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Michelin Challenge Design 2007: The not so ugly truth about rising vehicle safety standards

Can cars be safe and beautiful at the same time? That may not have been the case a few decades ago when automakers were forced to hang those big, ugly so-called federal bumpers off the ends of their vehicles.  With vehicle safety standards on the rise around the globe are designers today feeling a little '70s deja vu when it comes to meeting the challenges of making cars safe as well as more fuel efficient? "(Back then) we said it was the end of automotive styling," says Patrick Le Quement, senior vice president for corporate design at Renault and one of the world's most influential automotive designers.

Insurance interest costs motorists millions

BRITISH drivers are paying £682 million more than they should be for their car insurance by paying monthly. Most insurers charge a high rate of interest for the privilege of spreading payments out over the year, with the average pay-monthly customer hit by an additional £88. Almost a third of people (31%) pay their car insurance by monthly direct debit, market research from Consumer Intelligence has discovered.

New Lexus IS 300h, LF-LC and Lexus F-Sport all at 2013 Geneva Motor Show

We’ll get to see the new Lexus IS 300h at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show together with an Opal Blue LF-CC and extended F Sport range. Probably of most interest – because we’ve not seen it in Europe yet, is the new Lexus IS 300h, the hybrid version of the 2013 Lexus IS – revealed at Detroit last month – which Lexus hope will pick up sales from the diesel competition. Lexus will be adding the F Sport trim to the IS 300h too to show that their cars can look as dynamic as those from Audi’s S Line, Mercedes’ AMG or BMW’s M Sport which, with an expected output of around 220bhp from the electric motor and 2.5 litre engine, isn’t all that incongruous.