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Car Design China Award Winners at Umeå

CDN 中国汽车设计大赛获奖选手在 Umeå Two of the Car Design China Award 2012 winners won the fantastic prize of a two-week fully funded placement at Sweden's Umeå Institute of Design to mix with like-minded young designers and learn new skills with some of the latest technology available. We spoke to Umeå's Programme Director for Transportation Design Education Demian Horst to find out how Fang Siyuan of Zhengzhou University of Light Industry and Huang Hongliang of Huazhong University of Science and Technology got on. After arriving on 21 September the two students joined up with the course's 20 international students – including two Chinese students – in the studio before undertaking their first task, which was to join both transport classes in a sketch workshop with BMWDesignworksUSA designer and Umeå alumnus Tommy Forsgren.

Dacia Duster is Scottish Car of the Year 2012

The Dacia Duster SUV has garnered its first award in the UK – before it even hits showrooms – winning the Scottish Car of the Year 2012. Top car awards should be for cars that are available for buyers to walk in and grab from their local dealer, and they must bring something that’s not just new, but better too. We’re not sure where that leaves the winner of the 2012 Scottish Car of the Year – the Dacia Duster – as it’s hardly a ground-breaking car and it’s not on sale yet.

Peugeot 2008 DKR heading for the Dakar Rally. Not that it looks much like a 2008

The Peugeot 2008 DKR (pictured) is heading for the Dakar Rally After steering clear of the Dakar Rally for a quarter of a century, Peugeot is back in the endurance rally game with the Peugeot 2008 DKR, a rally car that shares its name with Peugeot’s 2008 Crossover – but little else. Instead of the almost cutesy looks of the 2008, the 2008 DKR gets looks that could have come from Mad Max with a sinister-looking black paint job, just two doors, short overhangs for better obstacle negotiation, 37″ off-road tyres and a thumping great wing at the back. Unlike most cars that tackle the Dakar, Peugeot has decided that rear-wheel-drive is the way to go as it allows for bigger wheels and more suspension travel, rather than the four-wheel-drive preferred by the majority of entrants.