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First Sight: Skoda Octavia

The new Skoda Octavia was unveiled earlier this week in the Czech brand's museum at its home in Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic. Car Design News was in attendance to check out the third generation of what the company calls ‘the heart of Skoda'. The new Octavia is the fourth model in the Volkswagen Group to be built on the new MQB (Modularer Querbaukasten) platform.

2010 LA Design Challenge entrants revealed

Entries for the 2010 Los Angeles Design Challenge have now been revealed. The futuristic proposals, which called for designers to envision a 1000lbs (454kg) 2+2 vehicle that delivers comfort, safety and satisfactory driving performance without sacrificing the emotional connection today's consumers demand from their vehicles, come from the west coast design studios of seven automakers – General Motors, Honda, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota and Volvo. For the first time since the Challenge's inception, studios outside California have also been allowed to enter the competition.

Audi designs car for 'Ender's Game' sci-fi movie

Audi has designed a futuristic car for the upcoming sci-fi action blockbuster Ender's Game. The carmaker joined forces with director Gavin Hood and his production team to digitally integrate its first entirely virtual car – the Audi Fleet Shuttle Quattro – into the futuristic environment of the film. Frank Rimili, chief designer for the film project, said, "Designing the Audi Fleet Shuttle Quattro was similar to customizing a tailor-made suit.