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Who's Where: Martin Smith to retire, succeeded by Joel Piaskowski as Ford Europe head of design

Martin Smith, head of Ford of Europe design for the last 10 years, will retire at the end of this year, before which he will work on a project to study the future direction of the company's global design direction. He will be replaced by current head of strategic concepts group, Joel Piaskowski on 1 July. Smith (64) first joined Ford back in 2004, leaving General Motors as director of design for Opel/Vauxhall.

PM opens Williams F1’s new Advanced Engineering Centre

Prime minister David Cameron has today opened Williams Racing’s new £8 million Advanced Engineering Centre in Grove, Oxford. The new facility will help transfer Williams’ four decades of title-winning F1 expertise into the world of road cars – and the PM has challenged the engineers working there to continue helping Britain compete on the world stage by developing new business opportunities. On Bing: see pictures of Williams F1 cars Nismo Williams!

Kia readies new minivan after Sedona exits in 2013

Kia has dropped its Sedona minivan for the 2013 model year, but the automaker expects to return to the segment. Kia spokesman James Hope confirmed the Sedona's departure. He said Kia likely will field another people mover but he declined to say when or what it might look like.