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Autoweek Design Forum 2007

The North American International Auto Show press days were followed again this year by the AutoWeek Design Forum. For this 14th edition of the Forum, the organizers picked 'Design for Success' as a theme for the conferences. And this theme was quite relevant given the gloomy forecasts made by some about the financial health of the Detroit-based car manufacturers.

Smart car inventor Nicolas Hayek dies

Nicolas Hayek, the engineer and industrialist who founded the Swiss watch company Swatch and brought the world the Smart car, died on June 28 of heart failure at his office in Switzerland. He was 82. Hayek saved the Swiss watch industry from lower-priced Asian competition in the early 1980s by offering colorful, inexpensive Swatch timepieces that he backed with equally colorful marketing.

Bentley Celebrates Strong Finish At Mille Miglia

YOU can be forgiven for thinking Jaguar stole the Mille Miglia spotlight this year, what with its roster of celebrities driving a brace of desirable racers, but Bentley was the other British brand tearing across the Italian countryside. The Crewe-based luxury car maker fielded a handful of iconic pre-war models and, after the four-day, 1,700km marathon, the firm secured its best position to date with one of its iconic 4 ½ Litre supercharged Bentley Blowers. Rolf Frech, Bentley’s Member of the Board for Engineering and Jerome D’Ambrosio, finished in 73rd position out of the 438 cars that took part.