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Exclusive: Joel Piaskowski to head Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design NA

Thanks to our contacts within the automotive design community, Car Design News can confirm that Joel Piaskowski, who resigned from his position as Chief Designer at Hyundai's North American design studios on December 19, 2008, will be taking over the position previously held by Gorden Wagener at Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design. He starts his new job on Monday, January 12. Mercedes-Benz has made a few changes to its design team since taking over the Carlsbad facility from Chrysler last year, notably the retirement of Prof.

European Car of the Year shortlist announced

THE SEVEN CARS that will battle it out to become European Car of the Year (ECOTY) 2014 have been announced. Decided on by a jury of 53 motoring journalists from across Europe, the shortlists is made up of the BMW i3, Citroen C4 Picasso, Mazda 3, Mercedes S-Class, Peugeot 308, Skoda Octavia and Tesla Model S. This is the first time the ECOTY shortlist of contenders has included two electric vehicles with the BMW i3 and Tesla Model S.

Here's the former Ukrainian president's car collection

Just a couple days ago, the world media and some bewildered journalists got a glimpse of now-departed Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych's villa on the Dnieper river, called Mezhyhirya. The sprawling and not-particularly-tasteful residence rests on a 345-acre lot of real estate (a little over half the size of Monaco) and features a golf course, a zoo, and an artificial lake with a ship resembling something out of Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" theme park ride. And it also boasts an impressive collection of about 70 cars and motorcycles.