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A younger, sportier look for Mercedes-Benz pays off with U.S. customers

When it comes to design, Mercedes-Benz was long the conservative grande dame of luxury-car makers. Styling was understated and aimed at middle-aged buyers. But a shift toward sportier and more youthful styling, partly driven by U.S.

Design Contest: Ferrari 'New Concepts of the Myth'

Automotive design students from all over the world gathered in Maranello this week for the award ceremony of the 'Ferrari - New Concepts of the Myth' design competition. The winners were announced and awarded their prizes at Galleria Ferrari, within walking distance of Ferrari headquarters and Ferrari's Fiorano test track. The coveted prizes are six months of exciting and very demanding work at Ferrari and Pininfarina creative centres, under the leadership of Ferrari's Donato Coco (in Maranello) and Pininfarina's Ken Okuyama (in Torino).

Smart forstars concept

The Smart forstars concept is set to be unveiled the week after next at the Paris motor show. Clearly related to the For-Us concept seen at NAIAS in Detroit earlier this year, the grammatically-challenged Sports Utility Coupé concept, measures in at 3,550mm long, 1,710mm wide and 1,505mm high. It shares the same ‘smiley' front face as the For-Us, complete with rhombic front lamps which stand proud of the surface and a pixellated grille opening.