22 Articles
Frankfurt
2014 Renault Mégane gets a nose job [w/video]

The 2014 Renualt Mégane is on display at the Frankfurt Motor Show, flaunting its nose job as the latest vehicle in Renault's lineup updated to reflect new brand styling, which can be seen in cars such as the Clio and Twingo. All versions of the Mégane are rec

Video
Design Handbook tackles the secret of sports car proportions

Trends in car design have come and gone and reappeared over the years, but Jim Hall in his latest Design Handbook entry for Autoline Daily, makes the argument that sports cars have more-or-less kept the same proportions for over a century: long hoods with cockpits placed close to (if not on top of) the rear axle. (These proportions can be explained partially by a subject covered previously in the video series, Damon Lowney

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Lexus GX, Toyota Land Cruiser Prado facelifts leaked

The Lexus GX and the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, which isn't sold in the US, have gone without visual updates since the current generation was launched in 2009. But what appear to be patent filing sketches and pictures of the sibling sports utility vehicles' mid-cycle updates have been leaked on a Russian Land Cruiser Club forum.

Rumormill
Audi design getting big overhaul?

Car and Driver has an update on the design shuffle in Ingolstadt that will ultimately bring more differentiation to Audi products. Last November, Audi design chief Wolfgang Egger spoke of the need to do "something new without breaking from tradition" in Audi design, but talk at the time centered on how the Jonathon Ramsey

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Next Range Rover to get Evoquative styling?

As much as we'd like to think that Land Rover is still the same rough-and-rugged off-road brand it always was, truth is, the British automaker is becoming more of a style icon these days. Just look at the new Range Rover Evoque – a sleek little crossover that's been seen posing with Victoria

Acura NSX replacement still delayed due to design issues

Here's the only firm detail about the new Acura NSX: it will have a new ten-hole engine. While the designers have been trading bodyslams and suplexes over what the next Honda supercar will look like, engineers took the opportunity to collaborate about wrist pins, valve geometry, and vee angles. Everyone involved does acknowledge that it has to look right, thus the contention. Time has not yet slipped through Acura's fingers, and the company wants to avoid the stagnation that leaves a 2005 NSX lo

Execs say Buick to get more "bold", "dramatic"

Through the success of the Enclave, Buick has discovered that nicely designed, well-built, high content vehicles sell. Being the first Buick in a long time to log advance orders, GM thinks it might be onto something with the Enclave formula. That recipe consists of bolder styling than past Buicks, with cues coming from the Velite and Riviera show cars. Avoiding retro, forthcoming Buicks promise to amp up the curbside drama with unabashed curves, and a lot of chrome. The Enclave has an interior t

Rendered Speculation: Mazda RX-8 refresh

Japanese car magazines often use 'chopped photos willy-nilly, so take this with a grainy bit of salt, but it appears that a scan of the face-lifted Mazda RX-8 has hit the web. We'll know for sure if this low-resolution subterfuge is accurate or not when the actual freshened RX-8 has its sheet cleaved away at the NAIAS in Detroit. From what we can see, changes are pretty subtle, with the most visual revisions restricted to the front and rear fascias. There's a new grille treatment up front and th

Become a car designer, just $19.99!

From time to time we've all been tempted to purchase that fake diploma from the endlessly circulating email, right? The last time I checked, though, they weren't offering fake certificates from the Art Center College of Design, or the Academy of Art University. If you still held onto the dream of someday shaping cars, even after all your sketch pads had been confiscated, the normal path was that you'd go to an insti

Sharan/Touran - could it mark the end of the current VW grille?

Please, let it be so. The current chromed snout on VWs offerings is not only beastly to look at, it doesn't help Audi's cars stand apart, either. We suppose that cuts both ways -- VW probably benefits by a familial resemblance to their cousins. However, the front end on the upcoming Sharan/Touran twins looks to hint at the future face of Volkswagen, we hope.

JE Design intros Audi TT 8J body kit

JE Design has gone and messed with the Audi TT. The changes are subtle, which is good, because it's hard to improve upon the TT's form. The JE kit will surely draw mixed reviews, though we like that their kit still lets what's good about the car shine. There's new pieces for the chin spoiler in front, adding strange little vents at the leading edge of the wheel opening. We can't imagine that they actually serve any purpose – perhaps they vent heat from the foglamps? We're sure tha

Lorinser takes on the new Merc C-class

The C-class is the entry-level Benz in the North American market. As such, every nouveau riche new graduate seemingly goes out and treats themselves to a slice of flashy bourgeois pie. That can be alarming for the Euro-car fan, as you risk being lumped into that precocious category along with Johnny Overachiever from down the block. There's no denying that the Stuttgart Swabians build nice vehicles, and we've certainly considered parking one in our driveway. We wouldn't want to deny ourselves th

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