Acura ZDX to be discontinued after 2013 model year

If you're in the market for a new Acura ZDX, consider heading to a dealership soon: Acura has announced that they will discontinue the crossover after the 2013 model year. The all-wheel drive ZDX, which shares a platform with the more conventional Acura MDX, will reportedly sign off with a “single, value-added package.” In other words, the crossover will only be sold in one configuration—which happens to be heavily loaded with luxury features including 10-speaker surround sound, an eight-inch display with integrated rearview camera system and heated, ventilated front seats. Safety-oriented technology like forward-collision warning and lane-departure-warning systems will make their ZDX debut as well.

Ken Ma appointed VP Design at Chang'an

Former Shanghai Automotive Technical Center (SATC) design director Ken Ma joined Changan Automobile Group as vice president of the firm's Engineering Research Center late last year. Ma's new role puts him in charge of the Group's global design department, reporting directly to Changan group chairman LiuPin Xu on all design matters. But the move also effectively places him in the highest design position at any mainstream automotive company in China – a breakthrough for the country's automotive design industry.

VW Design Vision Golf GTI (2013) 493bhp Golf revealed

As CAR reported in our scoop last week, VW will unveil a higher-performance Golf GTI hot hatch at the 2013 Wörthersee show, and here we have the first sketches of the super-Golf. Called the VW Design Vision Golf GTI, the concept packs close to 500bhp and can outrun a Porsche 911. It's by far the most extreme Golf hot hatch since the Bentley-engined GTI W12 concept of 2007.