Mercedes Benz W220 Right Front Electric Window Switch A2208213379 on 2040-parts.com

Design Essay: Are smart roads just around the corner?

In order to remain relevant, the car must constantly evolve. But while almost all attention focuses on four wheels, the roads that facilitate an automobile's progress have remained relatively unaltered since Eisenhower formed the National Highway system in the 1950s. With environmental concerns getting ever higher on the agenda, there is an opportunity to think outside the (metal) box and rethink the road, making it as smart as the vehicles and devices that travel upon it.

Geneva motor show (2013) A-Z news and reviews

Welcome to CAR's guide to the 2013 Geneva motor show. We're bringing you news of every launch as it happens (including full details on the new 950bhp Ferrari LaFerrari and 903bhp McLaren P1) and we've gathered together all our stories on the most important new cars in this handy A-Z guide. Alfa Romeo 4CAlfa's gorgeous £50k Porsche Cayman rival Alpina BMW B3 BiTurboBMW tuner builds a turbocharged straight-six M3 Aston Martin Rapide S Aston facelifts its elegant limo, gives it extra 80bhp Aston Martin Vanquish CentenarySpecial 565bhp Vanquish celebrates Aston's 100th birthday Audi S3 SportbackAudi takes on the hot hatch crowd with 296bhp Quattro Audi RS Q3 It's the first ever SUV from Audi's RS tuning arm Bentley Continental Flying SpurBentley's fastest ever four-door packs 616bhp  Bertone RapideEver thought your Aston Rapide needed more boot space? Try this...

Gorden Wagener on how Mercedes is "moving from a traditional luxury brand to a modern luxury brand"

Mercedes' 'home' design studio in Sindelfingen, Germany is housed in an expansive 30,000-square meter building designed by Renzo Piano. The lobby is unassuming, but we're soon through into what Mercedes' grandly calls 'the Vision Room.' It's here that strategic meetings are held with the firm's board, and where we meet Gorden Wagener, Mercedes' head of design since 2008. It's in the Vision Room that Wagener convinced the Mercedes board of the merits of his overarching design philosophy: 'sensual purity'.