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Car Design of the Year 2009

Last chance to vote for your favorite concept and production design of 2009! While 2009 will most certainly be remembered as a gloom riddled year - with the automotive industry stricken by the economic downturn and a slew of cutbacks - we encourage you to remember the few gems that graced the auto show circuit. So what was your favorite car design from 2009?

Final second-generation Mini leaves production line

THE FINAL Mini hatchback of the current generation has left the production line in Oxford, after more than a million were made for customers around the world. There’s no time for production staff to rest, though, with assembly of the new Mini hatchback already under way alongside the many other Mini model derivatives. In total, more than 1.8 million hatchback Minis have been built at the factory since 2001, of which 1,041,412 were the currently outgoing model.

Ford names Freeman Thomas as Strategic Design Director

 Long-time DaimlerChrysler designer Freeman Thomas is joining Ford Motor Company from June 1. Thomas, 47, will become director of Strategic Design, reporting to Peter Horbury, executive director of Design, North America. Based in the company's Irvine, California studio, Thomas will lead advanced design teams in both California and Dearborn.