Pocketsquare to premiere Panasonic's driver-focussed HMI interior concept at NAIAS

Erstwhile GM interior design chief David Lyon, alongside former GM engineer Nina Mital and ex-Ford designer Gary Braddock – the three members of new Michigan-based design consultancy Pocketsquare – will have the first fruits of their new venture displayed at the NAIAS in Detroit in the form of Panasonic's advanced interior design concept. The interior makes use of Panasonic's new range of head-up displays and smart clusters to reduce driver distraction in advance of the latest proposed NHTSA legislation. The system is said to exceed these measures by as much as 35 per cent.

Official: Aston Martin gets its hands on Mercedes AMG engines & Electronic Architecture

Aston Martin & AMG confirm they’re getting in bed together Back in December we reported that Aston Martin had new investment from Investindustrial and wondered if that would mean – thanks to an existing relationship between Investindustrial and AMG – if we’d see Aston Martin finally getting access to AMG’s engines and platforms. By May, things had moved on and it was clear that Aston Martin and AMG were in talks for Aston Martin to get access to their engines for the next generation of AML’s cars. Now those talks have borne fruit and AMG and AML have signed a letter of intent for Aston Martin to “access significant Mercedes-AMG GmbH and Mercedes-Benz Cars’ resources, allowing the development of bespoke V8 powertrains and the use of certain components of electric/electronic (e/e) architecture.” Interestingly, there’s no talk of V12 engines – which could mean Aston Martin are going to move from the current Ford V12 for the DB9 and Vanquish to a powerful V8 from AMG – and nor is there talk of sharing platforms.

2014 Mercedes S Class: First interior photos

We have the first interior photos of the 2014 Mercedes S Class ahead of its debut in May 2013, showing a much more modern interior. But now, with a reveal of the new S Class just a couple of months off, we have the first photos of the interior of the new S Class showing a  car that keeps much of the layout of the current S Class but adds in more curves, more technology, a more modern look and a more upmarket feel than ever before. The cabin flows from the screen in to the doors in the same sort of seamless way it does an the Jaguar XJ – where it makes the cabin feel more spacious – the instrument panel is a huge digital display, the seats are differently contoured and trimmed, there seems to be more room, better lighting and an altogether more upmarket feel for Mercedes range topper.