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Exclusive: Joel Piaskowski to head Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design NA

Thanks to our contacts within the automotive design community, Car Design News can confirm that Joel Piaskowski, who resigned from his position as Chief Designer at Hyundai's North American design studios on December 19, 2008, will be taking over the position previously held by Gorden Wagener at Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design. He starts his new job on Monday, January 12. Mercedes-Benz has made a few changes to its design team since taking over the Carlsbad facility from Chrysler last year, notably the retirement of Prof.

Dassault Systèmes and Autodesign & Styling's 'Prague Experience' contest launched

Dassault Systèmes and AutoDesign & Styling magazine are looking for designs for everyday objects inspired by the Czech capital of Prague for their annual international design competition. The contest, which is open to designers from all over the world, calls for entries that are both user- and eco-friendly and reflect the character of Prague as a European city full of famous architecture and hundreds of monuments. Anne Asensio, vice-president of design experience at Dassault Systèmes and jury president for the past two years, said, "We are pleased to announce the third annual competition, and we have already introduced a small tradition.

Mini Inspired by Goodwood gets the Rolls-Royce touch for Shanghai auto show

We scratched our head when Aston Martin took the tiny Toyota iQ and turned it into the Cygnet. Now, Mini has called on its business cousin, Rolls-Royce, to create the Mini Inspired by Goodwood. The car will debut next week at the Shanghai motor show.