Who's Where: Alfonso Albaisa appointed Nissan Design Director for Global Passenger Vehicles and Electric Vehicles

Alfonso Albaisa has been appointed as Nissan's Design Director for Global Passenger Vehicles and Electric Vehicles, a job that will see him move back to Japan. Albaisa joined Nissan Design America almost 24 years ago and has worked on vehicles in every category and on both interior and exterior projects. He has also worked on customized super yacht design and architecture, one of his particular passions in life.

Hot seats: from design to delivery [sponsored]

As the user demands on car interiors are increasingly influenced by their growing design consciousness, so suppliers like Lear strive to bring better-engineered seating to satisfy. 2013 was another big year for Lear, as Jeanette Puig-Pey, its global fabric & leather design manager, enthuses: "At our ‘Design2Perform' event we celebrated the unveiling of our brand new collection, with special emphasis on color and texture and our TeXstyle Enhance product, perfect for customization. Laser etching is part of this offering, it is exclusive to Lear Corporation and can be used to add refined design elements to cloth and leather." A mix of fabric and leather in seating is not new but is often seen by the consumer as a cheaper alternative to full leather.

Infiniti M launches at Pebble Beach

Infiniti has 'Virtually' revelead the new Infiniti M at Pebble Beach Anyway, odd launch or not, this is a big deal for Infiniti. And – for the first time – the UK and Europe will also be getting the Infiniti M, which is Infiniti’s Flagship model, aimed at the Lexus LS and – I suppose – the S Class, 7 Series and XJ, although it is slightly smaller. As we noted from the teased silhouette we saw recently, the Infiniti M seems to take a chunk of its design cues from the Infiniti Essence Coupe, which actually kicked off the Pebble Beach event a couple of days ago.