Subaru BRZ & new Impreza 5-door Hatch to debut at Geneva 2012

The BRZ and Impreza 5-door will debut at Geneva 2012 With the 2012 Geneva Motor Show just weeks away, we learn the Subaru BRZ and new Subaru Impreza 5-door hatch will get their European debuts. News of debuts at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show are starting to come in thick and fast, and although Subaru don’t have any world debuts to offer at Geneva, we will be seeing the European debut of the Subaru BRZ in production guise, as well as the first look in Europe at the new Impreza 5-door. The Subaru BRZ is the other half of the Toyota GT 86 partnership (the Toyota GT 86 will also get its European debut at Geneva) and, apart from some minor styling tweaks, is pretty much the same car as the GT 86.

Design Contest: LA Design Challenge 2008

The entrants for the fifth annual Design Challenge, part of the Design Los Angeles automobile designers' conference, have now been announced. Nine Southern California automotive design studios - including Audi, BMW, GM, Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Volkswagen - have been pitted against one another and asked to develop a concept which best answers a brief entitled 'Motorsports in 2025'. "Automotive designers have always been fascinated with motorsports and this year's Design Challenge has provided them with the opportunity to use their creative talent to look at these cars with new eyes, using innovative technologies and approaches," said Chuck Pelly, director of Design Los Angeles and partner in The Design Academy, Inc.

Viva La Viva

VAUXHALL is to resurrect the Viva name as it plans to launch an entry-level car to sit alongside its Mini rival the Adam and soon to be launched new Corsa supermini. For now the car maker isn’t giving much away, although it has revealed that the new car will be a five-door model. And while the new Viva will be a significant step up in terms of refinement and sophistication over its 1963 namesake, it’s clear that Vauxhall is keen to tap into the current trend for producing low cost cars that’s proved so successful for the likes of Dacia.