2003 Civic Ex Cluster 157k on 2040-parts.com

Mazda hires VW alum Derek Jenkins to head U.S. design staff

Former Volkswagen designer Derek Jenkins has been hired to be the design chief for Mazda in America. Jenkins, 39, fills a position vacated last summer by Franz von Holzhausen, who left to take the top design post at electric-vehicle maker Tesla Motors. Jenkins had been chief of design for the Volkswagen Group in North America, which he joined in 2000.

Ford Kuga launched in Australia – but it’s the old Kuga

The old Ford Kuga is the new Ford Kuga in Australia In what seems an odd move, the current Ford Kuga has been launched in Australia, just weeks from the debut of the 2012 Kuga in Geneva. You can’t have failed to notice that the 2012 Ford Kuga is just round the corner – and due to debut at Geneva in March – and we’ve already seen most of what the new Kuga has to offer with the debut of the new Ford Escape at Los Angeles last November. But despite the world readying itself to put in an order for a new Kuga, our Antipodean cousins are only now getting the chance to buy a Kuga, but its not the all new Ford Kuga, rather the Kuga we’ve had for the last four years.

Concept Car of the Week: Honda J-VX (1997)

In 1997, in an effort to preserve its sporty image, Honda needed to bring new exciting models in its showrooms, to park alongside its mainstream Civics and the excellent but slow-selling NSX. The 1995 Integra Type-R proved a fun car to drive but lacked in personality compared to older models of the brand such as the bold CR-X. At the Tokyo motor show, Honda unveiled a prototype of what could be the sports car of the 21st century while also capturing the essence of the iconic CR-X.