Arias Pistons 12.5:1 Compression 82mm Bore Honda B-series on 2040-parts.com

Honda Gear Concept

Rather than fighting for headlines at NAIAS, Honda debuted its new GEAR Concept at the Montreal International Auto Show. The subcompact GEAR is apparently inspired by fixed-gear bicycles (although quite how is unclear), described as a customizable vehicle that demonstrates the carmaker's way of providing vehicles for young, urban, Gen-Y lifestyles. "Subcompact cars are usually either utilitarian, but uninspiring or they're fun, zippy cars that are impractical and too expensive for the Gen-Y buyer," said Dave Marek, Design Director at Honda R&D Americas, Inc.

Video: Yasushi Nakamuta on Mazda 3's 'unique' design process

It may be leaden with PR-talk but this short presentation by Yasushi Nakamuta, Mazda's director of advanced design studio at the press unveiling of the new Mazda 3 in Melbourne is still worth a couple of minutes of your time. But while the 3 is undeniably attractive we can't help but feel that the 'unique' design process Nakamuta describes (which appears wholly conventional to us) has resulted in little more than a thoroughly normal product. Take a look for yourself at the video to your left.

Winners of the Car Design Awards China winners describe their internships

With the 2015 Car Design Awards China now launched and open to entries, we caught up with some of the winners of the 2014 edition to find out about their current internships.Four of those we spoke to had the unique opportunity to pack their bags and head west to Detroit’s CCS college in the US to take part in its annual Cultural Immersion Workshop, while two others were placed in the Shanghai studios of Geely and Qoros. 阅读中文请点击这里Here they describe the highlights of their experiences so far, in their own words: Name Guo JiayiInternship CCS, Detroit USAge 23Home town BeijingSchool CAFA (Central Academy of Fine Arts) "The most interesting part of my internship was working with professional designers from different countries, exchanging ideas and learning from each other. Each of us has a different point of view and style, so looking at the combination of the American and other cultures is very interesting.