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.

Infiniti M (2009): first official photos

By Tim Smith First Official Pictures 15 August 2009 03:00 This is the new M saloon, Infiniti’s challenger in the German-dominated executive sector.  The new 2010 Infiniti M was ‘virtually’ unveiled today at the glitzy 59th Annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California. The new saloon is the third-generation Infiniti M for American and Japanese buyers – but will also come to UK and European showrooms for the first time when it goes on sale in September 2010. The new M will offer American buyers a choice of either a 316bhp 3.7-litre V6 M37, or a 420bhp 5.6-litre V8, badged M56.

2014 BMW X3 Facelift and more efficient engines

The 2014 BMW X3 (pictured) gets a facelift and new engines The current version of the BMW X3 SUV has been with us for more than three years, so BMW are giving it a bit of a mid-cycle facelift and more frugal engines to keep the X3 on top of its – very successful – game. Engines on offer for the 2014 X3 include the 2.0 litre diesel in the sDrive18d which offers 148bhp and 56.8mpg and the 187bhp in the X3 xDrive20d which returns 52.3mpg, the xDrive30d – which gets the 3.0 litre diesel unit – with 254bhp and 47.9mpg and the X3 xDrive35 which has an impressive 309bhp but still manages official economy of 47.1mpg. When it comes to the cosmetic facelift bits, BMW hasn’t really pushed the boat out, but the new X3 does get a new headlight design which is sleeker, new front and rear bumpers and a new surround for the kidney grill, which all contrive to make the new X3 look even more like a baby X5.