Porsche 924 944 951 Turbo - Driver (left) Rear Quarter Window With Gasket & Trim on 2040-parts.com

Videos: Chris Bangle shares his views on design and the future of car design

Chris Bangle is a man that needs no introduction on these pages. Both revered and castigated, Bangle's work has undoubtedly been influential for a generation of designers. His unconventional practices – employed at a time when design was still largely segregated from other departments during the development process – yielded many avantgarde and contentious designs, but Bangle's fundamental understanding of the design process, creative vision and desire for change can never be cast in doubt. While Bangle shares his views on the future of the car in the video to the right, the video to the left provides an insight into the former BMW design chief's thought processes and gives us a glimpse into his home and studio in the Piedmont region of northern Italy.

New Mercedes A Class recalled for faulty air bag

The new Mercedes A Class is being recalled for an Airbag fault The new Mercedes A Class is a cracking little car, and offers much more style, performance and joy than the boxy little original A Class. On the market for less than a year, the new A Class has been a big success story for Mercedes-Benz with 100,000 orders on its books by the end of 2012 as buyers fell for the appeal of MB’s first really credible compact car. And that appeal was wide, with everything from frugal diesels to the range-topping A45 AMG, which offers the promise of not just stunning performance from its 335bhp, but decent economy and practicality when you’re not in the mood to blat.

Design Development: Ford Edge concept

Vehicle type mid-size SUV ConceptLength 4,689mmWidth (exc. Mirrors) 2,119mm Height 1,699mmWheelbase 2,849mm Chief exterior designer George BucherExterior design manager Kevin GeorgeSenior exterior designers Steve Gilmore, Shawn WehrlyInterior design manager Hak Soo HaInterior lead designers Yuichi Ogura & Zulf AliTechnical build manager Bruce Youngs Project started January 2013 Project completed October 2013Launch Los Angeles Auto Show 2013 The second-generation Edge mid-size crossover will be a global product, sold  in North America, Europe, China and South America by 2015. The 2013 LA Auto Show concept prefaced its arrival closely.  Sitting below the Explorer and above the Escape (or Kuga in Europe), the original Edge was introduced in 2006.