Hyundai loses top U.S. designer

Hyundai's North American design chief, Joel Piaskowski, left the automaker on Dec. 31. Piaskowski is credited as the main designer for the Hyundai Genesis sedan and coupe.

Lincoln opens first dedicated design studio for 40 years

Ford has opened the first dedicated Lincoln design center for 40 years in Dearborn, Michigan, as part of its ongoing brand reinvention. Last August Ford announced it would be creating the studio for its luxury brand as well as increasing spending, giving it unique interiors and powertrains in an effort to differentiate it from the core Ford offerings. The Lincoln Design Studio has been built on the campus of Ford's Product Development center and houses designers, sculptors, modelers and engineers who make up part of a larger Lincoln Product Development team that will create four new Lincoln vehicles by 2015.

Infiniti Q50 revealed ahead of Detroit

Infiniti has released an image of a new Q50 Eau Rouge concept ahead of its debut at the Detroit Motor Show on January 13. The Eau Rouge is based on the Q50 saloon, and the company says it draws inspiration from the collaboration between Infiniti and Red Bull Racing. On Bing: see pictures of the Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge Infiniti Q50 review (2013 onwards) Although the Q50 Eau Rouge is only a concept, it hints strongly that we might see a production M3-rival launched by Infiniti in the near future.