Who's Where: Martin Smith joins Ford Europe design team

Martin Smith has been appointed as Executive Director of Design at Ford Europe. Smith, a native of Sheffield, England, brings a wealth of design experience to Ford, having held positions at Porsche, Audi, and most recently as Director of Design for Opel/Vauxhall. In his new position, he will report to product development chief, Derrick Kuzak and to Ford's global group vice president for Design, J Mays.

Citroen C-Cactus concept's green secrets

By Tim Pollard Motor Shows 17 September 2007 12:52 Citroen C-Cactus: the lowdown Citroen’s C-Cactus concept car on show at Frankfurt signals the start of a programme to investigate simplifying the construction of its cars –stripping out unnecessary weight, complexity and emissions from its everyday hatchbacks and saloons. And it’s not as far flung as it looks. Its designers told CAR Online that this concept wasn’t about the external design, but rather the way the project was conceived and built.

Opel/Vauxhall Astra GTC

Opel/Vauxhall has revealed pictures of the forthcoming Astra GTC ahead of its official unveiling at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Virtually unchanged from the GTC Paris concept of last year, the Astra GTC will go head to head with the Volkswagen Scirocco and Renault’s Megane Coupe. The third body style to enter the Astra family, the GTC shares only the door handles and roof aerial with its siblings.