Sierra Thermostat #18-3551 on 2040-parts.com

Car Design News launches global user survey

We've carried out CDN user surveys before, but this is the first one structured so that we can assess the needs of the different parts of the design community - by discipline, by region, by background, by price point, and more. Take a moment to give us feedback on what you like, what you don't and what you think we're missing. The survey is anonymous and will take 4-5 minutes of your time - maximum.  The results will be used to build enhancements or change some of the direction of Car Design News.

Mark Vaughn: We’ll always have Vegas

There were a few bare spots on the floor of the Consumer Electronics Show this year, spots that in previous years had been jammed sardine-like with myriad Taiwanese makers of Hello Kitty knockoff cell phone cozies and electronic barking dogs, but the show this year was nonetheless pretty well attended. Besides, for those working their way upstream through the aisles like so many digitally trained trout, the empty spots left by exhibitors that pulled out were like refreshing mountain meadows or little piazzas in crowded Italian cities. Show management stocked the open spots with cushy couches, too, on which many a jet-lagged showgoer snoozed.

2013 Hyundai i30 3-door arrives on video

The next variant on the Hyundai i30 – the 3-door i30 – has arrived on video ahead of arriving in Hyundai’s Uk showrooms. Not only are there endless press releases for the news the car makers want you to know about, but there’s an even more endless stream of feeds coming in to make sure we miss nothing. Throw in all the car makers’ web sites, their press sites, their Facebook pages, their Twitter feeds and their YouTube channels – never mind keeping up with those who might just know something the rest of the world doesn’t yet know – and it’s a full-time job for a team of people before a story even gets written.