Simpson Standard 6 Single-layer Driving Jacket Medium on 2040-parts.com

Driven: Volkswagen Golf Mk7

Walking up to the seventh-generation VW Golf, redesigned flip key in hand, you're in no doubt that this is a) new or – perhaps more importantly – b) a Golf. It's the "200 meter test" lead exterior designer, Andreas Mindt tells us and, while we're suspicious of the idea of self-conscious ‘iconic design', you have to concede he's right. In fact the Mk7 Golf's pared-back graphics and a return to a true two-box proportion create a more accurate vision of what we imagine when we think ‘Volkswagen Golf' than either of its two most recent predecessors.

Ford Fiesta EcoSport – the Fiesta SUV / Crossover

Ford Fiesta EcoSport as it appeared on Ford's India website Ford appears to have accidentally posted the first details of a new Ford Fiesta EcoSport SUV on their Indian web site. We’ve known for a while that Ford are working on an SUV / Crossover version of the Fiesta. Over a year ago we saw spy photos of a Fiesta Crossover, a high-riding version of Ford’s perennial compact car.

Mark Adams on the Past, Present and Future of Opel Design

Back in 1938, GM showed the world's first concept car: Harley Earl's Buick Y-Job. Twenty-six years later, GM's Opel division became the first mainstream carmaker to design and build a concept in Europe. That car was the Opel Experimental GT, designed in 1964 and launched at the Frankfurt motor show in 1965.