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Peter Stevens and Julian Thomson lead a discussion on the past, present and future of car design

As part of its sponsorship of London's Clerkenwell Design Week, Jaguar and the Royal College of Art brought together three generations of the design school to discuss the past, present and possible future of car design. Held in a suitably grimy warehouse in east London – with the sculpture by RCA students Ewan Gallimore and Claire Mille's we showed you earlier this week sat outside – Professor Dale Harrow, dean of the School of Design and head of its Vehicle Design program introduced Professor Peter Stevens, Julian Thomson, Jaguar's advanced design director and Alexandra Palmowski project designer advanced colour and material at Jaguar took the audience through their careers. Charismatic as ever, Peter Stevens kicked off proceedings that moved chronologically through the decades by explaining how he first became interested in "the art if car design, allied to the science of how they work" through his artistic parents and uncle – journalist and motoring adventurer – Denis Jenkinson during the 1950s and 60s.

MINI: Meet the MINI Family Video

MINI sends us a 2011 family video Many moan that MINI has become a parody under BMW, but the truth is that it’s just become an enormous success with BMW doing what BL tried to do a generation ago – and failed. BL failed to grow and develop the Mini beyond the 1960s, although it had success in the ’60s with badge-engineered Minis (Riley Elf, Wolsely Hornet), Mini Coopers and Countrymans, and even a grown-up Mini – the Austin/Morris 1100. So BMW are really only carrying on what BL did in the ’60s, just in spades.

New Ford Kuga (2012) to debut at Los Angeles Motor Show

2012 Ford Kuga / Escape to debut at Los Angeles 2011 - based on the Vertrek Concept (above) Yes, strictly speaking the debut of the new Ford Kuga at the Los Angeles Motor Show in November is actually for the 2013 Ford Escape. But in the new ‘One World’ of Ford the new Escape – based on the Ford Vertrek Concept from this year’s Detroit Motor Show – will, with just a few changes, become Europe’s new Ford Kuga. What makes it even more certain that the Escape is much the same as the Kuga will be is news on the engines.