CDN and Opel/Vauxhall launch new Interactive Competition – design the Ampera of 2020

‘Design the 2020 Ampera': That's the challenge being thrown down to European design students by Opel/Vauxhall's design team in a new interactive competition launched today in conjunction with Car Design News. The Car Design News - Opel/Vauxhall Interactive competition builds on last year's inaugural competition, which tasked students with designing a ‘Lounge in motion'. To enter this year's competition click here: Design the 2020 Ampera The prizes - Six-month paid internship at their design studios in Russelsheim, Germany - Finalists will have their work displayed on the Opel/Vauxhall stand at the 2012 Paris salon de l'auto and be invited to attend the show, where the winner will be announced The brief Most students will be well aware of Opel/Vauxhall's ground breaking Ampera - the range-extended electric vehicle that goes on sale across Europe in 2012.

New Mercedes B Class to spawn 7 Seat version

It looks like Mercedes are going to stretch the appeal of the new B Class by adding a new 7 seat option. Mercedes foray in to small hatchbacks has not exactly been an unmitigated success. The last generation A and B class were really just two sizes of the same car, neither of which had much driver appeal and were bought as runarounds by Mercedes buyers who wanted a car for ‘er indoors.

Beijing Auto Show 2014 – the 15 cars that really matter

With somewhere around 90 world debuts, the Beijing motor show certainly had the numbers – if not the organization – to live up to its billing as one of the world's most important auto shows. The back-story to these figures however is that the majority of these unveils were of lightly-revised versions of existing models – from facelifts to localized versions of cars already on sale in other markets. That's not to say there was nothing of interest to see inside the maze of halls at the China Exhibition Center.