Exclusive: Phil Zak appointed Chief Designer at Hyundai America (updated)

Phillip A Zak will become the new Chief Designer at Hyundai's North American Design Center in Irvine, California, filling the role previously held by former GM designer Joel Piaskowski who left Hyundai to become Head of Advanced Design at Mercedes-Benz's North American Design Center in January of this year. Zak joins Hyundai from his previous role as head of exterior design at GM Europe - a post he has held since August 2007 - and will work in parallel to European Chief Designer Thomas Buerkle (who worked at BMW before joining the Korean automaker), developing vehicles for the North American market. As is the case with Buerkle, Zak will report to Hyundai Design Director Mr.

New Nissan Juke explodes in to view (sort of)

This, apparently, is the new Nissan Juke We’ve already seen a number of ‘teases’ for new cars due to debut at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show next month, and this afternoon it’s the turn of Nissan to tease the 2014 Juke facelift with a completely uninformative teaser image. The Nissan Juke – revealed four year ago at the Geneva Motor Show after a preview as the Nissan Qazana Concept the year before - brought Nissan’s funky compact crossover to the public’s attention and introduced a new ‘Ugly is Appealing’ look to mainstream motoring. But four years is a long time in the car world, and many other have tried to grab a piece of the Juke’s market place, so it’s time to give it a refresh with a facelifted version heading for Geneva next month.

Quirky finance deal for anniversary Alfa Giulietta

CHECK this out for inflation: to celebrate 60 years since the launch of the original Giulietta, Alfa Romeo is offering a finance deposit contribution equivalent to the outright purchase price of the original car. The stunning 1954 Giulietta sold for £1,250, which is precisely what Alfa is offering buyers of the 2014 model if they take out a PCP finance deal and meet a few basic criteria. What’s more, a new £510 Lunar Pearl colour option will be thrown into the bargain for customers taking up the deal in the 60th anniversary celebration window.