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Interior Motives Design Awards 2009

Tonight, amidst the turmoil of a recession-struck auto industry, innovation and optimism shone through the work of a talented young group of international student designers at the seventh annual Interior Motives Design Awards. And none more so than that of the overall winner and newly crowned Interior Motives Student Designer of the Year 2009: Philip Woodman from Coventry University. Launched in February 2009 and themed ‘Sustainable and Clever', this year's competition fielded a record number of entries from 32 different countries and culminated this evening in a glamorous awards ceremony at Frankfurt's renowned Cocoon club in Germany.

BMW Concept X5 eDrive: Driving impressions

We got a chance to sample the BMW Concept X5 eDrive, a plug-in hybrid version of the BMW X5 luxury SUV, ahead of its appearance at BMW's New York auto show press conference. While comprehensive driving impressions will have to wait for a longer test, we were able to get some quick impressions of the new BMW hybrid at the company's New Jersey headquarters. The X5 eDrive made short work of the hills and curves around BMW's campus, with all mechanical systems working pretty seamlessly.

Hyundai i30

Hyundai has released the first rendering of the next generation i30 set to be officially revealed at the Frankfurt motor show next month. Designed in the Korean automaker's European Design Center in Rüsselsheim, Germany, under the direction of Chief Designer Thomas Buerkle, the new C-segment hatchback is an evolution of Hyundai's ‘fluidic sculpture' design language, initiated on the HED-6 ix-onic concept shown at the 2009 Geneva motor show. "When designing the new i30, we used strong, fluid lines to sculpt a car which looks athletic while exuding a sense of constant motion," said Buerkle.