Designer Interviews: Giorgetto Giugiaro

Ask any aficionado who the greatest car designer of all time is and Giorgetto Giugiaro will be the name on most lips. Responsible for more than 200 vehicles, equating to some 60-million production cars on the road as well as dozens of concepts for the world's finest car brands – not to mention cameras for Nikon, electronic organs for Bontempi and even a type of pasta – he is without equal. Born on 7 August 1938 in Garessio, northern Italy, he started his career with Fiat in the mid-1950s, aged 17.

Jeep Grand Cherokee to get ZF 8-speed auto ‘box

Jeep Grand Cherokee to get 8-Speed ZF Gearbox The latest version of the Jeep Grand Cherokee has only just arrived, but already Jeep are planning improvements with the confirmation that the Grand Cherokee is to get the new 8-Speed automatic gearbox from ZF. The 8-speed ZF auto ‘box should help all round with the new Grand Cherokee, which already offers the promise of an American SUV matching the expectations of European buyers and, more importantly, offering a viable alternative to the offerings in the premium SUV sector from the Germans. Not only does the new Grand Cherokee look able and promising, even with a relatively modest 3.0 litre diesel being the only engine on offer for the mainstream Grand Cherokees, but with a starting point of under £38k (and a top-end price of £44k) there’s a lot on offer.

Russians show great interest in Corvette legend Zora Arkus-Duntov

It wasn't until recently that Russians understood that Chevrolet Corvette chief engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov, the patron saint of the America's sports car, was a Russian. Now, there seems to be intense media interest in this fact in a country that is waking up to all things automotive related. Arkus-Duntov's life and work is on display at the Alexander Solzhenitsyn Center for Russian Emigres in Moscow.