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Former Audi chief designer Wolfgang Egger leaves Italdesign

The latest word from the international community of automotive designers has it that Wolfgang Egger is leaving Italdesign, but just where the accomplished designer will land next and who will take his place remain big question marks. Egger is a designer who has bounced back and forth between Italy and Germany over the course of his career. He was born in Germany but studied in Milan. He began his career at Alfa Romeo in 1989 and was named its chief designer by 1993 before being head-hunted by the Volkswagen Group in 1998 to head up the design department at Seat. A few years later he went returned to Italy to run the Lancia design department, and was subsequently renamed to the same post at Alfa Romeo. In 2007 he went back to his native Germany to head up the Audi design office, over which he assumed complete responsibility by 2012, but left Audi in 2013 to run Italdesign. For those unfamiliar, Italdesign is the studio founded by Giorgetto Giugiaro (pictured at left next to Egger) back in 1968 but which, along with many other Italian design houses, fell on hard times in recent years. The Volkswagen Group swooped in to rescue the troubled studio in 2010, turning it into something of an in-house advanced design department to provide an alternative perspective on the direction in which the group and its various brands could take their respective designs moving forward. With Egger now leaving its helm, Italdesign and its German parent company will need to find his replacement, and we're sure they'll announce one in due course. The bigger question on our minds, however, is where Egger himself will head next. Given the path his career has taken to date, we wouldn't be surprised to see him land elsewhere in the Volkswagen Group or find a new role in the expanding Fiat Chrysler Automobiles empire. Then again, Egger could find it time to open an entirely new chapter. Watch this space. News Source: Car Design NewsImage Credit: Newspress Design/Style Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Audi Volkswagen designer italdesign giugiaro wolfgang egger

Top Gear names BMW i8 Car of the Year, Corvette, Ferrari, Mercedes also win big

The lads at Top Gear have released their listing of the finest cars of the past year, handing the ultimate honor to BMW's revolutionary i8 plug-in-hybrid supercar. "The i8 is a milestone in the annals of automotive history and a glorious statement for an exciting and positive future. The i8 delivers - and then some," the British mag wrote. The i8, though, was far from the only hybridized car to take victories. James May and Richard Hammond both highlighted hybrids as their personal cars of the year, with May saluting the Ferrari LaFerrari and the Hamster, unsurprisingly, heaping praise on the Porsche 918 Spyder. Jeremy Clarkson, meanwhile, opted to shock many by selecting not only an American car as his best of 2014, but giving the honor to of all things, a Corvette. Clarkson wasn't the only person to honor the USA's iconic sports car, with the new, 650-horsepower Z06 variant being named TG's Muscle Car of the Year. Other big winners include Mercedes-Benz, which TG honored for S-Class Coupe (Luxury Car of the Year), the new AMG GT (Sports Car of the Year) and the not-for-US C-Class Estate (Family Car of the Year). The 458 Italia Speciale A snagged a second win for Ferrari. The best of the rest include the Citroen C4 Cactus, Renault Twingo, Volkswagen Golf R, Lamborghini Huracan and Audi TT. Take a look below for the celebratory press blast from BMW. The BMW i8 wins Top Gear Car of the Year The BMW i8 has been named as Top Gear magazine's global Car of the Year 2014. The plug-in hybrid performance vehicle beat off some stiff competition from a host of other premium and luxury manufacturers to win the overall award. The editorial team of Top Gear commended the BMW i8 for its breadth of abilities. Its 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine combined with an electric motor gives searing acceleration and driver enjoyment but all wrapped in a package that takes BMW's EfficientDynamics philosophy to the extreme courtesy of CO2 emissions less than 49g/km and a 135mpg combined cycle figure. Charlie Turner, Editor in Chief at Top Gear magazine, said: "The BMW is a milestone in the annals of automotive history and a glorious statement for an exciting and positive future. The i8 delivers – and then some. It's the kind of car we should celebrate, a beautiful vision of the future, delivered now.

Recharge Wrap-up: Arcimoto SRK video, BAIC EV at CES

Kelley Blue Book took a spin in the Arcimoto SRK three-wheeled EV at CES in Las Vegas. In the video above, KBB Managing Editor Micah Muzio gets behind the handlebars for a spin around an empty parking lot. He notes a gradual throttle tip-in, though from the video, it appears the trike has a bit of pep. While the hydraulic brake pedal requires a bit of extra effort, the regenerative brake lever located on the right handlebar is effective and easy to use. The steering is a little heavy, but manageable, at low speeds. He calls it "kind of a fun little conveyance," adding, "Maybe this is the future." See the full review in the video above. CARB Chairman Mary Nichols spoke with German television about Volkswagen's emissions scandal. In a photo she posted on Twitter, Nichols can be seen in front of cameras with CARB's test bay in the background. In the bay is a Volkswagen Jetta TDI. She says in her tweet, "Discussing VW cheating case w/German TV in front of ARB lab test bay & '07 diesel Jetta. Time to move on to #EVs!" Late last year, a group of environmentalists and Silicon Valley leaders – Elon Musk included – sent Nichols an open letter suggesting CARB help urge Volkswagen to give up on diesels and focus on electric vehicles. See Nichols's post on Twitter. South Korea's most popular EV is the Renault Samsung Motors (RSM) SM3 ZE (also known as the Renault Fluence ZE). The all-electric vehicle has sold 1,767 units since its arrival in Korea since November 2013, with 2015 sales reaching 1,043 units. This makes one in three EVs in Korea a RSM SM3 ZE. The car has been selected as Korea's official government vehicle, and RSM has supplied over 100 EV taxis, 60 of which are in Seoul. Read more in the press release from Renault. BAIC EV announced it has established an R&D center in Detroit at CES. It will work with its other centers in Silicon Valley and Aachen, Germany in order to develop automotive technology and evaluate global demand. The EV branch of the Chinese automaker also debuted its i-Link information system, which uses 4G to connect car telematics to the cloud. The i-Link system also provides wireless phone charging, remote inquiry services and connects sensing technologies to the internet. Read more in the press release below.