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Coventry MA Automotive Design/Vehicle Interiors exhibition 2010

As the winter takes grip on the northern hemisphere, CDN travel to Coventry, the birthplace of the British car industry – and many a car designer – to catch up with this year's MA Automotive Design and Vehicle Interiors students for their biannual exhibition, held in the city's impressive Transport Museum. This year 15 students, led by tutors Aaamer Mahmud and CDN contributor, Nick Hull, are completing the 16-month postgraduate course. Carrosse Stephane Krumenacker Krumenacker's personal interest in (built) environmental philosophy dictated his approach to this project, which started with a scenario rather than a product.

Mitsubishi closes California design studio

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. closed its design studio in Cypress, CA last Thursday – just one month shy of its 25th anniversary. A result of the recent downturn in the global economy, the closure of the facility will eliminate 33 design positions as part of a personnel cull that has seen 60 people within the automaker's US operations lose their jobs.

Video: Exploring the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class

To coincide with the announcement that its new C-Class has entered production, Mercedes-Benz has released a video exploring its design. Featuring design chief Gordon Wagener and other key members of the team, the video explains where their inspiration came from and how they experimented with proportions during its development. While the dropping bodyside feature line is a key element of the exterior, it's also found inside the C-Class, where the typical Mercedes sports car interior is combined with the floating, vertical center console.