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RCA's Dale Harrow: Car design more crucial than ever

As well as serving as head of the RCA's Vehicle Design Program, Dale Harrow is also a Financial Times columnist. His latest piece suggests the car is in the process of change, and at a rate beyond that undertaken in its first century of existence. Manufacturers have 'solved' the function of the car, and as reliability is no longer a concern for the consumer, design is now crucial.

Mazda 3 saloon (2009): first photos

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 09 October 2008 12:20 Mazda is replacing its 3 family of hatchbacks and saloons and we'll see this US-market sedan at next month's Los Angeles motor show. It's a four-door for the notchback-obsessed Americans, but we'll see the five-door Euro-style Mazda 3 hatch a few weeks later at the 2008 Bologna motor show. The new Mazda 3 is believed to be based on the engineering skeleton of a Ford Focus, so expect a front-wheel drive layout and a wide spread of diesel and petrol engines.

BMW Alpina D3 Bi-Turbo Coupe (2008) : first pictures

By Tom Richards First Official Pictures 06 August 2008 13:07 The BMW 330d Coupe has just been made redundant because Alpina, the Buchloe-based tuner, tweaker and BMW bedfellow, has released the D3 Bi-Turbo Coupe. Alpina engineers have taken BMW’s twin-turbo diesel from the 123d, slotted it into the Three Coupe, then tweaked it to produce 211bhp. The result is an engine that produces more horsepower per litre than any other BMW or Alpina road car, they say.