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The Future Role of the Vehicle Designer

The vehicle design department at the Royal College of Art hosted the second in a series of five lectures looking at the future of the profession last week. Moving on from the previous week's topic of sustainability, this debate explored the future roles and responsibilities of the vehicle designer. Head of department Dale Harrow began by posing the question "Is it time to rethink – do we still need the car?" Although still relevant, Harrow's ultimate answer to this was that the profession was about to see marked change, with the end to an era where "designers are locked behind closed doors in studios".

Range Rover Hybrids cross Russia on Silk Trail 2013 expedition

The Range Rover Hybrid (pictured) in Russia on the Silk Trail expedition The new Range Rover Hybrid (and the Range Rover Sport Hybrid) will be arriving in Land Rover Showrooms in the New Year after their debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show last week. Currently, ahead of the final production hybrids being signed-off, Land Rover are, as we’ve already reported, busy driving the Silk Trail to Mumbai to put the Range Rover Hybrids through their paces and iron out any problems that crop up. The first stage of the Silk Trail 2013 trek was mainly across Europe where, although urban landscapes tested the hybrid’s economy and flexibility, there wasn’t too much in the way of challenging terrain to make sure the hybrid Range Rover was up to muster.

Drivers 'don't care' about engine oil

JUST 4% of drivers choose which engine oil goes into their car during a service, according to new research. The remaining 96% either don’t care or simply go with whatever a mechanic recommends, leading to calls from a leading engine oil manufacturer and the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) for raised awareness of the benefits of high-grade engine lubricants. In a study of 1,000 drivers, conducted on behalf of Mobil 1, 65% said they wouldn’t know what oil viscosity their car would need to take, while 69% added they had no idea which brand of oil their car manufacturer recommends.