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GM's Ed Whitacre meets the press in Web chat

General Motors' new front man, Ed Whitacre, remains a bit of an elusive figure in the car world. But at the very least, the former telecom honcho who's now the leader of the nation's largest automaker does like cars. “Oh yes,” he answered in response to that question during a Web chat on Tuesday, one of his first interactions with the media so far in his tenure at the helm of GM.

Volkswagen Nils concept

Volkswagen will give its newest concept vehicle, named Nils, its public debut at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show. The single-seat electric concept vehicle, which has been designed to be economical and production feasible, features an aluminium space frame, wing doors and free-standing wheels. Though its inspiration may come from Formula 1, the styling has its origins at the Volkswagen Design Centre in Potsdam, Berlin.

Q&A: David Townsend, GM global design director, user experience

GM's new design director of user experience, David Townsend, has only been in the job just over a month. But with a remit extending to the interface design of every vehicle in GM's global portfolio, his influence will soon be widespread. After graduating from Art Center with a degree in transportation design, Townsend interned for Toyota but soon moved to Motorola, where he developed wearable Bluetooth technology and designed the familiar headsets worn by coaches in the NFL.