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RCA team helps develop all-electric London taxi proposal

The Royal College of Art's Vehicle Design program and the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design have collaboratedwith Turkish car manufacturer Karsan to develop a proposal for the first all-electric London taxi. An RCA team – co-led by Professor Dale Harrow and the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design's deputy director Rama Gheerawo – has been working with Karsan and its consultancy Hexagon Studio for over a year and to develop a public transport vehicle to suit Londoners of all ages and abilities. The team analyzed a current London taxi in a ‘co-creation workshop' and conducted interviews with taxi drivers, which showed many are over 65 and frequently spend the entire working day inside their cabs.

Lincoln MKZ concept

The Lincoln MKZ concept previews not only the 2012 production MKZ model, but also Lincoln's future design direction. Lincoln Design Director, Max Wolff explains: “Our movement as a brand is toward something we call elegant simplicity. It’s something warmer and more restrained, which is moving away from complex designs and traditional luxury.” This is reflected in the Cognac hue of the show car.

Ram truck gets new V6, eight-speed transmission

The Ram pickup scheduled to be introduced in April will offer both the Pentastar 3.6-liter V6 and an eight-speed transmission, according to a Chrysler Group filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The voluntary annual filing--which appeared Tuesday on the automaker's corporate Web site, chryslergroupllc.com--laid out many new features of the upcoming version of the automaker's top-selling vehicle. The new eight-speed transmission "reduces fuel consumption by up to 12 percent over our current five-speed transmissions," such as the one now in the Ram, the filing said.