1953 Chevy Dash-instrument Housing on 2040-parts.com

Driven: BMW X3

The BMW X3 had the premium CUV market to itself when launched in 2004. Skip forward to the launch of the second generation and not only does the new version have a whole host of competitors for company, it also has to fit around its X1, X5 and X6 siblings. We took the 2011 BMW X3 (known internally as F25) to the Austrian Tyrol and spoke to its exterior designer, Erik Goplen, to find out if it still has the segment covered.

Datsun's Koji Nagano on the design inspiration of the new Go [w/Video]

Nissan has re-launched Datsun as a low-cost brand in New Dehli, India, and will introduce its future car, the Go, in early 2014 before exporting it to Indonesia, Russia and South Africa. Koji Nagano, Datsun's executive design director, describes the design inspiration for the new Datsun Go in a short video. Nagano explains how important it was that the team understand the brand's history and what it used to symbolize before focusing on how they could meet customer's expectations in each country.

BMW's Vision EfficientDynamics concept bound for Frankfurt

BMW has revealed a radical vision for its future performance-oriented models in a spectacularly styled concept car whose combination of M3-rivaling acceleration and Mini Cooper-beating fuel economy will likely make it one of the stars of this year's Frankfurt motor show. Called Vision EfficientDynamics, the one-off coupe is a mobile showcase for lightweight construction and plug-in hybrid drive technology, while featuring a variety of futuristic styling, packaging, aerodynamic, lighting and interior ideas under development at the German carmaker's heavily cloaked FIZ development center in Munich. Many of the concepts are planned for use on upcoming BMW road cars, including an exciting Z10 EfficientDynamics range-topping model due by 2015.