germany's AutoBild reports that Porsche cites the ease of programming as part of their rationale for the system; smartphone integration is another.