Tokyo Motor Show 2013: The Debutants

This year we've seen some great concepts and production models debut at shows across the world, but as the days get shorter and the nights get colder, it's a signal the year is nearly at an end. For CDN, a typically hectic event schedule is concluded with a trip to Tokyo for the forty-third edition of its annual show. Ahead of its opening, the carmakers have begun to announce what we can expect to see sitting pride of place on their stands.

General Motors design landmark gets second life--as a school

"The profession was invented in this room,” says Richard Rogers, president of the College for Creative Studies (CCS), as he stands in the dusty construction site that used to be the General Motors Argonaut Building. “And this is where Harley Earl's office was.” Looking across the top floor of the building, it is easy to see a circle of concrete like the landing mark of a flying saucer. The circle is the remnant of an early platform for clay models, developed here for the first time as design tools for mass-production autos.

Alfa Romeo Giulietta facelifted for the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show

Alfa Romeo today only sells two regular cars, the MiTo and Giulietta. The family hatchback Giulietta is its most profitable – and also its best – and so to ensure it still has at least some appeal alongside the Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus that outclass it, Alfa has facelifted it for the 2014 model year. It’s a very discreet and low-effort facelift, but the firm still hopes it’s just enough to keep the family five-door ticking over.