Coventry MA Automotive Design/Vehicle Interiors exhibition 2010

As the winter takes grip on the northern hemisphere, CDN travel to Coventry, the birthplace of the British car industry – and many a car designer – to catch up with this year's MA Automotive Design and Vehicle Interiors students for their biannual exhibition, held in the city's impressive Transport Museum. This year 15 students, led by tutors Aaamer Mahmud and CDN contributor, Nick Hull, are completing the 16-month postgraduate course. Carrosse Stephane Krumenacker Krumenacker's personal interest in (built) environmental philosophy dictated his approach to this project, which started with a scenario rather than a product.

Cash for clunkers: Is it ready for prime time in America?

One proposed solution to prop up new-car sales in the United States involves paying bonuses to owners of older vehicles who send their cars to the scrapyard and buy new ones. Proponents say that not only does the auto industry benefit, but so does the environment, as emissions decrease and fuel economy typically improves in newer models. Critics, however, say that scrapping older vehicles hurts collectors by reducing the number of older models available and also hurts those least able to afford to buy newer vehicles by driving up the price of used cars.

The fall and rise of the budget car

Twenty years ago, the classic bargain brands like Lada seemed to be going the same way as the Soviet empire that spawned them. Woefully dated and badly made, only a weirdo would have bought a new Lada rather than a second-hand model from Ford, Vauxhall or VW. However, one of the big trends in the car industry today is the re-emergence of bargain cars.