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Design Services: Motorcity Europe

A recent Business Week article stated that "never before has design been so vital to an auto maker's success, maybe even to its survival". Much of the reason for this is the close parity in quality between different brands and the general high quality of new cars; according to J.D. Power, vehicle quality has improved 24% in the past five years.

Designer Albrecht Graf Goertz dies

One of the world's legendary designers, Albrecht Graf Goertz, has died aged 92. Goertz was best known for his work at BMW, though he also worked with Porsche, Nissan and Toyota during his career. His most acclaimed works are the BMW 503 and 507 models - but Goertz also had a hand in the design of the 1964 Silvia 1600 Sports Coupe.

'Bin the booster', says car seat maker

A CAR CHILD seat manufacturer is urging parents to bin booster seats amid claims of ‘dangers’ involved in using them for older kids. Britax, which manufactures child seats for youngsters up to 135cm tall, or about 12 years old, claims that its own research suggests 49% of seating setups for 4-12-year-olds could be unsafe. Some form of child seat is legally required until a child reaches 135cm in height, to ensure that the seat belt crosses their chest at the correct and safe height, but Britax claims to have found many belts to have been fitted incorrectly.