All Lead Stories articles

  • James McLachalan
    News

    Meet the new CDN editor

    2020-09-16T12:41:00Z

    With a background in architecture and design journalism, not to mention a love of cars, new CDN editor James McLachlan is looking forward to exploring some of the big questions facing the industry.

  • lucid-air-exterior-06
    News

    First sight: Lucid Air

    2020-09-10T11:21:00Z

    Lucid designers take us behind the scenes of the Silicon Valley startup’s first production car, a luxury electric saloon set to disrupt the competition with new proportions and more than 500 miles of range.

  • 2021 S-Class  20C0359_132
    News

    S stands for sophistication with the new Mercedes-Benz saloon

    2020-09-02T16:00:00Z

    In the (streamed and pre-recorded) launch of the new S-Class, Gorden Wagener stated that ‘minimalism is the true luxury of our time’. He is not the first to voice this opinion, but the new S-Class does exemplify a lot of what has made ’sensual purity’ such a successful design philosophy for Mercedes in recent years. 

  • All-new_F-150_Exterior sketch_02
    News

    Ford F-150 redesign puts customers at its (mighty) heart

    2020-06-26T09:25:00Z

    The new Ford F-150, launched in the early hours of this morning, UK time, holds few surprises on the exterior, it is recognisably an F-150, look inside and the storage and truck-as-workplace solutions are beautifully resolved and carefully thought-out.

  • Luc Donckerwolke in Namyang taping
    News

    Luc Donckerwolke resigns from Hyundai

    2020-04-29T11:43:00Z

    Surprise resignation at Hyundai: Luc Donckerwolke has resigned from his position as chief designer of the Group

  • 6_id3_press__2
    Interior Motives

    Volkswagen ID.3 - the interior story

    2020-04-22T13:24:00Z

    From the Winter 2012/20 issue of Interior Motives magazine: Klaus Bischoff, head of Volkswagen Group Design, tells Car Design News about creating the pivotal new ID.3 electric car

  • Int_sideview_1
    Article

    Karma SC1 Vision & SC2 - interior design development

    2020-04-16T10:20:00Z

    Karma Automotive, now owned by the Wangxiang Group, made a bold statement at the Shanghai auto show with its SC1 Vision Concept, a dramatic roadster previewing the evolution in design language for the brand. Its design drew inspiration from Karma’s California home: its climate, its culture, the glamour of Hollywood, the dynamics of surf and hot rod culture, and the state’s heritage of innovation in both the aerospace and automotive sectors all found a place in the styling of the SC1.

  • Cord 812
    Article

    Design Essay: how adversity shapes cars

    2020-04-06T07:59:00Z

    The changing face of car design through difficult times is in fact a prime example of humanity’s remarkable adaptability and resilience – not to mention our collective mood.

  • Hyundai Prophecy int - side doors open
    Article

    Hyundai Prophecy wows the internet (if not the crowds)

    2020-03-04T14:40:00Z

    The Hyundai Prophecy concept has to be one of the (virtual) stars of the 2020 Geneva Motor (No) Show. A cursory glance at social media conversations – from grown-up experts, not trolls – reveals a stream of very positive comments, with favourable comparisons to the classic 1947 UrSaab and also modern-day Teslas, as well as perhaps a sprinkling of 70s Porsche 911 in the rear wing. None of which is to suggest this concept is derivative, but just confirms what we already suspected: that Hyundai’s current design team have good taste, a broad palette and an increasing licence to be creative.

  • Koenigsegg Jesko under wraps (Geneva 2019)
    News

    Geneva Motor Show officially cancelled due to Coronavirus threat

    2020-02-28T11:16:00Z

    The 2020 Geneva Motor Show and Car Design Night are both cancelled due to the threat of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

  • Motiv packaging
    Article

    Gordon Murray Design’s Motiv concept

    2020-02-25T15:40:00Z

    The Gordan Murray Design Motiv concept was recently shown at the MOVE 2020 mobility show in London. We speak to one of the lead designers involved in the project

  • cda-china-2010-cao-min.JPG
    Article

    Going viral: How design studios in China are coping with the coronavirus

    2020-02-20T15:18:00Z

    The Coronavirus continues to have a significant impact on the automotive industry and car design

  • Sierra Exterior 05
    News

    First sight: Tata’s new take on the classic Sierra launches in Delhi

    2020-02-05T06:02:00Z

    Tata’s new Sierra concept has just been unveiled at the Delhi auto show 2020. We got a preview of it last week when we spoke to Martin Uhlarik and Pratap Bose

  • CDN_Mazda3-Driven_exterior_8
    Article

    Driven: Mazda 3 Skyactiv-X

    2020-01-30T18:35:00Z

    A week with the revelatory new Mazda hatchback’s design and UX

  • CES 2020 Sony car 1 (1)
    News

    Automotive design stories fresh from CES 2020

    2020-01-08T17:57:00Z

    Sony sparked speculation that it was entering the car market by unveiling an impressively well-finished prototype electric car, the Vision S, at the CES show in Las Vegas this week.

  • CES 2020_BMW i3 Urban Suite_Interior
    News

    CES 2020: BMW brings an ‘Urban Suite’ to Vegas

    2020-01-06T14:10:00Z

    BMW brings a luxury mobility concept interior to CES 2020 – squeezed inside an i3

  • Syd Mead Visual Futurist 32
    News

    Remembering Syd Mead, 1933-2019

    2019-12-31T10:20:00Z

    Syd Mead, visual futurist, automotive designer, motion picture concept designer, industrial designer, and an inspiration to almost everyone working in these design fields, has died at the age of 86, succumbing to complications of lymphoma, which he had fought for the last three years.

  • CDN Land Rover Defender 2019 G McGovern
    Article

    Land Rover Defender 2019

    2019-12-30T15:31:00Z

    Land Rover’s new Defender has taken enough elements of the old Defender to respect the heritage, while playfully updating and reinterpreting the brand identitiy for a modern context. CDN spoke to Massimo Frascella, Gerry McGovern and Andy Wheel about the exterior design. The full interior story will follow in a few weeks…

  • 2004 Chevrolet Nomad-01
    Article

    Concept Car of the week: The Chevrolet Nomads

    2019-12-20T11:57:00Z

    Our final Concept Car of the Month for 2019 is, in fact, three different GM concepts cars, all inspired by the Chevrolet Nomad’s design

  • Vision Simplex un-wrapped in Nice Studio yard
    Article

    Mercedes moves into France’s tech hub (near Nice)

    2019-12-09T09:31:00Z

    Car Design News strolled around the futuristic new Mercedes-Benz advanced design studio in Nice, France, where the German brand’s heads of department showed us around and explained the reasons for the move