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Hot seats: from design to delivery [sponsored]

As the user demands on car interiors are increasingly influenced by their growing design consciousness, so suppliers like Lear strive to bring better-engineered seating to satisfy. 2013 was another big year for Lear, as Jeanette Puig-Pey, its global fabric & leather design manager, enthuses: "At our ‘Design2Perform' event we celebrated the unveiling of our brand new collection, with special emphasis on color and texture and our TeXstyle Enhance product, perfect for customization. Laser etching is part of this offering, it is exclusive to Lear Corporation and can be used to add refined design elements to cloth and leather." A mix of fabric and leather in seating is not new but is often seen by the consumer as a cheaper alternative to full leather.

BMW to build Gran Coupe to challenge Mercedes-Benz, Porsche

BMW will build its Gran Coupe concept car, the company's development chief Klaus Draeger said. The production Gran Coupe will rival luxury coupe-styled four-door cars such as the Mercedes CLS, Audi's upcoming A7 and the Porsche Panamera. The concept was unveiled at the Beijing auto show in April.

Nissan Invitation concept previews new Nissan Note

The Nissan Invitation concept previews the 2013 Note MPV Nissan has revealed the Nissan Invitation Concept – which will debut at the Geneva Motor Show – and previews the 2013 Nissan Note. The current Nissan Note is a competent enough compact MPV, but it’s a bit beige. But if the Nissan Invitation Concept unveiled this afternoon is anything to go by, the 2013 Nissan Note will be a lot funkier.