Kia's chief designer seeks a sporty car to blow the doors off its image

Kia's design boss wants to add a sports car or convertible to lend more appeal to the brand. No such car is officially in the pipeline, said Peter Schreyer, Kia's chief design officer. Kia first needs to get on more solid footing, he said.

Who's Where: Karim Habib joins Mercedes-Benz

Karim Habib, former Team Leader for Advanced Design at BMW, joined Mercedes-Benz earlier this month, becoming Head of Advanced Design at the German automaker's Stuttgart studio. Habib will work under newly appointed Mercedes-Benz Head of Design, Gorden Wagener. Habib, who celebrates his 38th birthday today, was born in Beirut, Lebanon and attended elementary school in Iran, France and Greece before moving to Montreal, Canada in 1982.

Ford Focus RS will hit 164mph

The 2009 Ford Focus RS - Good for 164mph [ad#ad-1] Ford in Austria has finally let loose some concrete information on the much anticipated 2009 Ford Focus RS, which looks set to be one barn-stormer of a car. With almost 300bhp, a 0-60 time in the high 5 seconds and a top speed of 164mph, the Focus RS looks an enticing package for the boy racers. Austrian prices are quoted at €39,000, which at today’s rotten rates equates to about £32.5k.