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Car Design News Contest

As one judge, Geert Jan Schellekens, Principal Automotive and Industrial Designer at SABIC Innovative Plastics, said; "From several hundred entries to 20 finalists in a day's time - what could have turned out to be a cumbersome process, if not a bureaucratic nightmare, actually became an intensive yet fun session with many intriguing and interesting interpretations of the contest brief - fuelling some lively discussions!" Another strong impression from judges was also of the variety of design entry and the effort that had been put into them, as Dale Harrow said: "I'm very impressed with the standard, and particularly with the diversity of entries to the contest". Derek Buckmaster,Global Market Director, Body Panels & Glazing for SABIC Innovative Plastics, said: "I was surprised by the depth of thought which the entrants had put into their designs to meet the diverse needs of the three 'milenniumites' described in the design brief. The designs displayed numerous approaches to meeting the environmentally-friendly and light-weight goals." All designs were considered relative to the Assessment Criteria a critically important part of the contest, created to ensure as much fairness in the process as possible and detailed in the Contest part of Car Design News.

New Kia Flagship Showroom in West London

With Kia sales growing strongly in the UK, Kia are building a new flagship showroom in West London next to the A4 and M4. Just like sister car maker Hyundai, Kia’s offerings are becoming more credible with every new model and in a clear sign of the ever-rising confidence from the Koreans, Kia is planning a big new flagship showroom in West London. The new Kia showroom – which will sit alongside the A4 and M4 in Brentford, key car showroom territory – will consist of four floors, a curved facade with a ‘floating’ upper showroom with multi-level parking for visitors, and extend to a rather large 41,237 sq ft.

GM axes deal with Peugeot Citroen: how it helps Vauxhall

Wolfgang Rattay, Newscom, RTR Strange as it sounds, the sale of GM’s 7% share it only just bought in Peugeot is good news for Vauxhall buyers. The reason is that it is the last stage of GM’s plan to improve the plight of Opel and Vauxhall by getting rid of all the distractions and focusing on improving the cars and the marketing. The Peugeot move has to be seen in the context of GM pulling Chevrolet out of Europe only a few weeks ago.