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Cadillac ELR, Nissan Resonance and Ford Atlas win Eyes on Design awards

This year's annual Eyes on Design awards were presented at the end of press days for the Detroit Auto Show on Tuesday. Given out for the best production and concept car designs that debuted at the show, and voted on by an esteemed panel of actual car designers, this year's award for best production vehicle design went to the 2014 Cadillac ELR. The 2014 Chevrolet Corvette, which was the show favorite among Autoblog editors, apparently did not impress the Eyes on Design judges enough with its all-new vent-festooned design.
The award for best concept design was actually split as a tie among the Nissan Resonance and Ford Atlas concepts. Last year's winners were the 2013 Ford Fusion and the Lexus LF-LC concept.
The Eyes on Design organization also presented a new honor this year called the Catalyst Award to Bob Lutz, former Vice Chairman of General Motors. Lutz is reported to have given a defense of design in his acceptance speech, arguing that advancements in quality across the industry as a whole have made good design a key differentiator for buyers.

Rare Ford Mustang ASC McLaren is a piece of '80s history

You can't blame the dealer for advertising this oddball convertible as a "Ford Mustang McLaren." The name certainly rolls off the tongue better than "Ford Mustang ASC McLaren," and it makes the car sound a whole lot more appealing. However, without the 'ASC' in there, you don't get the full picture. And when it comes to the world of strange automotive collaborations—particularly those of the 80s—you most definitely want the full picture. ASC McLaren Mustangs were the result of fortuitous timing, and a project that was already underway between the American Sunroof Company and McLaren (no, not that McLaren). Detroit custom car builder Peter Muscat brought the idea of a Mustang with a tonneau cover to ASC after chopping the top off a Fox body on his own, and in turn ASC founder Heinz Pretcher brought the concept to Ford. Big blue was already in the midst of relaunching a Mustang convertible, which had been absent from the lineup for 10 years, so initially it was the Mercury Capri that got the ASC/McLaren treatment. The result was a car that was more expensive than a Mustang GT, and coupled with declining sales of the Capri overall, the car was discontinued in 1986, paving the way for the ASC McLaren Mustang you see here on eBay. With the change over to the Mustang as their platform for modification in 1987, ASC McLaren were given the opportunity to create something notable. Customizing the Capri was one thing, but the Mustang name carries with it iconic status. So what did ASC McLaren do with their chance to leave their mark on automotive history? They gave the car some visual modifications, both inside and out, but like the Capri, left the powertrain untouched. Also like the Capri, the cars still ended up costing more than $20,000. Between the high price, the economic woes of the late 80s, and disputes between Muscat and Pretcher, the ASC McLaren Mustangs were no more by 1990. During the three year run, 1,806 ASC McLaren conversions were completed, making them quite rare, especially low mileage examples like this one. The 5.0 V8s are known for being stout engines, capable of handling serious modification, and logging lots of miles, so there are no concerns there. The 5-speed Borg-Warner transmission that came in all Mustang GTs is also known for being a durable unit, the '87-'90 versions especially so. The main concern here would be the life the car has lived, and more importantly where it has lived.

Ford unveils next-gen S-Max in Europe

Let's get this unfortunate though important tidbit out of the way right off the bat: The Ford S-Max isn't sold in the United States, and it's not coming here, at least not anytime soon. And so it's with our European friends in mind that we share this information about the next-gen S-Max (previewed about a year ago in concept form) that is set to debut all across Europe next year and will be shown off at the upcoming Paris Motor Show. Now, moving on...
As with the first-gen S-Max, the new model will boast seating for seven passengers, along with a decent amount of storage space, all packed into a relatively reasonably sized package. Powering the front wheels (or optionally all four) will be the buyer's choice of EcoBoost gasoline-turbocharged or turbo-diesel four-cylinder engines along with automatic and manual transmission options. Included in the mix is a new 1.5-liter EcoBoost with 160 horsepower, though the 240-horse 2.0 is likely to be seen as the headliner.
There are all kinds of new technologies on offer, ranging from Adaptive Steering to Dynamic LED Headlamps with Glare-Free Highbeams, and it's all housed inside new, more sleekly designed bodywork riding atop a chassis with new suspension architecture designed to make the S-Max a people-hauler that's still fun to drive. For all the details, we suggest you scroll down below to read through Ford's official press release.