#design

After years on the market, today’s Mazda3 is still one of the best C-Segment cars available, but it’s something of a controversial vehicle. It may be great to drive, exceedingly functional and built to last, but a lot of people take issue with its grille. The car’s front end looks like the face of a mouth-breathing mudpuppy. To the relief of many that gaping maw is a thing of the past with Mazda’s brand-new 2014 model.

Your grip on the steering wheel tightens. Your eyes fixate on the yellow line. Your brain screams about the trees just beyond the shoulder. Wait for it… wait for it… ok, NOW! You pounce on the clutch as your right foot stabs the accelerator. A wrist-flick completes the downshift. Feather the brake, turn into the corner and scrub off some speed; the radius decreases slightly. You nail the apex, tires howling like a bloodhound on the trail. You roll back on the throttle for a speedy exit and dive into the next corner.

When it comes to automotive styling numerous design trends are popular today, but future vehicles are guaranteed to look very different. Functional styling elements will likely play a bigger role in exterior design, things like integrated air vents and spoilers. Naturally vehicle interiors will receive major updates as well, but arguably government regulations are the most important things driving change. Ever-increasing safety and fuel-economy standards are impacting automotive design in major ways.

Chinese automaker Chery wants to style its cars like the Germans and hopes former Porsche designer Hakan Saracoglu will be able to help.

Kia showed off the shocking Cross GT concept at the 2013 Chicago Auto Show yesterday, previewing a potential luxury crossover from the Korean automaker.

With the reveal of a third new vehicle at the Chicago Auto Show today, Kia is firmly planting its flag in the Midwestern city. The 2013 Cross GT concept is a look into the future at a possible rear-wheel drive luxury crossover.

Audi, long an industry benchmark of style and craftsmanship is headed in a new design direction. Criticized for having nearly indistinguishable model designs as of late, in the future there will be greater differentiation between the German luxury automaker’s models.

If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it, or so the old saying goes, but Toyota might be aiming to do just that.

Mercedes-Benz plans to introduce a new concept car that hints at what its next-generation S-Class flagship sedan will look like, supposedly due out in early 2013. 

Hot on the heels of its public appearance at Pebble Beach, the MINI John Cooper Works GP is being described by its head designer in a new video.

You’re not alone if you haven’t heard the name Qoros before, that’s because its a newly-formed subsidiary to Chinese automaker Chery.

Ultra-luxury brand Rolls-Royce is appointing a new design director in a move that will usher Ian Cameron out and with him the designs that have come to be synonymous with the marque’s style.

The new Pagani Huayra continues the brand’s unique design language from its insect feeler-like mirrors to the unmistakeable afterburner-style exhaust.

The video featured below is packed with details perfect for car geeks. It dives into detail about the production process, telling you about the complex materials that the Huayra is made up of, and the important safety of the fuel-tank (It cuts off fuel as soon as it detects a collision), among many other tech-heavy details.

If mechanical specifics aren’t your thing, you can just look at the borderline car-porn of the fully finished product and the sheet-metal underneath it. You also get plenty of wonderful motor sounds as the Huayra zips around the track. Click the jump to see for yourself.

Chrysler is getting some Italian style thanks to former Ferrari designer Lorenzo Ramaciotti, 63, who will now be lending a hand at Chrysler and Lancia.

Legendary design firm Pininfarina is ending its auto production business, but will retain its engineering and design divisions. Pininfarina said it will shed 127 jobs due to the division’s closing.