1962 Impala Steering Wheel on 2040-parts.com

LA Design Challenge 2013: The Entries

The LA Auto Show Design Challenge entries have been revealed, featuring designs from nine of the world's top design studios. JAC, Mazda, SAIC, Qoros, Subaru, Changfeng, Toyota and two groups from BMW DesignworksUSA have submitted designs for the challenge, themed ‘Biomimicry & Mobility 2025: Nature's Answer to Human Challenges'. This year's brief asked for designs for a vehicle experience that identify issues like congestion, pollution, sustainability, flexibility and safety in designing a mobility solution that mimics nature to solve them.

BMW Alpina D3 Bi-Turbo (2013) at Frankfurt motor show

If a collection of numbers dictated how we ranked and rated a car, the new BMW Alpina D3 might just be the best all-rounder in the world. You’re looking at a discreet and comfortable 3-series that’ll return a claimed 53.2mpg, and scorch to 62mph in just 4.6 seconds, quicker than the outgoing BMW M3. Read on to find out how.

Starting Out: CDN launches Car Design Glossary

Drawing is the basic language of designers, and is the time-honoured way in which a designer will communicate an idea. However, designers are often required to describe or explain their designs - and the work of others - in words, and for this, they need a vocabulary. The vocabulary they use is one whose origins stretch back to another era and to different disciplines, and which, with the now multi-cultural nature of the profession and advances in computer technology, is still growing.