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Miko's high performance material with an ecological edge

Italian company Miko specializes in the development and production of Dinamica, a high quality ecological microfiber that can be used for anything from car door panels or upholstery to fashion accessories. The faux suede material is produced from a combination of recycled polyester and polyurethane fibers, and is also 100 percent recyclable at the end of its lifecycle. Lorenzo Terraneo, CEO of Miko, says: "Our priority has always been to invest in the research and development of recycled and eco-compatible materials with special characteristics that go far beyond existing qualitative standards." It is a testament to Terraneo's commitment that his company achieved its early aspirations and eco credentials long before concern for the environment and the reduction of carbon emissions was high on the political agenda or prevalent in the public conscience.

Mini Vision concept: what does it say about the brand's future?

The sight of Mini design head Anders Warming presenting a holographic, 3D projection of the Mini Vision concept as if appearing in his own cartoon was certainly a new one on us, but it captured the quirky, slightly left-field image the subsidiary of BMW Group has cultivated since its relaunch 13 years ago. As the 'Vision' tag suggests, this is billed as a marker of intent for the brand's future design direction rather than a pre-production teaser of the new Mini hatchback (Cooper in most markets) we'll see later this year. However if the third-generation 'new' Mini doesn't look remarkably similar we'd be amazed, such is the level of productionized detailing on this purely digital model.

Car Design Awards China 2012 winners announced

The third annual Car Design Awards China competition came to an end earlier this evening as the winners of the 10 categories were announced along with the nomination for 2012 Student Designer of the Year - Xiao Hangjie, a student at Hunan University. The awards ceremony was held at the studios of CH-Auto in Beijing in the presence of an audience of renowned designers and judges from both domestic and international OEMs, with esteemed designer Chris Bangle acting as master of ceremonies. At the concluding judging session held in Beijing in March, one of the judges, Simon Loasby, Director of Design at VW China, said, "It was so difficult for us to decide on a winner, the entrants were so strong.