Cadillac Deville Emblems on 2040-parts.com

Exclusive: Pierre Castinel resigns from Head of Design role at Tata

Tata's Head of Design, Pierre Castinel, has resigned from his post to accept a position at PSA, Car Design News has learned. Castinel was originally hired to develop the design direction and form a brand identity for Tata's full line of vehicles, including cars, pickups, SUVs, MPVs, trucks and buses, but things haven't been going well at the Indian automaker. According to insiders, Tata closed Castinel's design studio in the British midlands last year, forcing the UK-based team to move into the automaker's engineering center in Warwickshire.

Pensioner rescued from sinking car

A PENSIONER had a lucky escape when he was rescued from his car just before it sank under water after he was stranded on a tidal causeway. The man, in his 80s, was trapped inside the vehicle with the sea rising around him after he got stuck on the causeway between Overton and Sunderland Point, Lancashire, the RNLI said. Emergency services were called just before 3.30pm yesterday and the Morecambe RNLI's inshore lifeboat crew found the man inside the car and unable to open the doors because of the pressure of water.

Ford and GM tie-in with Apple

Having established a relationship with Nike for recycling materials as demonstrated on the Ford Reflex concept, Ford has now joined GM in collaborating with Apple to ensure their cars are iPod compatible. Rather than the retrofitted wire many drivers have had to resort to, cars will offer a bespoke area in the glove compartment that also acts as a charging point, the iPod instead controlled through the car?s GUI. By the end of the year, 70% of all new models sold in America are expected to be iPod compatible, an arrangement that furthers Apple?s continuing domination of the MP3-player market and one that will introduce Apple to the car-computer market, anticipated to be worth $6billion by 2010.